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.
Hi everyone, to kick off the Year of the Rabbit, we’re headed west! You asked, and we answered. After the first leg of our book tour, Sarah and I will be coming to Seattle, L.A., and the Bay Area from February 7-11 for cookbook talks and signings!!! The Woks of Life west coast events schedule
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This Taro Rice recipe is a big bowl of comfort. I bet you won’t stop at just one bowl! Buttery taro cubes, seasoned rice, Chinese sausage, aromatic dried shrimp, and scallions make a delicious meal for any time of day. A Min (闽) Cuisine Recipe Do you remember my post on the eight cuisines of
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This stir-fry of Chinese rice cakes with mixed vegetables is colorful, satisfying, and happens to be vegan and vegetarian. Rice cakes are called niángāo in Mandarin (or neen goh in Cantonese), which is a homonym for Chinese words that mean “higher year.” It symbolizes growth in the new year, which is why families enjoy niángāo
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Many of you have asked us over the years if pan-fried spring rolls are a thing. Well, while spring rolls are normally deep-fried, it is possible to pan-fry them! This is an easy way to cook fresh or frozen spring rolls without using too much oil, or if you simply want to avoid deep-frying altogether.
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These Northern Chinese style beef dumplings with scallions are super flavorful. They’re particularly good when you make your own wrappers and boil the dumplings, which allows you to really appreciate how juicy they are! Dumplings are a classic Chinese New Year food, representing prosperity due to their resemblance to gold/silver ingots or money pouches. Looking
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Lobster Cantonese has gone out of favor since my younger days growing up in the Catskills, but it is really delicious and deserves a comeback! Back in the day, when my father worked at Chinese American restaurants that served lobster on both the American and Chinese sides of the menu, the go-to way to cook
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Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year (to be more inclusive of other cultures that celebrate the holiday) or Spring Festival (春节 – chūnjié), is just around the corner. This year, Chinese New Year falls on January 22, 2023, beginning the Year of the Rabbit. To start the year off right, it’s always
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Learn how to make homemade dumpling wrappers (AKA dumpling skins, or jiǎozi pí – 饺子皮) with this foolproof dumpling wrapper recipe. It’s easy to scale up or down, depending on how much filling you have—just use the sliding scale feature in our recipe card. You more than likely have the two necessary ingredients on hand
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It’s officially hot pot season! If you’re looking for a homemade soup base, look no further than this tomato hot pot base recipe. It’s mild yet flavorful (for those who aren’t into spicy hot pots), light (for those who’d rather not have too much oil in their hot pot), and easy to whip up while
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This Milky Fish Soup with Tofu (鲫鱼豆腐汤) is a common Chinese recipe for new moms who have just given birth. It is meant to replenish and warm the body, as well as promote lactation. We’re no doctors, but this soup is a traditional Chinese postpartum dish! Jump to the recipe card to check out a
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In Chinese tradition, the postpartum diet is made up of foods that new moms can eat to replenish their body, boost circulation, and stimulate milk production. We’re not talking about “bouncing back” to lose weight after giving birth! This is about making sure that a mom’s body recovers from the very taxing 9+ month journey
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The last part of my London adventure, after Oxford, is the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour at Leavesden! I’ve got details on how to get there, what to keep in mind on your visit, and what’s worth doing. As a slightly neurotic, lifelong Harry Potter fan, I hope you find this helpful! If you
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A 30-day confinement after childbirth is a Chinese tradition that stretches back over two millennia (for C-section birth, it extends to 6 weeks). Known as zuò yuè zi (坐月子) in Mandarin, it’s a time when you’re meant to safeguard your and your baby’s health, while your body is in a fragile state after birth. Over
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This taro sago (tapioca) dessert soup is a tasty and lightly sweet end to any Chinese meal. It’s also fairly simple to make, with just water and 8 other ingredients. It freezes well too, so you can make a big batch and save some in pint or quart containers for a quick and easy dessert
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A Steamed Pork Patty with Salted Duck Eggs is classic Cantonese comfort food. My mom used to make it whenever she made a homemade batch of salted duck eggs, or if she could find uncooked ones at the market. Needless to say, growing up in rural upstate NY, it wasn’t easy to find freshly salted
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The holidays are fast approaching, and we’ve got over 35 holiday recipes, new and old, savory and sweet! This might be obvious given what we do here on the blog, but the food is the main event of any holiday. This is the time of year when all of our nostalgia-laden favorite family recipes get
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These buttery jasmine shortbread cookies are subtly flavored with ground jasmine tea leaves, making them the perfect complement for a hot cup of tea on a cold winter day. Note: We partnered with Frontier Co-op to bring you this Jasmine Shortbread Cookie recipe. As always on The Woks of Life, all opinions are our own. Enjoy! Let
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These Disney copycat smoked turkey legs have become a tradition in many of our readers’ households around the holidays since we published this recipe in July 2015. Originally developed by our aunt (my dad’s older sister), we’ve since updated it with more details on pressing questions ya’ll have asked over the years: Some commenters have
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