Guess What? The Most Expensive Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner Is Actually in Northeast China?

Bound to the warmth and abundance of the mountains

Mountain produce, wild fruits, coarse grains, poultry, and livestock

Authentic Flavors · 2023 New Year Special

Cracking sunflower seeds on the kang, chasing geese in the snow

"Do Northeasterners really only eat dumplings during the New Year?"

This was the question I received after sending a photo of dumplings to my Guangdong friend on New Year's Eve.

Of course, it's not just dumplings! Dumplings are merely the grand finale of the Northeastern New Year's feast. Before eating them, our bellies are already stuffed with fried meatballs, fried ribbonfish, pork skin jelly, stewed chicken with mushrooms, braised pig trotters... And if it's coastal Liaoning, the table would also feature bright-red swimming crabs and boiled prawns.

Northeast China includes the regions of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, and the five eastern leagues of Inner Mongolia. In the highlands and hills of the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains and the Changbai Mountain range, you'll find China's most luscious pine nuts, hazelnuts, and hickory nuts. On the hundreds of millions of acres of farmland across the Songnen Plain, Liaohe Plain, and Sanjiang Plain, the most fragrant carbs are grown—Wuchang rice, Muling soybeans, and glutinous corn spread across the black soil. Among the mountains and rivers, there are also plump free-range chickens, big geese, and the all-black Northeast Min pigs.

Today is the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, a joyous occasion in the Northeast for welcoming the God of Wealth. Let’s take a look at the delightful mountain treasures this deity has bestowed upon Northeasterners on this fertile black soil.

In the Northeast, when visiting relatives for New Year greetings, the first sounds you hear upon entering are likely these: complaints about how bad this year’s Spring Festival Gala was, alongside the "crack-crack-crack" of sunflower seeds being shelled.

"Maoke," or sunflower seeds, are the most consumed snack during the Northeast’s New Year celebrations. In comparison, mandarin oranges are just a sidekick. They’re eaten while watching the Gala, during family chats, or out of sheer boredom. And maoke never shares a plate with other nuts—it always takes center stage, served in a large dish or even a big plastic bag. The reason? They disappear too fast, and refilling is too much hassle.

The star of Northeastern chats: maoke.

Sunflower seeds are called "maoke" because the Northeast borders Russia, where people love eating them. After the completion of the Chinese Eastern Railway, the habit of cracking seeds spread to the Northeast. Since Northeasterners call Russians "Lao Maozi," the seeds became known as "maoke," meaning "what the Lao Maozi crack."

Thanks to the favorable climate and fertile soil of the region, the Northeast was also one of the first places to cultivate sunflowers on a large scale. The Hulan County Annals in Heilongjiang record: "Sunflowers, seeds edible, some planted by the acre." Among these, Zhaozhou large seeds are a geographical标志 product—big, fragrant, and exceptionally oily. Different areas in the Northeast also have varied flavors and roasting methods, ranging from slightly charred to extra dry, with options like five-spice, garlic, and red date flavors.

In the Northeast, maoke comes in many flavors.

Besides sunflower seeds, hazelnuts are another nut staple during Northeastern chats. The best are the water-leached hazelnuts from Kaiyuan, Liaoning—small but packed with flavor. Roasted hazelnuts have a distinct crack; a light tap splits the shell, bringing the festive vibe of firecrackers.

The top-tier nut in the Northeast, however, is undoubtedly the red pine nut from the deep mountains—a small handful costs几十 yuan. Red pines grow mainly in the Changbai Mountain forests, Jilin’s mountainous areas, and the Lesser Khingan Range. They’re a nationally protected wild plant and the city tree of Yichun. Red pine nuts are exquisite—oily, crispy yet slightly powdery, with a rich aroma that leaves a faint piney aftertaste. During the New Year, they’re reserved for honored guests or gifts, both as a sign of respect and because their richness can cause headaches if overeaten.

Of course, too many nuts can lead to上火 (internal heat), so a plate of fruit is usually nearby—Dandong strawberries, Anshan Nanguo pears, Yanbian apple pears, frozen pears, or frozen persimmons. Northeasterners store fruit on their balconies, where the frigid weather acts as a natural fridge, serving them chilled to balance the nuts’ warmth.

Dandong strawberries: the brightest招牌 among Northeastern fruits.

Everyone knows Northeastern "kill-pig dishes" are delicious, but few realize the secret lies in the pigs—the Northeast Min pigs.

The Northeast Min Pig, along with Chongqing Rongchang Pig and Central Taihu Pig, is known as one of China's three top local pig breeds. This pig has black fur, firm meat with marbling, bright red flesh, no gamey odor but a rich pork flavor. Its only drawback is that it thrives in the cold Northeast climate, making it too fatty with less edible portions. However, this fat also makes the Northeast-style pork dishes exceptionally fragrant.

Northeast-style boiled pork is best enjoyed when stewed with pickled cabbage in a large pot.

Excess fat is cut into small pieces and rendered into a jar of lard, enough to last a whole year. The leftover cracklings are chopped finely and stuffed into dumplings, adding a slightly charred and crispy texture—the soul of Northeast dumplings.

The remaining lean meat is used for dishes like sweet and sour pork (Guobaorou). The marbled parts are cut into chunks, deep-fried, and glazed with sauce to make "Liurouduan" (braised pork pieces). Sliced, they can be stir-fried with garlic stems, peppers, or green beans, becoming the greens on the New Year's Eve dinner table.

More representative of Northeast cuisine than Guobaorou is Liurouduan.

Yanbian yellow cattle are one of China's five premium beef breeds, known for their tall, sturdy build and tender, non-gamey meat. Locals enjoy them in beef soup for breakfast, cold noodles for lunch, and grilled beef for dinner. On New Year's Eve, a braised beef shank dipped in garlic sauce is a must.

A Northeast mother-in-law's regard for her son-in-law is measured by whether she slaughters a chicken or goose for him. New Year chicken dishes come in two styles: stewed with mushrooms or store-bought smoked or roasted chicken. The stew requires a fatty hen for rich broth, balanced with just enough mushrooms—not because they're expensive (some cost hundreds per pound), but because Northeast mushrooms have an intense flavor that can overpower the dish if overused. Hence, at the feast, the mushrooms always vanish first.

In chicken and mushroom stew, the mushrooms are more coveted than the chicken.

Mushrooms are Northeast's most famous wild delicacy: hazel mushrooms and pine mushrooms pair perfectly with free-range chicken, red mushrooms stir-fry well with dried potatoes, and Changbai Mountain's matsutake rivals those from Shangri-La—though less known likely due to scarce supply, as locals can't get enough.

If there's a goose in the yard, it's sure to be stewed. Northeast mothers-in-law dote on sons-in-law with iron-pot goose stew. Online, sons-in-law often joke about complaining to their in-laws while a plate of goose sits nearby—not favoritism but heartfelt affection.

The simplest yet most fragrant bite on the New Year's table.

Northeast China's fertile plains, part of the world's three major black soil zones, produce one-third of China's grain. The most famous is Northeast rice, particularly Wuchang rice, celebrated for its sweet, chewy texture. But the black soil hides other treasures like Panjin rice, grown alongside river crabs, giving it a unique flavor. At Panjin's New Year feast, steamed crabs and rice share the table in celebration.

Panjin river crabs are renowned for their rich, buttery meat.

Yanbian rice, a specialty of Jilin's Korean Autonomous Prefecture, has plump, glossy grains with a slightly sticky texture. Soaked and ground into flour, it makes soft, sweet rice cakes—a New Year's afternoon tea. Locals also pound glutinous rice into "dago" (rice cakes), dipped in sugar for a year-round sweet treat.

Northeast corn, grown on black soil, is soft, sticky, fragrant, and sweet, often eaten for breakfast. But at New Year's feasts, stir-fried with pine nuts as "pine nut corn," it becomes a festive luxury dish—gold and silver, uniting plains and mountains.

On Northeast New Year tables, the joyous and sweet pine nut corn.

Northeast's fertile soil and diverse landscapes yield extraordinary flavors, with the New Year's feast as the grand stage for its wild delicacies.

Header image | Visual China

Cover image | Visual China

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