Buying guide · Tết and Seollal
Beef as a Lunar New Year gift
Beef has become a common gift for the Lunar New Year — Tết in Vietnam, Seollal in Korea, the Spring Festival in China — usually as rib and loin steaks in a boxed set. Choosing one comes down to four checks: the cut, the grade printed on the label, whether the beef is chilled or frozen, and the origin and dates on the pack; an “A5” on the box is valid only on beef graded in Japan.
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At a glance
- Season
- Tết, Seollal, Chinese New Year (6 Feb 2027)
- Cuts given
- ribeye, striploin, tenderloin, Wagyu sets
- Grades to read
- A5/BMS, MB score, MSA, USDA, 1++
- Chilled
- 0–4 °C / 32–39 °F, to the use-by date
- Frozen
- −18 °C / 0 °F; best within 4–12 months
- Per person
- 250–350 g steak · 80–120 g A5 Wagyu
A gift season that peaks once a year
The Lunar New Year is the largest gift-giving season in much of East and Southeast Asia. In 2027 the first day of the lunar year falls on 6 February. Traditional gift baskets carried rice wine, tea, sweets and cured meats; boxed sets of imported beef have joined them in Vietnam, while in Korea sets of Hanwoo, the native Korean beef, have long been one of the standard Seollal gifts.
The seasonal demand is measurable. Retailers cited by Tuoi Tre News in January 2026 put the rise in demand for imported meat and seafood during the Tết season at around 50 %. The same weeks bring the year’s highest prices and its busiest cold chain, which is why the checks below matter more at Tết than at any other time.
Rib and loin, in a box
Gift boxes concentrate on the tender steak cuts of the rib and loin, which need no special skill to cook. Sets of thin-sliced beef for hot pot or table grilling, and in Korea bone-in short ribs for galbi, follow the same logic: cuts that suit a family meal over the holiday.
| Cut | Also called | Character | Usual gift form |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ribeye | rib eye, entrecôte, scotch fillet | The most marbled of the steak cuts; rich, juicy | Steaks 2–3 cm thick, 250–350 g each |
| Striploin | New York strip, sirloin (UK, Australia) | Firmer, with a band of fat on one edge; strong beef flavour | Steaks, or a whole piece of 1–2 kg |
| Tenderloin | filet mignon, fillet | The most tender and the leanest | Medallions of 150–200 g |
| Wagyu (any of the above) | Japanese, Australian or American Wagyu | Very high marbling; eaten in small portions | Thin steaks or slices in a presentation box |
| Mixed set | — | Two to four cuts, sometimes with a sauce or salt | Boxes of 1–3 kg |
A5 is awarded only in Japan
The grade printed on the box comes from the grading system of the country where the carcass was graded, and each system measures something different. Most weigh marbling, the flecks of fat inside the muscle, heavily, but none of the scales converts exactly into another. The full comparison is in Grading systems.
A5 is awarded only in Japan. A box marked “A5” on beef from Australia or the United States is not using a Japan Meat Grading Association grade. Australian Wagyu is sold by marble score (“MB 6–7”, “MB 9+”); a label saying only “Wagyu”, with no score and no percentage of Wagyu genetics, says little. Likewise Angus is a breed claim, not a grade.
| System | Country | Scale | Top grade | What it measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JMGA | Japan | Yield A–C × quality 1–5; marbling BMS 1–12 | A5 (BMS 8–12) | Marbling, meat colour, firmness and texture, fat colour |
| AUS-MEAT marble score | Australia | 0–9 (9+ in the Wagyu trade) | MB 9+ | Marbling only |
| MSA | Australia | Eating quality by cut and cooking method: 3, 4 or 5 stars | 5 stars | Predicted tenderness, juiciness and flavour |
| USDA | United States | Prime, Choice, Select and lower grades | Prime | Marbling and the animal’s maturity |
| KAPE | Korea | Quality 1++, 1+, 1, 2, 3; yield A–C | 1++ | Marbling, meat and fat colour, texture, maturity |
Chilled or frozen, and how long it keeps
Chilled beef is preferred in many markets for its texture and appearance, but it has the shortest life and depends on an unbroken cold chain during the busiest shipping weeks of the year. Frozen beef that was frozen quickly and vacuum-packed loses little quality; grey-white dry patches (freezer burn) or a pack full of ice crystals point to slow freezing, temperature swings or a damaged seal. A gift that will not be cooked within a few days is safer frozen.
The US Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) advises keeping the refrigerator at or below 4 °C / 40 °F and the freezer at −18 °C / 0 °F. Beef thawed in the refrigerator can be refrozen, with some loss of quality; beef thawed at room temperature should not be.
| Form | Storage | How long | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chilled, vacuum-packed, unopened | 0–4 °C 32–39 °F, coldest shelf | To the use-by date on the pack | The date assumes the cold chain was never broken |
| Chilled, cut or opened | 0–4 °C 32–39 °F | 3–5 days (FSIS) | Keep wrapped, on a plate, low in the fridge |
| Frozen | −18 °C 0 °F or colder | Safe indefinitely; best quality within 4–12 months (FSIS) | Vacuum-packed keeps quality longest |
| Thawing | In the refrigerator | About one day per 2–2.5 kg / 5 lb (FSIS) | Steaks thaw overnight; never on the counter |
What the pack must say
A pack of imported beef should state the country of origin, the processing plant (its establishment number), the cut, the net weight, the packing date and a use-by or best-before date. In Vietnam, imported goods must carry a supplementary label in Vietnamese (nhãn phụ) with this information and the importer’s name, under the government’s goods-labelling decree.
Origin systems add a second layer. Japanese Wagyu carries a 10-digit individual identification number under Japan’s beef traceability law; entered in the national database kept by the National Livestock Breeding Center, it returns the animal’s breed, sex, farm and slaughter date. Regional brands such as Kobe beef add their own certificate. American beef graded Prime or Choice carries the USDA grade shield on the carton; Australian cartons carry an AUS-MEAT label with the establishment number, and MSA-graded beef the MSA mark.
Warning signs include a box with no country of origin, a grade that does not exist in the stated country (A5 on non-Japanese beef, Prime on beef that is not American), “Wagyu” without a marble score or genetic percentage, and a price far below what the stated grade normally costs in the same market.
How much per person
Portions shrink as marbling rises: the richer the beef, the less of it is eaten at one sitting. A 1 kg box of ribeye steaks serves about four people as a main course; a 500 g box of A5 Wagyu serves four to six. For bone-in cuts such as tomahawk or short ribs, about a quarter of the weight is bone.
| Beef | Main course, per person | Shared meal, per person |
|---|---|---|
| Ribeye or striploin (Choice, Prime, MSA, Angus) | 250–350 g / 9–12 oz | 150–200 g / 5–7 oz |
| Tenderloin | 180–250 g / 6–9 oz | 120–150 g / 4–5 oz |
| Wagyu A5, MB 9+ or 1++ | 80–120 g / 3–4 oz | 50–80 g / 2–3 oz |
| Thin-sliced, for hot pot or table grill | 150–200 g / 5–7 oz | 100–150 g / 4–5 oz |
Frequently asked questions
Which beef cuts are given for Tết?
Mostly tender steak cuts from the rib and loin — ribeye, striploin and tenderloin — often imported from Australia, the United States or Japan and sold in boxes of 1–3 kg; Wagyu sets are the higher-priced tier.
Is chilled or frozen beef better as a gift?
Chilled beef has a slightly better texture but keeps only to its use-by date; vacuum-packed frozen beef stored at −18 °C / 0 °F keeps its best quality for 4–12 months and is safer if the meal is more than a few days away.
How long does vacuum-packed beef last in the fridge?
Unopened, until the use-by date on the pack, provided it stayed at 0–4 °C / 32–39 °F; once opened or cut, 3–5 days.
What does A5 mean on a Wagyu gift box?
A5 is a Japanese grade: A for the highest yield of meat and 5 for top quality, with a marbling score of BMS 8–12. It is only valid on beef graded in Japan.
How much beef should a gift box contain per person?
About 250–350 g of ordinary steak or 80–120 g of A5 Wagyu per person for a main course.
Sources
9
- Japan Meat Grading Association. Beef Carcass Grading Standard. Tokyo, 1988 (rev. 2014). www.jmga.or.jp
- AUS-MEAT Limited. Handbook of Australian Meat, 7th ed. (International Red Meat Manual). Brisbane, 2005. www.ausmeat.com.au
- Meat & Livestock Australia. Meat Standards Australia: Standards Manual for Beef Grading. Sydney, 2021. www.mla.com.au/marketing-beef-and-lamb/meat-standards-australia
- USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. United States Standards for Grades of Carcass Beef. 2017. www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/carcass-beef-grades-and-standards
- Korea Institute for Animal Products Quality Evaluation (KAPE). Beef cuts and grading. www.ekape.or.kr
- Tuoi Tre News. Imported Tet gifts thrive across market segments in Vietnam. 26 January 2026. news.tuoitre.vn/imported-tet-gifts-thrive-across-market-segments-in-vietnam-103260126163602993.htm
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Refrigeration and Food Safety; Freezing and Food Safety. Washington, D.C.
- Chính phủ nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam. Nghị định 43/2017/NĐ-CP về nhãn hàng hóa (sửa đổi bởi Nghị định 111/2021/NĐ-CP). 2017 và 2021.
- National Livestock Breeding Center (Japan). Individual identification information search for cattle (beef traceability service under the Act on Special Measures for the Management and Relay of Individual Identification Information of Cattle, 2003).
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