The sight of sizzling bacon in a wok is an image that’s stuck with me since childhood! It also happens to be a great way to cook bacon, with the perfect mix of chewy and crispy. Growing up, Sarah and I had a nanny for a brief stint who would whip up bacon sandwiches as […]
Chicken with Black Bean Sauce
Chicken with Black Bean Sauce is a standby dish on both Chinese takeout and restaurant menus. It’s one of the tastiest stir-fries you can make, and if you never or rarely use Chinese fermented black beans, this dish is the perfect introduction! The Magic of Fermented Black Beans This no-brainer, everyday stir-fry is elevated with […]
Soy Sauce: Everything You Need to Know
Soy sauce is a familiar ingredient even to Western cooks these days. It holds a special place of importance in our list of 10 Essential Chinese Pantry Ingredients, and is truly essential to not just Chinese cooking, but Asian cooking in general. But some of our recipes call for “light soy sauce,” while others call […]
Steamed Pork Buns (Baozi)
Everyone has staples in their freezer––a pint of ice cream, a box of waffles, or a bag of frozen peas. The freezer staples I can’t do without are frozen rice, frozen man-tou, frozen dumplings and finally, some sort of savory bun, like these steamed pork buns (baozi, 包子 in Chinese). They’re my emergency meal source! […]
Vegan Ramen
Ramen, one of the most beloved bowls of hot soup in the world. Traditionally, ramen gets its flavor from rich bone broths made with pork or chicken. But what about a vegan ramen that delivers a comparable level of umami punch, from all vegan ingredients? That, my friends, is what we have on offer today. […]
20-Minute Congee (皮蛋瘦肉粥)
BREAKING NEWS!!! You can make delicious congee with slow-cooked flavor––from scratch––in 20 minutes. I’m not talking about using an Instant Pot or pressure cooker either. The extremely exciting technique I’m revealing in this post will cut the usual congee cooking time by at least two thirds, if not more. Anyone who has made congee before […]
How to Freeze Herbs & Aromatics
Today, we’re talking about how to freeze herbs and aromatics used commonly in Asian cooking, so that: You can reduce food waste You always have what you need on hand to whip up a recipe A couple weeks ago, my mom was pulling a bag of frozen scallions out of the freezer to make dinner […]
Fried Brown Rice
When we say Fried Brown Rice, we don’t mean white rice fried in a classic brown sauce, we’re talking about actual brown rice fried rice! Why Brown Rice? When you eat white rice, the tough outer husk, bran and germ have been removed for a pearly white grain with great texture, but it doesn’t deliver […]
