restaurants

Egg Rolls, General Tso's Chicken Lead Chinese Food Orders Going Into New Year

As most restaurants have already left 2024 behind, Asian spots are just gearing up to celebrate the Lunar New Year on Jan. 29. More than two billion people, according to Wikipedia, celebrate the first new moon with festivals during the two weeks of celebrations, with food always a key component, symbolizing luck and good fortune.

Chinese Menu Online, an Asian restaurant marketplace, recently published its insights into 2024 Chinese food consumer preferences leading into the Lunar New Year. The company gathered data from over seven million orders at 3,000 Asian restaurants across the United States late last year.

There is a classic Chinese proverb that says, “there is no feast without chicken,” and that certainly bodes true for Asian restaurants. The survey found that  General Tso’s chicken was the most-ordered dish in 2024, accounting for 14.8% of orders, an increase of 6.17% from 2023. But other chicken dishes are gaining in popularity, such as Sweet and Sour Chicken, included in 10.05% of orders, and  Sesame Chicken, included in 8.5% of all orders.

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The survey also uncovered a shift in consumer preferences toward healthier dishes. Tofu remains popular, serving as a replacement for meat in many favorites such as the aforementioned General Tso’s. Vegetable-focused and steamed dishes also gained in popularity, such as Vegetable Low Mein and Vegetable Dumplings.

The most-ordered Chinese appetizer (and overall most-ordered item) in 2024 was the ubiquitous egg roll, appearing in 18.23% of all orders. The golden-deep fried rolls symbolize bars of gold. Eating them, especially during Chinese New Year, is supposed to bringwealth and prosperity to the diner, per SeriousEats.com. These were followed by other appetizers, such as Crab Rangoon and Fried Dumplings, which are also said to be shaped as “gold ingots,” also symbolizing wealth and prosperity. 

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