Peach season is in full swing here in Jersey, and while Georgia may have the whole peach thing on lock, our Jersey peaches aren’t too shabby. A beautiful golden yellow on the inside, with that sweet, nectar-y peach flavor that tastes like August to me and my family. My mom has been buying huge boxes […]
Sha Cha Chicken: A 10-Minute Stir-fry
This Sha Cha Chicken recipe is another win for lazy cooks everywhere. Just 9 ingredients and 10 minutes are required to make this dish, but the results are no less impressive. In fact, you’ll be able to make a plate of sha cha chicken faster than your rice cooker can steam rice, so make sure […]
13 Summer Pasta Recipes
Okay, we all know that most people if asked would call this a Chinese food blog, so we know that you may not get as excited when you see summer pasta recipes turn up instead of an authentic Hunan stir-fry or a plate of northern-style dumplings. Which is why we don’t post tons of pasta […]
Chinese Garlic Chive “Boxes”
Are you, like me, looking for recipes to use up the abundant chives in your garden? We already have recipes like our Chinese Chive & Egg Stir-Fry and Pork Chive Dumplings in our regular rotation, but today’s recipe is a bit off the beaten path. These Chinese Garlic Chive “Boxes” are hard to find in […]
Braised Chinese Mushrooms with Bok Choy
Braised Chinese Mushrooms with Bok Choy, or xiang gu cai xin (香菇菜心) is a popular and very traditional Shanghai vegetable dish usually served during Chinese New Year in Shanghainese homes. Made with baby bok choy (sometimes called Shanghai bok choy) and fragrant braised dried Chinese mushrooms, it’s also a great dish to serve to your […]
Chinese Zucchini Pancakes
Pancakes are one of those foods that pretty much every culture seems to have figured out, whether savory or sweet. From American pancakes to Korean pancakes to these humble Chinese Zucchini Pancakes, the defining feature of the pancake is that it’s quick and requires very few kitchen skills, yet makes for a satisfying snack or light […]
Sour Plum Drink (Suan Mei Tang – 酸梅汤)
So we know that Sour Plum Drink doesn’t exactly sound very good, but it happens to be the commonly used translation of a popular Chinese drink known as suan mei tang (酸梅汤) in Chinese. (While an awkward Chinese translation never gets old, we prefer to call this drink Sour Plum Tea!) So what is Sour […]
Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad with Chicken
Summer is in full swing, and here in New York City at least, that means swampy weather, sweaty commutes to and from work, and very little desire on the part of this food blogger to stand over the stove for an extended period of time. Enter: This Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad with Chicken. It’s easy […]
Baked Stuffed Lobster with Shrimp
This Baked Stuffed Lobster makes a big statement. Stuffed with herbs and buttery breadcrumbs and topped off with a decadent row of shrimp, this meal is perfect for any special occasion. Whether it’s a birthday, a romantic meal, or a special celebration, if you pull this off, you will not disappoint! If you’re feeling intimidated, […]
Spaghetti with Breadcrumbs & Anchovies
There’s something about Spaghetti with Breadcrumbs that feels so wonderfully Italian in the most old-school-touch-of-glamour, dolce vita kind of way. Think grandma’s kitchen, but grandma insisted on having her hair done and putting on a nice dress before getting around to putting dinner on the table. Toasted breadcrumbs used to be a cheap substitute for […]
Ketchup Shrimp Stir-Fry: Bill’s Mom’s Recipe
Me and Ketchup Shrimp go a long way back. Pronounced “cure jup ha” in Cantonese dialect, it was a family dish that my mom used to make for special dinners and holidays. If you haven’t figured it out already, “cure jup” is simply a phonetic duplication of “ketchup” in the Cantonese dialect. Large fresh shrimp […]
16 Easy Korean Recipes
Korean recipes seem really really complicated, but the truth is once you have a few key ingredients in your pantry, they come together pretty easily and rely on a few core ingredients (lookin’ at you tofu, kimchi, and pork belly). My first foray into Korean food was largely because, like many people around the world […]
Hot Pot Sauce Noodles
Today’s recipe is an ode to one of my favorite things in the world: hot pot. Hence, hot pot sauce noodles! If you’ve never had a Chinese hot pot dinner before, here’s a quick explanation of what it is: a big pot of simmering broth––ranging from the mild to the face-numbingly spicy––is placed at the […]
Yang Chun Noodle Soup (Yang Chun Mian)
STOP SCROLLING! I need to say before you go any further, don’t be fooled by this Yang Chun Noodle Soup’s simple appearance. Read on, or you’ll miss A REAL TREAT! I’m not exaggerating. Yang Chun Noodle Soup (阳春面, yang chun mian), aka, “Plain Noodle Soup,” is a dish that I’ve wanted to share on our […]
Pork and Chicken Stock
This Pork and Chicken Stock has appeared once already on the blog––in my Shanghai Wonton Soup post. But I’m sharing it today as its own recipe, because I don’t just believe that this stock can stand on its own, I also believe it is invaluable! The simple reason of course is the flavor. Clear, delicious […]
How to Make Lard: The Gateway to Many More Delicious Recipes
Yes, you read that right. I’m going to talk about how to make LARD today. Lard seems to be a word that everyone dodges and shuns. Unlike butter, it seems that lard has been swept to a forgotten culinary wasteland. This is a huge injustice! Not only is pork fat one of the most spectacular […]
Avocado Egg Rolls
Avocado Egg Rolls. A guilty pleasure proffered by that most guilt-inducing of restaurant chains––The Cheesecake Factory. As food bloggers, we get a lot of questions about where we like to eat, especially since we live in the NYC area. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the truth is, while we […]
Vegetable Chow Mein Noodles: Hong Kong Cantonese Style
This Hong Kong-style Cantonese Vegetable Chow Mein is a truly delicious meatless option for all you vegetarians out there. Slightly crispy and chewy pan-fried noodles, with a mix of bok choy, mushrooms, and bean sprouts, makes this vegetable chow mein both light and really satisfying. So for anyone who gets confused between “chow mein” and […]
Instant Pot Soy Sauce Chicken Bowls
Soy Sauce Chicken is a beloved Chinese dish that you’ve probably seen before hanging in a Chinatown restaurant window somewhere. We have a recipe for the traditional version of soy sauce chicken, which is ridiculously delicious, but in my dad’s attempt to nail down a superior flavor and look, his recipe is a bit time […]
Lao Gan Ma Noodles & The Godmother of The Godmother Sauces
If you have never heard of The Godmother’s Chili Crisp Sauce or The Godmother’s Black Bean Sauce, get out from under your rock because you are MISSING OUT. Simply put, everyone who has tried her sauces is hooked. We’ve mentioned these Lao Gan Ma (“The Godmother”) sauces here and there in recipe posts over the […]
Shanghai Style Pork Zongzi (Sticky Rice Dumplings)
Zongzi, or sticky rice dumplings, are almost like a Chinese version of the tamale––sticky rice is wrapped in bamboo leaves with other fillings, and steamed. I’ll be using both the Chinese word “zongzi” and the term “sticky rice dumpling” interchangeably in this article! The major difference between Shanghai Style Pork Zongzi (上海肉粽子) and Cantonese Style […]
Cantonese Steamed Milk Egg Pudding (双皮奶)
If you’re sitting there wondering what this Cantonese Steamed Milk Egg Pudding (双皮奶 – shuang pi nai) tastes like, I would describe it almost like a Chinese version of Creme Brulee, but without the crunchy sugar top. In fact, if you WERE to torch some sugar on top of this Hong-Kong-style custard, I bet you […]
Dongbei Guo Bao Rou (Crispy Sweet & Sour Pork)
This Dongbei Guo Bao Rou (东北鍋包肉) looks and sounds distant to many. The lighter color of the finished dish may also seem curious compared to our typical dark soy sauce braised dishes or brightly colored Chinese takeout recipes. You’ll also notice that there’s no English translation here. As I see it, Guo Bao Rou is […]
21 One-Pot Meals to Please Picky Eaters
If you’re here it means you suffer from picky eaters in your life, and you need some quick and easy options to shut them up and feed them with minimal hassle. We’ve rounded up 21 one-pot (bonus!) meals to please even the pickiest people. Growing up, being picky about food was not an option. You […]
Chinese Rib Tips: Fall Apart Tender Takeout-Style
Today I’m going into full dad mode to educate you all about pork rib tips––as in the cut of meat and my recipe for fall-part tender, Chinese Takeout Style Pork Rib Tips! Pork rib tips are a less common cut of the pork rib, but are one of the best kept secrets of Chinese cooking! […]
Weeknight “Slop” (Rice with Eggs, Avocado & Chili)
Weeknight slop. That caught your attention didn’t it? Yes, you read that right. It’s my go-to weeknight recipe. Faithful, tried, and true. This is not a recipe that is search engine optimized. It is not a recipe that is particularly pretty. It is not going to win you effusive compliments with the dinner party set. […]
Dry Fried Sichuan Beef
In our family, I’m notoriously finicky when it comes to eating out. Maybe I’m a tiger mom when it comes to most restaurants out there, but I find that a lot of them just serve mediocre food! Dry Fried Sichuan Beef (干煸牛肉, gan bian niu rou) is a great example of that. Too often, it’s […]
Braised Chinese Vegan Chicken
Chinese vegan chicken, 素鸡 is a soy product. It’s not as popular as tofu, but it’s always been tofu’s neighbor on your Asian grocery shelf––it’s just not as recognizable to most people. I bet you’ve seen it but just didn’t know how to “handle” it. Vegan chicken is actually one of my mother’s favorite things […]
Stir-fried Watercress: A Healthy Leafy Green Vegetable
Watercress (西洋菜,sai yeung choi in Cantonese or xī yáng cài in Mandarin), is a super healthy vegetable often overlooked at the market because people don’t know how to prepare it. Making this stir-fried watercress at home is an easy, delicious, and healthy way to change up the vegetables on your dinner table. Watercress is rich […]
What to do for Mother’s Day
What to do for Mother’s Day? It’s just two days until Sunday, and you may be asking yourself this question (and if you haven’t yet–maybe you SHOULD be!!!). It’s a big conundrum, especially for a holiday that’s meant to celebrate the woman in your life who may have already swatted away your offers to buy […]