Chinese Recipes

279 recipes found

NYT Cooking

Nov 29, 2023

Bao Buns

Easy to make and belly-filling, these Chinese buns, baozi, are believed to have originated as early as 400 B.C. Unlike their bready cousins from other parts of the world, they’re steamed, not baked, which makes them pillowy soft and snow white. The classic size of the loaves is small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, but cooks have adapted the recipe to create different shapes to complement their favorite ways to indulge. One of the most common is to form the bao into pockets and generously fill them with slow-roasted duck, drizzled with hoisin sauce and garnished with cilantro sprigs. Whether the tops of the dough rounds are pinched shut or kept open like the clam-shaped bao here, nothing beats a fresh bao straight from the steamer.

2h 25m16 baos

NYT Cooking

Nov 15, 2023

Mongolian Beef

Despite its name, this simple stir-fry of sliced beef coated in a velvety and sweet sesame-soy sauce didn’t originate in Mongolia. Wu Zhaonan, a Chinese comedian who fled Beijing when the communist party took over in 1949, opened a tea shop in Taipei, Taiwan, where he served Beijing-style barbecue in which meat and vegetables are cooked on a high-heat griddle. Political reasons prevented the use of the Chinese city in the name, so he called it Mongolian barbecue instead. (Actual Mongolian barbecue is called khorkhog.) The dish eventually made its way to the United States in the 1960s, where restaurants made use of giant flat-top grills, often a focal point of the dining experience. This rendition of Mongolian beef calls for flank steak and uses soy, sesame oil, brown sugar, mirin and a significant amount of chiles. Serve it over a bowl of steamed jasmine rice to balance out the intense flavors.

30m4 servings

NYT Cooking

Nov 8, 2023

Lomo Saltado (Tomato Beef Stir-Fry)

Lomo saltado might be the most well-known and beloved example of Chifa cuisine, a hybrid of Peruvian and Chinese culinary traditions. It’s a quick stir-fry made with marinated beef, juicy tomatoes, sautéed red onion, sweet peppers and potatoes or French fries, all tossed in a chile-and-soy-based sauce. Rice is served alongside to help soak up the bountiful sauce. A fresh, fruity, vibrantly yellow tropical chile called aji amarillo is usually called for, but this recipe calls for aji amarillo paste, which is more widely available. (Serrano chile works here, too.) Lomo saltado often has a subtle smoky flavor from engulfing the steak and sauce with flames in a wok, often with the South American brandy called pisco. This recipe is streamlined for home cooks, but if you’re familiar and comfortable with the technique, you may want to try it out.

40m4 servings

NYT Cooking

Oct 25, 2023

Sesame Chicken

The history of sesame chicken, a delightful dish of battered and fried boneless chicken pieces in sweet and sour sauce, is a bit unclear. While it’s similar to General Tso’s, and la zi ji (or firecracker chicken), a spicy Sichuan dish of chicken, sesame, chiles and Sichuan peppercorns, sesame chicken skews sweeter, thanks to a heap of brown sugar and no chiles. As the name implies, the dish’s defining characteristic is the prominence of sesame flavor, owing to the toasted sesame oil in the marinade and the seeds sprinkled on top. Serve it piled on top of white rice and steamed broccoli.

50m4 servings

NYT Cooking

Oct 5, 2023

Hunan Chicken

The cuisine of the Hunan province is one of the eight traditional Chinese cuisines, but what sets it apart from the others is its use of bold hot and sour flavors. Chiles, vinegar and fermented black beans are staples in Hunan cuisine, and this recipe uses all three. Hunan chicken originated in China and made its way to the United States in the 1970s, where the flavor profile was adapted to please the American palate. Here, bite-size pieces of chicken are marinated in soy sauce, making them tender and juicy, while vegetables are flash-cooked in a wok alongside other staples of Chinese cooking, such as garlic, ginger and scallions, for a flavor-packed dish that hits all the tastebuds. Serve it right away, accompanied by fluffy jasmine rice.

40m4 servings

NYT Cooking

Jul 11, 2023

Beef Chow Fun

Chewy, caramelized, slightly charred noodles are the star of beef chow fun, the Cantonese classic. (“Chow” means “stir-fry” and “fun” means “rice noodles.”) Scorching wide, springy rice noodles on a very hot surface achieves something similar to wok hei, the smoky savoriness that is the signature of wok stir-fries. The dish’s history is not certain, but according to “The Wok” by J. Kenji López-Alt (W. W. Norton & Company, 2022), some believe it originated at a food stall in Guangzhou (then Canton), China, during the Japanese occupation in the late 1930s and early 1940s. A Japanese military commander ordered hor fun noodles, but the stall was out of the starch needed to make the gravy. The cook improvised, stir-frying the beef and noodles with a thin, savory soy sauce until it was absorbed. It was so good that it stood the test of time.

1h4 servings

Arroz Chaufa (Fried Rice With Chicken and Bell Pepper)

NYT Cooking

Jun 8, 2023

Arroz Chaufa (Fried Rice With Chicken and Bell Pepper)

After laborers flocked from China to Peru in the mid-1800s, a blend of Chinese and Peruvian cuisine known as Chifa was born. This simple version of arroz chaufa (fried rice) focuses on chicken thighs and red bell pepper, but other varieties might embrace sliced hot dogs, shrimp or strips of meat. The key to this recipe, and other fried rice recipes, is keeping the cooking surface hot. This is easy to achieve when using a powerful wok burner in a professional kitchen, but at home, this means cooking things in smaller batches. If you need to serve more people, multiply the recipe as needed, but make sure to cook the rice in several batches to allow it to crisp rather than steam. (You can hold the prepared rice covered in foil in a warm oven.)

45m2 to 4 servings

Cantonese Clay Pot Rice With Velveted Chicken and Mushrooms (北菇滑雞煲仔飯)

Serious Eats

Jun 7, 2023

Cantonese Clay Pot Rice With Velveted Chicken and Mushrooms (北菇滑雞煲仔飯)

When done properly, velveting can render a relatively lean cut of meat moist and tender—even after extended steaming.

2h 55m2

Cantonese Clay Pot Rice With Chinese Meatloaf (肉餅煲仔飯)

Serious Eats

Jun 7, 2023

Cantonese Clay Pot Rice With Chinese Meatloaf (肉餅煲仔飯)

Pleasantly springy and fragrant with soy sauce, oyster sauce, and Shaoxing wine, Chinese meatloaf is delicious served on its own or atop Cantonese claypot rice.

2h 5m2

How to Make Cantonese Clay Pot Rice (煲仔飯)

Serious Eats

Jun 7, 2023

How to Make Cantonese Clay Pot Rice (煲仔飯)

This comforting meal of rice steamed and crisped within a Cantonese clay pot is a favorite in Hong Kong, where it’s served with an assortment of savory toppings and a seasoned soy sauce.

2h 25m2

NYT Cooking

Apr 21, 2023

Stir-Fried Lotus Root

Lotus root has a subtle flavor — mildly sweet, and vaguely reminiscent of fresh corn — but its striking appearance and singular texture distinguish it, with a crunch that is snappier than an undercooked potato but not quite as assertive as jicama. This speedy stir-fry adapted from M Shanghai, a Shanghainese restaurant in Brooklyn, celebrates the root vegetable and its unique texture. May Liu, the restaurant’s owner, wanted lotus root on the menu because it’s a traditional Shanghainese dish. “It’s light, it’s tasty, it’s delicious, it’s unusual. It’s not a dish you can find at every Chinese restaurant,” she said. Simply seasoned with salt, mushroom seasoning and just enough sugar to render its components glossy, the flavor of this dish is subdued, allowing the quiet lotus root to dominate. The ingredients, like mildly spicy bullhorn peppers (sometimes labeled as green long hot peppers), can be found in Asian markets.

30m4 servings

NYT Cooking

Apr 7, 2023

Dòuhuā (Silken Tofu With Ginger Syrup)

A mainstay at dim sum restaurants and a popular street food in China and Southeast Asia, this cozy tofu pudding is as simple as scooping tofu and pouring gingery syrup on top. Also known as dòufuhuā in Mandarin (“bean curd flower” or “tofu flower”), dòuhuā is typically made with freshly made tender tofu, but packaged silken tofu makes the treat extra doable at home. For wonderful, custardy results, select silken tofu that’s been molded in its tub. (Block tofu sitting in a moat of water tends to be too firm.) Using a broad, shallow spoon to scoop out the tofu creates thin, wide shards, yielding maximum surface area exposure to the zippy ginger syrup. Warming the tofu in the microwave reveals its tender richness to mimic the texture of fresh dòuhuā. Old-school renditions feature just tofu and ginger syrup, but modern ones might include a wide range of add-ins similar to those offered for shaved-ice or boba treats. Canned mandarin orange segments would add vibrant contrast.

50m6 servings

Liángbàn Gāndòufusī (Shredded Tofu Salad)

NYT Cooking

Apr 7, 2023

Liángbàn Gāndòufusī (Shredded Tofu Salad)

Take a stack of sturdy, nutty-tasting fresh tofu sheets (gāndòufu in Mandarin) and cut them up into noodle-like ribbons to combine with cucumber, cilantro and a spicy, garlicky sauce. The stunningly good, satisfying result is a northeastern Chinese treat, a favorite of cookbook author Hannah Che. This recipe was adapted from her debut, “The Vegan Chinese Kitchen” (Clarkson Potter, 2022). Look for vacuum-sealed packages of tan-colored, nubby gāndòufu, often labeled as “soy tofu sheet” in the refrigerated tofu section in Chinese markets. Enjoy this salad with dumplings or a cozy soup. Change things up by stuffing it into a baguette or featuring it in lettuce wraps.

40m6 servings

NYT Cooking

Mar 22, 2023

Clay Pot Rice With Chicken and Sausage

A satisfying blend of sticky rice and savory meat, clay pot rice is known in Cantonese as bo zai fan. This Southern Chinese dish simmers, then steams, rice with sausages, bacon or both, so that their fat coats the grains and helps create a crackling crust on the bottom of the pot. In this variation, marinated chicken is nestled into the mix, its meat making for a more substantial meal. Lop cheong, a Cantonese sausage that’s a little sweet, is available in Chinese markets, but other sweet cured pork, like maple bacon, works as well. Even though this meal is named for the pot in which it’s cooked, a Dutch oven or cast-iron skillet works, too.

1h 15m4 servings