Velveting is a critical Chinese cooking technique. Meat or seafood is marinated and pre-cooked in oil (or sometimes poached in boiling water). Then, the cook adds it to a stir-fry with other ingredients. In this post, we will teach you how to velvet chicken to yield the most tender and flavorful results for your favorite […]
How-To
The Woks of Life's How-to section is dedicated to explaining various cooking methods, kitchen tips, and cooking tools. Everything you need to become an expert in Chinese cooking!
How to Fold Wontons
Wontons will always have a very special place in my heart. Like dumplings, we grew up with a bag of frozen wontons always in the freezer, ready to become wonton soup (breakfast, lunch or dinner), spicy wontons (a tasty snack or appetizer), or even fried wontons (a crowd-pleasing party favorite). We’ve posted several wonton recipes […]
How to Cook Dumplings 3 Ways
Growing up, dumplings (jiǎozi, 餃子) were practically their own food group in our family. A bag of dumplings was always in the freezer, ready to become an after school snack, quick breakfast, party appetizer, or lazy weeknight dinner. In this post, we’ll talk about how to cook dumplings properly, with three methods: steaming, pan-frying, and […]
The Chinese Zodiac: What’s Your Animal Sign?
It may already be 2020, but the start of the lunar year of the Rat began yesterday! Are you ready for what the year has in store? Do you know your animal sign? What about your element? Which signs are you compatible with? Who should you steer clear of? DO YOU EVEN KNOW YOU? Yes, […]
23 Chinese New Year Greetings (Mandarin & Cantonese)
Happy Chinese New Year everyone! This weekend you may have a line-up of Chinese New Year get-togethers with elders, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and everyone in between. Of course, it’s fun to see family and friends, and maybe score a hong bao red envelope or two (or three or ten), but Chinese New Year courtesies can […]
How to Cut a Whole Chicken Chinese-Style
If you’ve ever prepared a whole Chinese chicken, you’ve probably gotten to the last instruction: “Cut up your chicken into bite-sized pieces and serve.” You look at the chicken you worked hard for, and wonder how you’ll get it to the table without making a mess! We understand that for some, it can be a […]
How to Make a Clear Broth
Just because a clear broth or stock looks almost as clear as water, trust me, it should be far from tasteless. We have already posted recipes for simple clear broths that can be used in recipes or consumed on their own, such as my chicken stock recipe, my pork & chicken stock, and Sarah’s Asian […]
How to Fold a Chinese Dumpling (4 Techniques!)
Do you love eating dumplings? Let’s be real…who doesn’t? In this post, we’re going to show you how to fold a Chinese dumpling using four different techniques, ranging from incredibly easy up to the classic pleats. A Note On Our Dumpling Recipes We have several dumpling recipes on The Woks of Life, all of which […]
