Chinese Recipes
269 recipes found
Fried Catfish With Pepper-Wrapped Scallions
Steamed Sea Bass in Ginger
Chicken With Bamboo Shoots and Chili
Beef and Black Beans With Noodles
Winter Bamboo Shoots
15-Minute Shrimp Toast
Easy Kung Pao Chicken
Sweet, sour and a little spicy, this meal tastes like home — specifically the home of Pearl Han, a talented Taiwanese American cook who naturally streamlined dishes while raising three kids and managing a busy career. Her younger daughter, Grace Han, shared this recipe: “quick, easy and my mom’s favorite.” Dried chiles sizzle in oil first to impart heat to the whole dish, then chicken browns in a single layer — no high-heat stir-frying necessary — to create a tasty caramelized crust before the pieces are flipped together. Coated in a dead-simple kung pao sauce that delivers the dish’s signature salty tang, the chicken begs to be spooned over steamed rice. Serve with stir-fried vegetables as well for a complete meal.
Liang Ban Qie Zi (Eggplant With Garlic, Ginger and Scallions)
The Shanghainese dish of seasoned and steamed eggplant is typically served cold, but this version can also be eaten warm or at room temperature. Steaming eggplant is a revelation — it brings out the vegetable’s gentle, earthy flavor and creates an astonishingly silky, light texture that soaks up sauces efficiently. Here, the eggplant is topped with an aromatic mix of garlic, ginger and scallions, which release their intoxicating fragrance when hot oil is poured over. Regular globe eggplant is fine, and long Japanese or Chinese eggplant works just as well (use the same weight). A steamer insert, bamboo steamer or stainless steel trivet is a smart investment that makes steaming in a wide, deep skillet simple, but you can also use stainless steel cookie cutters or balls of aluminum foil. Use tamari in place of soy sauce for an easy gluten-free substitution.
Stir-Fried Lettuce With Crispy Garlic and Fried Eggs
In Chinese culture, cooked lettuce is a symbol of good luck and is often eaten during Lunar New Year feasts. In Cantonese, the word for lettuce is sang choy, and in Mandarin, it’s sheng cai, which sounds like the words for “growing wealth” in each language. Stir-fried lettuce is commonly served as a bed for braised mushrooms or simply as a green side dish. Here, stir-fried lettuce, fried eggs and crispy garlic chips perch on a bed of rice, a simple meal with comforting flavors and textures. The joy of this preparation is that the lettuce retains a fresh crunch even after cooking; iceberg is preferred, but romaine will give you similar results. Vegetarian stir-fry sauce is a product sold in Asian grocery stores, but you can also use oyster sauce. For a shortcut, skip the fried garlic and top with store-bought crispy fried onions or shallots.
Soy-Braised Tofu With Bok Choy
This Chinese-style braised tofu is an ideal midweek dinner over rice or noodles. Shallow frying the tofu first makes it sturdier and prevents it from breaking apart in the sauce. (You could also deep-fry or use an air fryer.) Cutting the tofu into thicker pieces means that each mouthful is crisp yet plump, with a soft interior. This is an adaptable dish; when adding the bell peppers, you could add more vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, snow peas or whatever you have on hand. Those familiar with restaurant-style braised tofu may expect more sauce, but in this homestyle version, the seasoning sauce delicately coats the tofu and vegetables without drowning them. That said, double the sauce if you prefer.
Vegan Dan Dan Noodles With Eggplant
Sichuan dan dan noodles are traditionally made with ground pork, a spicy sauce and sui mi ya cai, or pickled vegetables, but this vegan version features pan-fried eggplant in place of the meat. Cutting the eggplant into relatively chunky pieces and covering the pot with a lid while cooking is the key to achieving the right texture: It locks in moisture, ensures that the pieces don’t fall apart, and allows the flesh to become tender and smoky. Once tossed with the noodles and sauce, the eggplant breaks up and becomes creamy. If you don’t have tahini, you can substitute it with smooth peanut butter or almond butter.
Tea Eggs
In the 18th century, the Qing dynasty scholar Yuan Mei wrote about cooking eggs in a solution of tea leaves and salt in “The Way of Eating.” Now, tea eggs are prepared throughout China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and in diaspora communities the world over. Known for their marbled design and savory soy flavor, the eggs are boiled, then cracked and soaked in tea blended with spices. The liquid seeps beneath the cracks to form fine lines all over the eggs while seasoning them. You can also simply marinate them without their shells and end up with a more robust taste. Adjust the seasonings below to your taste, if you like, and then enjoy the eggs on their own with a cup of tea or any way you would enjoy boiled eggs — in rice bowls, noodles, salads and other vegetable dishes.
Black Sesame Shortbread
Snappy and crumbly, these not-too-sweet cookies are the sort of treats that make you take a deep breath and slow down. Immediately loveable and layered with complex nutty, toasty and savory notes from black sesame, they’re great with tea. The slice-and-bake dough comes together entirely in a food processor (only one bowl to wash!) and can be refrigerated as a wrapped log for a few days before baking.
Mapo Tofu
You can order mapo tofu from many Chinese restaurants, but it’s also quite doable at home. You can find the pivotal fermented chile and broad (fava) bean sauce or paste called doubanjiang (sometimes rendered as “toban djan”) at a Chinese market. Look for a doubanjiang from Pixian, in Sichuan, and bear in mind that oilier versions have extra heat but may lack an earthy depth. Sichuan peppercorns add mala — tingly zing — and fermented black beans, called douchi, lend this dish a kick of umami. Ground beef is traditional, but many cooks choose pork; you can also try lamb, turkey thigh or a plant-based meat alternatives. Add chile flakes for extra fire, and balance mapo’s intensity with rice and steamed or stir-fried broccoli.
Instant Pot Congee
You can use any leftover roasted meat to flavor this mild, comforting congee, which is delicately seasoned with white pepper. Adapted from Liyan Chen of New Jersey, this recipe is a perfect use for all the bits and pieces of your leftover Thanksgiving turkey (or chicken or duck during the rest of the year). If you’d like to, add the shredded lettuce just before serving so it retains some of its texture. Then garnish the top with any combination of scallions, ginger, soy sauce or chile sauce that pleases you. Note that congee will thicken as it cools, but you can thin it out again with a little water or stock.
Kung Pao Shrimp
The name of this dish is now written in English as gong bao shrimp, and this recipe takes inspiration from the American Chinese versions that come from the Sichuan Province of China. Here, flashes of chile heat shine in a glossy swirl of a salty, sour and sweet sauce. With a confetti blend of shrimp, peppers and peanuts, each mouthful is a little spicy and chewy, savory and crisp. The deep malty tang comes from Chinkiang vinegar, a jet-black condiment from China that is traditionally fermented from grains and aged in clay. It’s key to this dish and also delicious for dipping dumplings, saucing noodles and dressing vegetables. (Balsamic vinegar, similarly fermented and aged from grape juice in barrels, is a fun, fruity substitute.) With both vegetables and protein, this one-wok stir-fry is a complete meal with steamed rice.
Salt and Pepper Tofu
The joy of Chinese salt and pepper tofu is the contrasting crispy-on-the-outside, pillowy-on-the-inside textures. There is no need to press the tofu — a quick pat down with a kitchen towel is all that’s needed — as the moisture actually helps to keep the interior soft and tender. While potato or tapioca starch is often used for a light batter, nothing beats the accessibility and affordability of cornstarch to produce an enviable crunch. There are many versions of salt and pepper seasoning in Chinese cuisine — some contain Sichuan peppercorns or fennel seeds — but in this recipe, a spicy-sweet combination of white pepper, sugar, ground ginger and five-spice powder shines (See Tip).
Vegan Mapo Tofu
Mapo tofu is a justly popular menu item in many Chinese restaurants. It is a quickly cooked dish of braised tofu with minced pork (sometimes beef) in a bracing spicy sauce made with fermented black beans and fermented broad bean paste, along with hot red pepper and Sichuan pepper. This meatless version with fresh shiitake mushrooms is completely satisfying, and surprisingly easy to make. For the best texture, use soft tofu rather than firm, taking care to cook it gently to keep it from crumbling.
Mapo Tofu Spaghetti
Conventional mapo tofu calls for cubed tofu, but, if you blend silken tofu for a twist on the Sichuan favorite, you’ll yield a creamy pasta sauce with deep numbing, spicy mala flavor. For velvety results, select silken tofu that’s molded into its refrigerated tub. Shop at a Chinese market for the doubanjiang (fermented chile bean sauce or paste). Look for the kind that is jarred and labeled as toban djan or packaged as plastic-sealed paper cubes, and originating from Pixian. Also grab some Sichuan peppercorns, and for extra umami oomph, some douchi (fermented black beans), too. If beef or pork isn’t your thing, try ground turkey, lamb or a plant-based meat alternative. Chefs (Mei Lin of Nightshade in Los Angeles, and Yu Bo of Yu’s Family Kitchen in Chengdu) and home cooks (the family of Zhong Yi, a former graduate student at Sichuan University) alike have tinkered with mapo tofu, pushing its definition and inspiring this cross-cultural iteration.
Spicy Sichuan Noodles
This recipe for spicy peanut noodles is adapted from Ken Hom, the chef and cookbook author best known for his BBC television show "Ken Hom's Chinese Cookery." It is incredibly easy to put together on a weeknight, yet loaded with complex flavors and textures.
Caramelized-Scallion Noodles
The key here is the scallion dressing for the noodles and the bit of oyster sauce you drizzle on for depth and umami. Feel free to substitute in any meats, fish, tofu or vegetables you like for the toppings; this is just a template for any number of quick, delicious meals.
Spicy Pan-Fried Noodles
Garlicky, gingery and as spicy as you dare to make it, this Asian-influenced pan-fried noodle dish comes together in minutes. Most of the ingredients are pantry staples, which means you can make it whenever you need a comforting noodle dish that comes with a bite. If you can’t find the Chinese egg noodles (also called Hong Kong-style noodles), you can make this with rice noodles or soba. The key is to only boil them until they are halfway done. (They should be pliable but still firm in the center.) They will finish cooking when you pan-fry them.
Spicy Big Tray Chicken
At Spicy Village in in Manhattan’s Chinatown, the Spicy Big Tray Chicken arrives on an aluminum tray. You eat it on a foam plate with a plastic fork or chopsticks. It’s a mound of chicken nearly afloat in a bath of dark, spicy sauce that contains star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, chile, garlic, cilantro, a few mystery ingredients and potatoes. Those of you who live in or visit New York should eat this dish whenever you can, but it can absolutely be prepared at home. It’s not precisely a simple recipe. But it’s an excellent project one. And you can improve on the ingredients. The restaurant uses both MSG and Budweiser in the recipe. We subbed in Modelo Negra and omitted the MSG, but you certainly don't need to.
Wonton Soup
Wonton soup and wonton noodle soup are two mainstays of Cantonese cuisine available in restaurants across the world. They’re great slurped when dining out and even more comforting when prepared and eaten at home. Here, bok choy stands in for the usual dark green gai lan or choy sum vegetables to lend its natural sweetness to the soup. How you season the soup is up to you. If you’re starting with an intensely flavorful homemade broth, you may not need to add anything.