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Meat-Free Swaps for Chinese New Year

Food is vitally important for many celebrations, bringing people together to reflect on the year gone past and look to the future. What better way to bring good luck and prosperity for the coming year than eating delicious food with friends and family.

For most of us here in the UK, the New Year has been and gone. But for many it has yet to begin. February 12th 2021 marks the start of Chinese New Year with celebrations commencing with dinner on New Year’s Eve.

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We all love popular Chinese New Year foods like dumplings, spring rolls and salt & pepper dishes, but what can you eat at Chinese New Year if you’re adopting a meat-free lifestyle? Luckily, it’s easy to substitute meat with other delicious products in a variety of Chinese New Year dishes. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to get creative with flavours, textures, and introducing the meat-free way of life to your loved ones!

The importance of food during Chinese New Year

At Chinese New Year, it’s not only the dishes themselves that matter, but also how they are prepared, served and eaten. Foods eaten during Chinese New Year have traditional symbolic meanings, so we can embrace these values and attributes in the coming year. Here are some examples of Chinese New Year foods and what they represent:

  • Fish - wealth, fortune and surplus
  • Glutinous rice balls - a family reunion
  • Noodles - longevity
  • Spring rolls - wealth and ‘fresh starts’
  • Glutinous rice cakes (nian gao) - rise in career and salary

Your favourite Chinese New Year meals, made meat-free

Sharing a delicious array of dishes, richly layered with symbolic meanings is a key part of Chinese New Year. Try out our traditional Chinese New Year recipes here made with our meat-free alternatives, making them perfect for any dinner table.

Lucky Sour and Spicy Soup

This traditional Chinese Sour and Spicy Soup combines beautifully aromatic flavours with protein-rich Quorn Swedish Style Balls to create a perfect Chinese New Year dish.

Warm, filling and absolutely delicious, the vegetables and Quorn Swedish Style Balls in this classic dish will have you full and satisfied with a unique play of contrasting flavours.

Golden Spiced Nuggets

Is there anything better than a delicious, crispy, juicy, flavoursome chicken nugget? Perhaps if it’s made with Quorn Crispy Nuggets!

These Golden Spiced Nuggets are the perfect finger food for your Chinese New Year party, combining the flavours of curry, turmeric, garlic and onion to create a truly yummy bite of vegan heaven.

Eight Treasures Quorn Stir-Fry Create a luxurious and extra special dish this Chinese New Year with the Eight Treasures Stir Fry from Quorn. Using our Vegan Hot & Spicy Burgers for an extra kick!

Combining the ‘eight treasures’ of roasted chestnuts, gingko nuts, lotus seeds, goji berries, green peas, Shiitake mushrooms, garlic and green pepper; this is a dish you won’t have to miss having at your table.

Go meat-free this Chinese New Year with Quorn

Substituting meat doesn’t have to end with Chinese New Year. Your meat-free journey is made easy with Quorn’s range of meat-free protein alternatives. Our products are convenient, easy to cook and available to suit many cuisines. They’re the perfect veggie addition to a variety of Chinese New Year dish! Plus, Quorn products are non-GMO< soy free and cholesterol free.

Though you may be going traditional this New Year, there’s still room for your favourite Chinese classics. Check out our selection of delicious Chinese meat-free recipes here, including our Vegetarian Spring Rolls with Quorn Mince, Sticky Sweet & Sour Quorn Nuggets and Salt & Pepper Chinese Platter, perfect for sharing!

Click here to find out where you can buy Quorn products for this Chinese New Year.

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