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.
We partnered with Maruchan to bring you this Laksa Instant Ramen recipe. As always on The Woks of Life, all opinions are our own. Enjoy! This Laksa Instant Ramen is our new favorite way of leveling up instant noodles—that favorite college dorm/emergency food. All you need is coconut milk, laksa paste, and just a few
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You Dunzi (油墩子) are deep-fried crispy cakes of shredded daikon radish, cilantro and scallions. These fried radish cakes are an everyday breakfast or snack from the streets of Shanghai. Having grown up in and around that city, I’ve known them for as long as I can remember. That said, you dunzi have several different names.
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I’m ashamed to say that back in 2017, we posted a deeply inauthentic hummus recipe. Today, we right those wrongs with Michael Solomonov’s (of Zahav fame) great hummus—plus our personal tips for success. You can still reference that old post for a still very good recipe for two kinds of pita chips—one salty and one
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This is an easy, classic chicken fried rice recipe you can make for a quick dinner on any weeknight. It’s also heavier on the chicken than what you’d get from takeout! Limited by the low prices they need to charge to get by, takeout restaurants keep the chicken pieces small and the vegetables at a minimum.
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It figures that after the year we’ve all had, the silver lining out of the kitchen is that we’ve FINALLY discovered our family’s go-to banana bread recipe. This one is courtesy of Joanne Chang of Flour Bakery & Cafe. It has the perfect amount of caramelized sweetness. It’s banana forward without being gummy. And it
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Chicken and Broccoli is the Spaghetti and Meatballs of the Chinese takeout world—basic, familiar, and ubiquitous. This is a healthy, tasty, and super easy dish to make at home. While we have Chicken and Broccoli with Brown Sauce, which is more of a gravy (and SUPER delicious too, by the way), this version of the
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We partnered with Myojo U.S.A. to bring you this Tan Tan Ramen recipe. As always on The Woks of Life, all opinions are our own. Enjoy! Tan Tan Ramen is a spicy, incredibly tasty Japanese ramen noodle soup. It also happens to be based on a Chinese recipe. Yep, Japanese “tantanmen” is actually based on
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An important and auspicious recipe to make during the Lantern Festival is Tang Yuan (汤圆), or Yuan Xiao (元宵). It’s a food that symbolizes harmony and reunion. Note: This recipe was originally published in February 2016. It has since been updated with metric measurements. What Is the Lantern Festival? The Lantern Festival is the 15th day of Chinese
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I’m not one to exaggerate about anything. To say that I’m in awe of this Cantonese Mustard Green Pork Bone soup is not an overstatement. It’s delicate yet flavorful, and it’s also incredibly simple, with just 8 ingredients! A Recipe from Our Readers The idea for this soup recipe came directly from The Woks of
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Chinese Broccoli (芥兰, gai lan in Cantonese or jiè lán in Mandarin) is a leafy green vegetable you can use in a diverse range of dishes. Although they come from the same plant family, it is quite different from the regular broccoli florets you’re already familiar with, which is known as xī lán huā, 西兰花).
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(1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022) The Chinese year of the Tiger is the third year of the 12 year cycle of Chinese Zodiac animals. The old Chinese story behind this was that the Jade emperor ordered the race to select the 12 animals that were to be his personal guards. Year of
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Happy Chinese New Year everyone! It’s time to brush up on your Chinese New Year greetings. You might think that the only greeting you needs is a simple and polite “Happy New Year!” But here at The Woks of Life, we’re going tiger parents on you with THE comprehensive list of common Chinese New Year greetings
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(1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021) Happy Chinese New Year, xīn nián kuài lè 新年快乐 to everyone! If you’re Cantonese, then gong hei fat choy. We wish you prosperity and good fortune for the 2021 Chinese Year of the Ox. Feb 12, 2021 is the beginning of the Lunar New Year, and it’s
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Hong-Kong style egg tarts, or dan tat in Cantonese, are probably my favorite pastry. Period. And the best part is, you can make them at home! Note: This recipe was first published in July 2014. We have since extensively re-tested the recipe, re-photographed it with more step-by-step photos, added clearer instructions, included metric measurements, and
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These golden Steamed Money Bag Dumplings are a Chinese New Year specialty. Make them for the holiday, and they will help you ring in the lunar new year with abundance and good fortune galore! (At the very least, you can impress everyone with how fancy they are.) An Auspicious Menu for An Auspicious New Year
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Pork Belly with Taro (芋头扣肉), or wu tau kau yuk in Cantonese (yùtóu kòu ròu in Mandarin), is home-cooked, show-stopping Chinese comfort food at its best. In this recipe, steamed taro and pork melt together into a perfect centerpiece dish for Chinese New Year, or any other special occasion. A Show-Stopping Pork Dish Perhaps this
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The familiar image of a New Year Sweet Rice Cake (红糖年糕), or nian gao, is a welcome sight during Chinese New Year. Nian gao 年糕 symbolizes progress, advancement, and growth. Nián (年) means “year,” and “gāo” (糕) is a homonym for “gāo” (高), which means, “tall,” “high,” or “expensive.” Every family inevitably buys or makes this treat
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Today, our family’s tried-and-true, much-loved milk bread recipe gets the Cinnamon Roll treatment. These incredibly fluffy Cinnamon Rolls are the stuff of Goldilocks’s dreams. That is, they have just the right amount of cinnamon, frosting, and of course, the most tender, fluffy, pull-apart texture. The Fluffiest Cinnamon Rolls The perfect cinnamon roll is an elusive
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