Living in China allowed me to see a sliver of how much more there is to this ancient cuisine beyond our favorite Cantonese-style dim sum (which we love) and other westernized favorites like General Tso’s Chicken. You may come for the essentials like dumplings, wonton wrappers, or egg drop soup, but I hope you stay (and keep coming back) for some of the regional culinary treasures you’ve never heard of and can’t wait to try. And along the way, we’ll be collaborating with friends and family living in China to bring you authentic and super delicious food straight from the mainland, plus a few of my own Chinese-inspired dishes that we love to eat.
This spicy Sichuan party dip has everything we love about our favorite Chengdunese wontons in chili oil except in a totally unexpected creamy, spicy, crunchy dip that’s perfect for scooping up with homemade crispy-fried wonton chips (or any chips!) or crudité. I like to call this stuff Sichuan gold because […]
This easy steamed crystal dumplings recipe (also called xiā jiǎo or har gow) with its juicy shrimp filling and beautifully translucent wrappers is the queen of dumplings. They can be found at classic dim sum parlors around the world from Maxim’s Palace in Hong Kong (so delicious!) or Nom Wah […]
This easy 3-Ingredient wonton wrapper recipe is my favorite one on the site. I use it to make all kinds of wontons (including Spicy Sichuan wontons), or sometimes potstickers — they’re especially delicious when fried to make crispy wonton strips for homemade egg drop soup. Plus, you can fill them […]
Ready in just 30 minutes (if you use store-bought wrappers), this easy Sichuan wonton soup recipe is one of the most famous of all the Chengdu snacks and it’s one of the easiest things to make at home. Based on my Chengdunese friend, Vivian’s recipe, if you’re already familiar with […]
This is the very best (and only) Sichuan wonton recipe you will ever need (unless you’re looking for the delicious wonton soup version♡). Vivian’s wontons were one of the first dishes I fell in love with while living in Chengdu. Tender ginger-infused pork-filled meat parcels wrapped in homemade silky egg […]
This steamed chicken and pork buns recipe uses a featherlight tangzhong bao bun dough filled with a slightly sweet and savory Chinese BBQ pork and chicken thigh filling. Homemade Chinese pork buns are truly like the ones you’ll find being sold steaming hot from street trolleys in Chengdu, Chinatown, NYC, […]
This is one of the best toasty Sichuan chili oil recipes you will ever make. I learned how to make this Xiangla Hongyou (香辣红油) from Sichuanese Chef Liu while living in Chengdu and it’s still one of my all-time favorite condiments (ever). This highly addictive sesame-flecked red chili oil is […]
This easy house fried rice recipe is what you’ll find at your favorite Chinese restaurant also known as, “Cantonese Fried Rice”, “Special Fried Rice”, “Chicken Fried Rice”, or even “Pork Fried Rice” — and you can make it at home in just 30 minutes. Leftover rice crisped to golden brown […]
This simple recipe for homemade Chinese soup dumplings (xiao long bao) is 100% made from scratch and requires a bit more time than regular dumplings to make but they’re worth it. These famous dim sum soup dumplings have 3 main components that can be broken up into multiple tasks over […]
If you love BLTs and Japanese pork buns as much as we do, I think you’ll love this ultimate and very delicious BLT. One part American classic and two parts Asian deliciousness makes one of the best BLTs ever. Super-soft homemade bao buns, slathered with a quick sesame-soy spicy mayo, […]
This Momofuku & Ippudo-style pork bun recipe includes the best, most tender soft homemade bao buns (Gua Bao or Baozi) with slow-braised pork belly. The brined pork is basically a set-it-and-forget-it pork belly with otherworldly deliciousness. As for the bao (the buns), I use a special ingredient combined with the tangzhong […]
This easy braised pork belly recipe is perfect for making Japanese-style pork buns, but you can also use it as a topping for homemade tonkotsu ramen, or as a delicious side to your eggs for brunch. Brined overnight and slow-braised until super tender, you’ll never need another pork belly recipe. […]
Everything you need to make springy, slippery delicious alkaline ramen noodles at home. Plus, these are the perfect noodles for homemade dan dan mian.
You might be wondering what is baked baking soda and what’s it used for? For starters, when you heat baking soda in the oven for a long period of time, it chemically alters it from being bicarbonate of soda into sodium carbonate which is an even stronger alkaline salt. This […]
A takeout favorite you’ll find on just about every Chinese-American restaurant menu, Singapore noodles couldn’t be easier to make at home. These delicious rice noodles get their bright yellow color (and flavor) from curry powder and are filled with shrimp, eggs, carrots, Napa cabbage, onions, and scallions. Plus, it’s a […]