a culinary genealogy
Below, view all our posts in chronological order, starting with the most recent. To browse recipes by category, course, or collection, visit our Recipe Index. Also be sure to check out our How-To section and Chinese Ingredients Glossary.
These Chinese pork and celery dumplings (with sweet carrots) are super delicious, and another dumpling recipe we’re adding to our permanent repertoire! While pork and celery dumplings may sound strange to American or Western ears, it’s actually a very popular combination in China. What’s particularly great about this recipe is that you don’t need to
…
This Tom Yum Soup with Shrimp, or tom yum goong, is surprisingly easy to make, as long as you can find a few key ingredients, like Thai chilies, lemongrass, lime leaves, and fish sauce. It’s tart and tangy, with an incredible shrimp flavor that you get from frying the shrimp shells and making a quick
…
This Chinese Braised Oxtail recipe was one of the very first recipes we posted on the site. At the time, however, our photo-taking skills weren’t so great. On the one hand, I felt like this post was sort of lost in the archives, and I wanted to bring it back. On the other hand…I just
…
Hunan salted chilies or “duo jiao” is a signature Hunan ingredient. Salty, spicy, and slightly tangy from natural fermentation, Hunan chopped chili peppers are especially delicious in steamed dishes like our Duo Jiao Steamed Fish. We have a version using fish filets as well as a Hunan Steamed Whole Fish. Hunan salted chili peppers are
…
This Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake has all the moist, crumbly goodness of a coffee cake, with a sweet layer of soft, jammy apples that reminds me of apple pie. If you have a couple apples that have gone a little past their prime or picked a few more last weekend than you bargained for, I
…
Pad See Ew is what I would consider Thai fast food, right up there with all of our favorite takeout noodle dishes like Pork Lo Mein, Singapore Noodles, Pad Thai, and Drunken Noodles. It comes together quickly as long as all the ingredients are prepared ahead of time and ready to go into the wok!
…
This Crispy Tofu recipe is all about textural contrast: the crispy outer coating vs. the soft, tender interior of the soft tofu itself. I serve it drizzled with a quick sauce, reduced down until thick and syrupy, and fresh scallions. The best part? No deep-frying necessary! How to Make Crispy Tofu The secret to making
…
This Chinese Sausage Rice Cooker Rice is an emergency recipe for busy weeknights when you don’t have much in the fridge besides a few links of lap cheong. It’s so easy we feel a little silly even calling it a “recipe.” Just think of it as a dinner hack you have in your back pocket
…
This spicy Sichuan Okra Salad was inspired by a restaurant dish we tried at Sichuan Mountain House in Manhattan. You don’t necessarily think of okra when you think of Chinese cuisine, but this dish puts okra’s delicate flavor and unique texture on full display! Recipe Inspiration This past summer, Kaitlin and Sarah were in Manhattan’s
…
Beef with string beans is a simple, delicious one pan dinner to serve with steamed rice. It’s also a great meal prep option—you can marinate the meat and mix the sauce in advance (either the night before or in the morning), and then whip up the dish when you come home! Searing Green Beans Unlike
…
The Mid-Autumn Festival, after Lunar New Year, is the second most important Chinese holiday of the year. It’s a time to get together with family, eat, worship the moon, and celebrate the fall harvest! In this post, we’ll talk about how to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival with friends and family! When is the Mid-Autumn Festival? The Mid-Autumn
…
It’s mooncake time again: the Mid-Autumn Festival! Lotus Mooncakes with Salted Egg Yolks are so popular that many readers requested a recipe after seeing my Savory Mooncake post. To my understanding, this filling combination is the top choice for most Cantonese folks––Bill included––when it comes to mooncakes. I originally posted this recipe in September of 2016,
…
Cantonese Bitter Melon Soup with Pork Bones is a great way to eat end-of-summer bitter melon. Bitter Melon is a superfood—one of the healthiest vegetables (fruits?) you can eat! Pork mellows out its strong flavor, and as we head into fall, this is the perfect transitional soup. This is our second bitter melon recipe this
…
You wouldn’t think so, but poaching is one of the easiest and most rewarding ways to prepare chicken breast. The result is juicy, tender chicken that both preserves the pure flavor of the meat and serves as an excellent blank canvas for spicy chili oil or clean ginger scallion oil (pictured here). In this post,
…
After 2020, there’s a huge backlog of delayed nuptials set to happen over the next two years. I’m looking ahead to 2 weddings, and Sarah already has 3 dates saved in her calendar! Not to mention Sarah got married back in June! So we thought it was a good time to break down an important
…
Hi Woks of Life readers, It’s been a hectic summer to say the least. We’ve been keeping up with the blog, finishing up the manuscript for our upcoming cookbook (out Fall 2022!), and we’re now in the midst of weekly 3-day cookbook photo shoots. (Yes, we’re doing the food photos for the book ourselves, which
…
Red Bean Mochi is a great way to use up leftover red bean paste you might have in the freezer from making our other red bean treats, like Chinese bakery red bean bread, mooncakes, or red bean buns (forever my childhood love). Japanese vs. Chinese Mochi Chinese mochi is not as sweet as Japanese mochi.
…
Back in early June (when the outlook for the summer was a little bit brighter and more carefree), I had a long weekend in Chicago to visit one of my best friends. While we’re back in more uncertain times, I still want to report back on the sights and the foods, whether it’ll help you
…
