The best Lunar New Year dishes, according to NPR readers

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NPR readers share the dishes they love most for the Lunar New Year. Jing Gao; Alvina Chu; Amy Fedun; Beth Rogers-Ho; Alice Young; Elsy MektrakarnNguyen; Sarah Low; Anh Therese McCauley hide caption

NPR readers share the dishes they love most for the Lunar New Year.

More than a billion people worldwide will celebrate the Lunar New Year on Saturday as they usher in the Year of the Dragon. It's called Tet in Vietnam, Tsagaan Sar in Mongolia and Seollal in Korea. Whether it's celebrated in Asia or abroad, the annual holiday is a time for many to honor elders, spend time with family, reflect on the past year and wish for a lucky year ahead.

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Candied coconut, or mut dua, is a common dish seen at Vietnamese New Year celebrations. Suzanne Nuyen hide caption

Candied coconut, or mut dua, is a common dish seen at Vietnamese New Year celebrations.

Like most holidays, a bountiful spread of food is essential to Lunar New Year festivities. In my Vietnamese household, rice cakes called banh chung and candied fruits called mut are as essential to the New Year as turkey and mashed potatoes are to Thanksgiving. Traditional foods vary across Asian cultures. Some have even evolved as Asian diaspora communities invite others to share in their traditions.

I wanted to know what dishes NPR readers couldn't go without on the Lunar New Year. These were some of the dishes that stood out as favorites, plus one special recipe a reader created for her grandchildren.

Culture Lunar New Year traditions evolve in the Asian diaspora

Responses have been edited for length and clarity

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Banh chung and banh tet are quintessential parts of a Vietnamese Lunar New Year meal. Suzanne Nuyen hide caption

Banh chung and banh tet are quintessential parts of a Vietnamese Lunar New Year meal.

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Making banh chung involves a labor intensive process. Often, the entire family is roped in to help. Suzanne Nuyen hide caption

Making banh chung involves a labor intensive process. Often, the entire family is roped in to help.