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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Ma La Xiang Guo (Spicy Numbing Stir-fry Pot)
Updated:View Post: Ma La Xiang Guo (Spicy Numbing Stir-fry Pot)Ma la xiang guo (麻辣香锅) is definitely a “newer” dish. It doesn’t have hundreds of years of history, but I can tell you, this dish is a legend in the making. It’s so popular in China now that there are…
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Ham and Cheese Buns
Updated:View Post: Ham and Cheese BunsAs a child stepping up to any Chinese bakery case––be it in Chinatown or, more typically, an Asian grocery store in a non-descript New Jersey strip mall––there was one item that I always overlooked: the ham and cheese bun. There was…
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Pumpkin English Muffins
Updated:View Post: Pumpkin English MuffinsI’ve officially switched gears from summer to fall––my favorite season. We’ve transitioned from flip flops to close-toed shoes and cozy socks, and my vast collection of plaid button-downs is back on duty (yay!). Today, I was driving through the Hudson Valley…
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Scallion Beef Stir-fry Chinatown Favorite
Updated:View Post: Scallion Beef Stir-fry Chinatown FavoriteScallion beef stir-fry, pronounced cong bao ngau in Cantonese and cong bao niu (葱爆牛) in Mandarin, is an old favorite dish of mine that, in my humble opinion, most recipes and restaurants don’t really get right. It’s a great dish,…
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Spicy Chicken Salad
Updated:View Post: Spicy Chicken SaladOne of my favorite dishes on our site is our kou shui ji recipe. Literally translated as “drool chicken” (mmm…drool.), it’s a spicy Sichuan poached chicken dish smothered in a flavorful sauce. This spicy chicken salad is kind of a riff on…
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Sichuan Hot Pot
Updated:View Post: Sichuan Hot PotNow that I’m back in the U.S., one of the things I miss most about my two-year stint in Beijing is a spicy Sichuan hot pot meal. I miss the warm restaurants we’d walk into in the fall and winter.…
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Rainbow Noodle Salad
Updated:View Post: Rainbow Noodle SaladFall is officially in full swing. As I was driving to the grocery store today, I noticed that the leaves on the trees had already begun to change. When I got to said grocery store, there was a huge bin…
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Har Gow (Dim Sum Shrimp Dumplings)
Updated:View Post: Har Gow (Dim Sum Shrimp Dumplings)At dim sum houses, the server with the steamed crystal shrimp dumplings, commonly known as “xia jiao” or “har gow” in Cantonese, is always the most popular person on the floor. I’ll even dare to stick my neck out and claim that…
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Salmon Bibimbap Korean Rice Bowl
Updated:View Post: Salmon Bibimbap Korean Rice BowlBy now, I think Korean food has become mainstream enough that just about everyone who gives a damn about Asian food has eaten a decent bibimbap. I myself always thought that it was a rather complicated dish, what with all…
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Sichuan Spicy Wontons Recipe
Updated:View Post: Sichuan Spicy Wontons RecipeSweet, savory, garlicky, and not as spicy as they look, Sichuan spicy wontons (aka Hong You Chao Shou, 紅油抄手, in Mandarin) are a delicious combination of sweet soy sauce, raw garlic, roasted red chili, and a touch of vinegar to balance…
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Dim Sum Steamed Beef Short Ribs with Black Pepper
Updated:View Post: Dim Sum Steamed Beef Short Ribs with Black PepperIf you’re dim sum brunch veterans like we are, you’ve probably had all the usual dumplings, buns, and rice and noodle dishes (Cantonese soy sauce pan fried noodles, anyone?). Over the course of your weekend indulgences, you’ve probably started looking for…
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How to Cook Rice Without a Rice Cooker
Updated:View Post: How to Cook Rice Without a Rice CookerRice. The ultimate side dish. A versatile accompaniment to everything from stir-fries to stews. One of the most important staple foods in China and the world over, and the one (very large) barrier to me going on a low carb…
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Shanghai Savory Mooncakes (Xian Rou Yue Bing)
Updated:View Post: Shanghai Savory Mooncakes (Xian Rou Yue Bing)I won’t bore you by getting too deep into the fairytale that surrounds the Mid-Autumn Festival. In short, it’s a forbidden love story between a girl living on the moon and a young man living on earth. They are only…
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Korean Fried Chicken Tenders
Updated:View Post: Korean Fried Chicken TendersEveryone has those days. When you’re sick of work, really not feeling that final paper that’s due in two days, or you’re just plain old bored of your same old routine. Well I recently had such a day, and what…
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Red Bean Bread
Updated:View Post: Red Bean BreadRed bean bread. The holy grail. The originator. The classic. The veteran. Okay, maybe I’m overstating, but something about the red bean bun inspires respect. It’s the old guard. The faithful standby when you don’t want some weirdo questionable scallion,…
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Vegetable Dumplings
Updated:View Post: Vegetable DumplingsMy senior year of college, I had a life-changing dumpling experience. For much of my childhood, I had been a meat-only filling kind of person––carnivore that I was. In my family, pork was usually the only filling we’d use, and…
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Edamame Beans: The Chinese Way
Updated:View Post: Edamame Beans: The Chinese WayBoiled or steamed edamame beans are one of our favorite healthy snacks (mindless munching has never been so healthy). Just in case you didn’t know, edamame is actually just a green soy bean in its fresh state in the pod.…
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Fried Wontons
Updated:View Post: Fried WontonsFried wontons are a crispy, crunchy, and delicious appetizer that will have your guests talking about them at the office on Monday morning. We make these for dinner parties and sporting events, and they always disappear. When you hear the…

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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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