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Potstickers or dumplings (guotie or jiaozi)

Symbol: Wealth Unlike the lucky New Year's foods in the West, the making of dumplings is a family bonding activity in Northern China. That's why the dumpling-making scene in Crazy Rich Asians resonated so hard with so many Chinese Americans. But dumplings are considered a lucky Chinese New Year food because the traditional crescent shape looks similar to the Chinese gold and silver ingots historically used for currency. And the more dumplings you make, the more wealth you're manifesting, so it's all hands on deck to make that figurative money. "Dumplings with many pleats are more popular during the new year," says Hom. "The saying goes, 'The more pleats it has, the more money you will receive,' and I was taught that more pleats taste better too!" Although the shape is prescribed, the fillings allow room for interpretation. As long as you avoid Chinese sauerkraut (suan cai), a "poverty" ingredient, you're fine. Shrimp, chicken, beef, vegetables and, of course, pork are all fair game, and they can be boiled, steamed or pan- or deep-fried. FYI, although boiling them is less labor-intensive, it is no less lucky.

Spring rolls (za chun juan)

Symbol: Wealth As much as ingots were accepted as the official shape for precious metal in ancient China, bars and sticks were not uncommon. A great counterpart to dumplings are spring rolls, which are deep-fried golden and become edible stand-ins for exactly that. Not to be confused with rice-paper-rolled summer rolls, these small crunchy cylinders are filled with anything from ground pork to mushrooms to red bean paste and translucent noodles. They're a common and popular appetizer, particularly for Hong Kong–style dim sum, but pop up as lucky Chinese New Year foods in Eastern China. For that reason, spring rolls don't show up on Wang's typical holiday menu, but do on Hom's. "Spring rolls are one of the luckiest foods to us," she says of her family's gathering.

Glutinous rice cake (nian gao)

Symbol: Growth, elevation and progress If you thought dumplings were open to interpretation, wait until you start looking at nian gao recipes! Despite their anglicized name, these cakes have no gluten in them. Rather, they're translated as "glutinous" for their binding, stretchy and chewy nature. Think mochi texture—it's the same sticky rice dough utilized for different purposes. Nian gao can be sweet or savory. The former is what you'll find most often, sweetened with sugar and designed to be a dessert-like treat. This version can be made individually like little siu mai or cupcakes. You might also see them steamed and chilled in a cake pan with good luck patterns or mosaics made of auspicious ingredients like red Chinese dates (jujubes) embedded into them. You can even deep-fry the batter and fill it with other mashed sweets, like the dates, chestnut or red bean paste. Meanwhile, Shanghai is known for the savory type. The nian gao for stir-frying are usually shaped into thick batons or cut into oval slices, sold frozen in Asian grocery stores. No matter how you choose to prepare glutinous rice cakes, the luck you're willing into the Year of the Snake is the same. This traditional ingredient gets its auspiciousness from the fact that breaking down the word translates to "higher/taller year," symbolizing general growth. Eating any version of this Chinese New Year food is meant to usher in improvements in fortune, income, health, business, knowledge or even just height for the little ones.

Sweet rice balls (tang yuan)

Symbol: Family togetherness Popular and important to Southern Chinese families in particular, tang yuan is eaten from the Reunion Dinner until the Lantern Festival—the official end of the Spring Festival celebrations that begin with Chinese New Year. Its spherical shape symbolizes the wholeness of a family and serves as a well wish that all members can be together in the new year. Like nian gao, it is made of glutinous rice flour, which means it's sticky, chewy, doughy and fun to eat. These little balls are often stuffed, and like dumplings, the filling is up to your personal preference. Common ones include sesame, red bean paste and jujube for sweet versions, or minced meat or nuts for savory ones. Lin makes a peanut paste with crunchy peanuts and peanut butter, then floats them in a sweet, syrupy broth as a combination of both. And while the name of the dish literally means "round balls in soup," it sounds like the Chinese word for "reunion."

Buddha's Delight (lo han jai)

Symbol: Purity and enlightenment Buddha's delight is a vibrant veggie-packed symphony—we're deeming it one of the coolest mixed salads ever! It features at least 10 ingredients and originates from Chinese and Buddhist culture. Although it's traditionally consumed by Buddhist monks, it's now grown into a popular Chinese New Year food, along with being a healthy option in Chinese restaurants. In the culinary blog The Woks of Life, blogger Bill writes that his version of Buddha's Delight is Cantonese (luo han zhai). Common ingredients found in the dish include arrowroot, bamboo shoots, fried tofu, fat choy and more. Kristina Cho, an award-winning cookbook author and founder of the blog Eat Cho Food, adds her own spin to the Chinese New Year dish, including bean curd, dried shiitake mushrooms, cabbage and bean thread noodles. "All the vegetables and aromatics cook together like a regular stir-fry, but then you add the noodles and the mushroom braising liquid, and let everything simmer," she writes. "The noodles hydrate, the bean curd tenderizes and all those flavors meld together."