All Posts
by date
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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Vegan Ants Climbing a Tree
Posted:View Post: Vegan Ants Climbing a TreeToday, we’re making Vegan Ants Climbing a Tree—a vegan and vegetarian version of a beloved Chinese dish! Traditional Ants Climbing a Tree (蚂蚁上树 – mǎyǐ shàng shù) consists of glass noodles in a tasty, spicy sauce with bits of ground…
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Our Experience at The Lost Kitchen
Posted:View Post: Our Experience at The Lost KitchenWe rarely share restaurant experiences, but felt the need to share this one as a travel post. Because this restaurant? It’s a destination! Today, we’re sharing our recent experience dining at The Lost Kitchen, Erin French’s restaurant tucked away in…
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Homemade English Muffins
Updated:View Post: Homemade English MuffinsThis homemade english muffin recipe will blow any store-bought English muffin out of the water, guaranteed. I started making English muffins at home when we were living in Beijing, and I couldn’t buy them locally. And you know what? Now…
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Tomato Potato Soup (番茄土豆汤)
Updated:View Post: Tomato Potato Soup (番茄土豆汤)This simple tomato potato soup is a summer staple, with just 5 ingredients (plus water). It’s a light snack or side dish that replenishes your body with fluids and salt on those sweat-inducing hot days! A Simple Childhood Soup from…
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How to Grow Thai Basil
Updated:View Post: How to Grow Thai BasilToday, let’s talk about one of my favorite ingredients: Thai Basil. We’ll learn how to grow Thai basil in your garden, different varieties, and the many recipes we love using it in! Since Thai basil doesn’t take up much space,…
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Quinoa Rice
Updated:View Post: Quinoa RiceThis quinoa rice mix is a great way to get the enjoyment of eating steamed white rice with your stir-fries and other dishes—but with the high-protein and fiber rich addition of quinoa! We do a 50/50 mix here. However, you…
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Home Style Tofu
Updated:View Post: Home Style TofuThis home style tofu recipe is as delicious as it is comforting. With a small amount of ground pork, some aromatics, and a light sauce, it’s perfect over rice and so easy to make. Note: This recipe was originally published…
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Thai Iced Tea
Updated:View Post: Thai Iced TeaLearn how to make Thai Iced Tea to go with your favorite spicy Thai dishes, or just as a delicious, cooling beverage to make in the warmer months! We have two versions: the Thai Tea Mix version that tastes exactly…
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Snap Pea Salad
Posted:View Post: Snap Pea SaladThis snap pea salad is easy, delicious, and refreshing. I made good use of our Asian pantry with go-to’s like sesame seeds, sesame oil, rice vinegar, coriander seeds, and a couple cloves of garlic for good measure, but this snap…
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Hunan Chicken
Updated:View Post: Hunan ChickenThis Hunan Chicken recipe references traditional Hunan flavors, including black bean, chilies, ginger, and garlic. Make it with chicken breast or thighs! This Hunan Chicken is *Not* a Chinese American Recipe… Like many Chinese recipes that have made the jump…
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Sesame Beef
Updated:View Post: Sesame BeefSesame beef is a Chinese dish made of fried crispy beef, tossed in a lightly sweet sauce with balanced acidity, toasted sesame oil, and sesame seeds. No wonder it’s a household hit! While it’s not as well-known as the iconic…
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Braised Ground Pork & Potatoes
Updated:View Post: Braised Ground Pork & PotatoesA hearty meal of braised ground pork, potato, and Chinese flavors is our unique take on “meat and potatoes”! This easy and simple formula is one I turn to again and again when I want to exert minimal effort on…
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How to Grow Garlic
Posted:View Post: How to Grow GarlicWelcome to the first 2023 post of our How to Grow Chinese Vegetables Series, which is now in its second season! Today, we’re talking about how to grow garlic, which is a key ingredient in Chinese cooking (albeit not exclusively…
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What to Do In Maine: Escape to Vacationland
Updated:View Post: What to Do In Maine: Escape to VacationlandCool temperatures, sunny days, and crisp, colorful leaves? It’s time to make a break from Tri-state existence to VACATIONLAND: aka Maine! In this post, I’ll share our guide for what to do in Maine: what to see, what to eat, and…
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Farm Update: Spring 2023
Updated:View Post: Farm Update: Spring 2023Now that we’ve officially moved from spring into summer, we’re recapping our spring season at The Woks of Life working mini farm—which is what we’ve decided to call this alpaca/chicken/duck/vegetable/fruit/honeybee endeavor. My dad came up with the term, which seems…
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How to Create Umami with Vegan & Vegetarian ingredients
Posted:View Post: How to Create Umami with Vegan & Vegetarian ingredientsIt’s easy to create umami (the savory fifth taste) when you’re cooking with meat or seafood. But what about with vegan and vegetarian umami ingredients? In this post, we’ll talk about some key plant-based sources of umami that we use…
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Rice Cakes with Napa Cabbage and Pork (白菜肉丝年糕)
Updated:View Post: Rice Cakes with Napa Cabbage and Pork (白菜肉丝年糕)We’ve been making this simple stir-fry of rice cakes and napa cabbage (白菜肉丝年糕) for years, so we couldn’t believe that it still hadn’t made its way onto the blog or our cookbook! It’s a straightforward and simple one-pan dish, and…
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15-Minute Chinese Chicken Curry
Updated:View Post: 15-Minute Chinese Chicken CurryThis quick takeout-style Chinese chicken curry is so easy to make, with just 9 staple ingredients and 15 minutes in the kitchen. But that small investment in time yields big rewards—an incredibly flavorful stir-fry with lots of tasty Chinese curry…

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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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