Start with a room you can feed people in
Choose a table count first. Twelve people can sit at one long table if you have the chairs. At 20, plan two tables or a separate serving counter. At 30, test the route between food, seats and the door with a plate in your hands. Move the coats off the chair backs. A guest carrying a whole fish shouldn't have to walk through a line of people waiting for dumplings.
Many Chinese households clean the house and arrange red decorations before New Year's Day. Some avoid sweeping during the first days because it is said to sweep fortune out. Do the deep cleaning in January, finish the dinner room by February 4, and leave the February 6 morning free of it if that is the custom being kept. Haircuts and new clothes are also prepared before the day in some households. These practices differ among families that mark Lunar New Year.
The Friday table needs an actual dish list
A Chinese reunion table may include a whole fish for surplus, a whole chicken for family, dumplings and spring rolls for wealth, uncut noodles for longevity, and tangerines for luck. In nian gao, the word 'gao' sounds like 'high' and is tied to progress. Choose dishes the cooks can make or buy. If your household follows a different tradition, use its own names and meal.
Put the fish on one platter, dumplings on another, a vegetable dish in one pan, and fruit on a separate plate. If your household keeps the surplus custom, reserve some fish for the next day. Ask the fish seller about the portion yield and whether it can be cleaned and scaled with head and tail left on. At six portions per fish, buy two for 12 guests, four for 20 and five for 30; add more if you want to reserve a portion. Have an adult check for bones before serving fish to a child.
For dumplings, use four per guest as a side dish: 48, 80 or 120 dumplings. If a bag holds 24, buy two, four or five bags. Write the package's batch size and cooking time beside the bag count. Set out tongs, a drain tray and a serving bowl before cooking.
Count the menu before the market trip
| Dinner plan | 12 guests | 20 guests | 30 guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fish portions, one each | 12 | 20 | 30 |
| Fish if one yields six portions | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Dumplings at four each | 48 | 80 | 120 |
| 24-piece dumpling bags | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Tangerines at one each | 12 | 20 | 30 |
| Dinner plates, bowls and cups | 12 each | 20 each | 30 each |
| Water at one 8 fl oz glass | 96 fl oz | 160 fl oz | 240 fl oz |
Buy tangerines by count if the table uses one per person. A six-serving vegetable recipe needs two batches for 12, four for 20 and five for 30. A 9 by 13 inch pan yielding ten side portions needs two, two or three pans. Measure the roasting pans and oven shelves before ordering several whole fish.
Use small platters and replace them rather than topping them up. Refrigerate perishable dishes within two hours of serving; reserve the next day's fish in a covered container in the refrigerator.
A January countdown gives Friday breathing room
| When | Job |
|---|---|
| Four weeks out [January 8, 2027] | Invite guests for Friday dinner and decide who is cooking each dish. |
| Three weeks out [January 15, 2027] | Clear the dining room, count chairs and test the buffet route. |
| Two weeks out [January 22, 2027] | Order fish, dumplings and any prepared dishes using the reply count so far. |
| One week out [January 29, 2027] | Close replies and update the fish, bag and pan counts. |
| The night before [February 4, 2027] | Finish cleaning, set the table and put cold backup dishes in the refrigerator. |
| Reunion day [February 5, 2027] | Follow each fish and dumpling package's cooking time. Hold cooked dishes safely until the 6:00 dinner. |
Make the oven plan from the actual fish size, pan size and cooking instructions. If several fish cook in rounds, reserve a way to keep earlier fish at 140 F or above until dinner. Assign the vegetable pan its own oven slot or burner. Keep one list of pickup times and the name of each cook.
In some Chinese practices older or married people give money to children or younger unmarried people in even amounts. Let the givers choose their amounts and prepare the envelopes. The Lantern Festival on Saturday, February 20 closes the season.
Set an empty platter for the fish and put dumpling tongs in their bowl. Ask anyone bringing a dish if it needs oven space. Remove perishables left at room temperature since 6:00 by 8:00, and refrigerate the fish reserved for Saturday within that window. End the guest visit at 9:00.
First, assign each dish to a cook and ask the fish seller about its portion yield.