All Posts
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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.
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Stir-Fried Rice Cakes (Nian Gao)
Updated:View Post: Stir-Fried Rice Cakes (Nian Gao)Chinese stir-fried rice cakes with pork and leafy greens is known in Chinese as “chǎo niángāo” (炒年糕). It’s a popular dish that is also distinctively “Shanghai” to me, as my Shanghainese mom and grandmother would make it often for a…
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Five Spice Powder
Updated:View Post: Five Spice PowderYou’ve probably heard of Chinese Five Spice Powder (wǔxiāng fěn, 五香粉), which has been used in Chinese cooking for centuries. Though it is widely known, its origins are still a bit mysterious. Five Spice Powder seems to have roots in…
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Sesame Balls
Updated:View Post: Sesame BallsDeep Fried Sesame Balls and me go a long way back—to when I was a little kid. We bought them in Chinatown bakeries, and snatched them fresh off of dim sum carts, where they were neatly cut in half for…
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Inside-Out Hong Kong Coconut Buns
Updated:View Post: Inside-Out Hong Kong Coconut BunsCoconut buns, or “cocktail buns” are a beloved bakery favorite among locals in Hong Kong and Chinatowns everywhere. It combines the soft, buttery milk bread ubiquitous around Asia, with a sweet, rich coconut filling. Often, the filling ends up baked…
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Moo Shu Chicken (with pancakes!)
Updated:View Post: Moo Shu Chicken (with pancakes!)I remember making Moo Shu Chicken at my first job at a Holiday Inn in upstate New York, and again in my parents’ Chinese restaurant in New Jersey. We made it the same way at both places. When we made…
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How to Wrap Egg Rolls
Updated:View Post: How to Wrap Egg RollsLearning how to wrap egg rolls at home may seem difficult, but with a few tips, you’ll wonder why you didn’t try making them sooner. Our family used to run a Chinese restaurant, and we wrapped thousands of egg rolls. …
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Osmanthus Cake
Updated:View Post: Osmanthus CakeThis Osmanthus Cake has a moist, dense yet airy crumb, with a subtle sweetness from the addition of osmanthus syrup and vanilla. Since this perfect yellow cake emerged from the oven, with it’s dark, thick crust, it has become our…
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Shanghai Pan-fried Pork Buns (Shengjian Mantou, 上海生煎馒头)
Posted:View Post: Shanghai Pan-fried Pork Buns (Shengjian Mantou, 上海生煎馒头)Shanghai Pan-Fried Pork Buns, or shengjian bao (生煎包) / shengjian mantou (生煎馒头) in Chinese, are iconic. Breakfast, brunch, lunch, or snack, people love them as much as the celebrated four Shanghai breakfast warriors. The combination of umami filling dripping with…
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Chinese Year of the Monkey
Updated:View Post: Chinese Year of the Monkey1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028 The Chinese year of the Monkey is the ninth year of the 12-year-cycle of Chinese Zodiac animals finishing in 9th place in the race to the Heavenly Gate. The old Chinese story…
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Vegan Queso
Updated:View Post: Vegan QuesoOur vegan queso is so good, you may find yourself forgoing your go-to cheese substitutes (or, dare I say it, cheese?)! Whether you’re looking to eat plant-based, are lactose-intolerant, or just want a healthy alternative, with delicious add-ins like tomatoes,…
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Beef Lo Mein
Updated:View Post: Beef Lo MeinThis home-cooked Beef Lo Mein recipe tastes just like what you’d get at a Chinese takeout restaurant (or better, because it uses more vegetables than your typical takeout). It’s also easy to make. If you love lo mein, it’s a…
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Flaky Apple Pie
Updated:View Post: Flaky Apple PieApple pie is the quintessential fall dessert. My version features an extra flaky crust (the secret is less water in the dough than most conventional pie crust recipes call for), and a tender, not-too-sweet apple filling. With a scoop of…
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What is White Pepper?
Posted:View Post: What is White Pepper?You’ll see white pepper in the ingredients lists of many of our Chinese recipes. In fact, if pepper is in a Chinese or other Asian recipe, it’s almost always white pepper rather than black. But what is white pepper exactly,…
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Chicken Mei Fun
Updated:View Post: Chicken Mei FunThis Chicken Mei Fun (also sometimes spelled mai fun) recipe is a basic home-style thin rice noodle dish. If you’ve built an essential Chinese pantry of just 10 ingredients, you should have everything you need to make it. A Flexible…
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Vegetarian Hot & Sour Soup
Posted:View Post: Vegetarian Hot & Sour SoupThis vegetarian hot and sour soup is a meat-free version of a Chinese takeout favorite that also happens to be one of our most popular recipes on the blog! You won’t miss the meat, as hot and sour soup already…
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The Woks of Life Gets a Redesign!
Updated:View Post: The Woks of Life Gets a Redesign!Hi everyone! As you may have noticed, things are looking a little different around the blog. We’re SO excited to announce and launch our new site design today. Don’t panic! It’s the same old Woks of Life, with all your…
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Homemade Multigrain Flour
Updated:View Post: Homemade Multigrain FlourMultigrain flour has become a mainstay in our house. Made with a blend of our favorite grains and seeds, it’s a healthy base for baking all of our favorite breads at home! Making A Wholesome Multigrain Flour Judy has always…
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Mohonk Mountain Hiking: A Family Tradition
Updated:View Post: Mohonk Mountain Hiking: A Family TraditionThis post on Mohonk mountain hiking has come out of a family tradition of visiting over the years. Recently, our family drove up to see my dad’s childhood friend, who still lives in the area, and made a random weekday…
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We’re Sarah, Kaitlin, Judy, and Bill– a family of four cooks sharing our home-cooked and restaurant-style recipes.
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