a culinary genealogy
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.
Today we answer all your questions about how to make a Chinese meal, from weeknight dinners for the family to a Chinese dinner party. What’s the traditional way to do it? How many dishes do you need? What types of dishes go together? Read on to become a master at Chinese menu planning and preparation!
…
This recipe for braised pork with 40 cloves of garlic is a Chinese-inspired riff on the classic French dish. The garlic is meltingly sweet, and when combined with pork belly and steamed rice, it is simply delicious. Do You Really Use 40 Cloves? Yes! 40 cloves of garlic in one dish. That’s about 4 to
…
In this post, we’ll talk about how to make rice flour to use in various recipes. All you need is raw rice and a powerful blender! Why Make Your Own Rice Flour? Rice flour is an ingredient that we use often in recipes like Turnip Cake (Lo Bak Goh), Taro Cake, and Nian Gao (Chinese
…
This chicken flavored rice is toasted and cooked in chicken stock with a few aromatics to give it a delicious flavor. It’s especially good as a side dish for chicken, but would be delicious alongside anything that goes well with rice! A Revelation at a Restaurant The first time we tried chicken flavored rice was
…
Seaweed with Peanuts, Ningbo-Style is a delicious recipe that can be served as an appetizer, snack, or side dish with a meal of pao fan (rice porridge). If you’ve ever had packaged seaweed peanuts, you know the combination is irresistible! The peanuts and green sea moss both have a delicious umami and are a match
…
This simple coconut curry shrimp in a delicious red curry sauce will have you enjoying a restaurant experience at home on any day of the week. With just 9 ingredients (and 2 optional ones) and 30 minutes of time in the kitchen, cooking dinner might be easier—and certainly cheaper—than going out or ordering takeout! To
…
These pumpkin cinnamon rolls are the ultimate fall treat. This recipe is a variation on our Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls, which many of you have deemed the best cinnamon rolls you’ve ever had! (Check out the comments to see how many folks who have long hunted for the perfect soft cinnamon roll love this recipe!) These
…
These Chinese-style braised mushrooms are a great side dish, or can even serve as a satisfying main dish over rice. Braised mushrooms are simple and quick to make, but taste like they’ve cooked for hours. A Rich Vegetarian Dish This Braised Mushroom recipe has all the same rich flavors we would use in a Chinese
…
This simple millet porridge (xiǎomǐ zhōu – 小米粥) is similar to rice congee, but millet has a lower glycemic index than rice, with more vitamins and minerals. It also cooks in a fraction of the time! Enjoy millet porridge for breakfast or instead of a bowl of white rice with any Chinese meal. What Is
…
We have been eating this healthy and easy mackerel recipe whenever fresh mackerel is available. If you’ve heard that you should be eating more small oily fish for your health, but aren’t sure how to make it happen, give this pan-fried mackerel a try! How to Cook Oily Fish Oily fish tends to have a
…
When is Chinese New Year this year? On Wednesday, January 29, 2025, Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival (春节 – chūnjié) will mark the beginning of the year of the Wood Snake (蛇 – pronounced “shé” or “shuh” in Chinese). The lunar new year falls on a slightly different day in January or February of
…
This chicken with mixed vegetables recipe a tasty, restaurant-quality Chinese takeout dish that makes it easy to get a variety of vegetables into your diet! You can use whatever vegetables you have on hand. The key is knowing how to prepare them and what order to cook them in. If you’d rather just follow a
…
This recipe for pan-fried chicken wings is one of those deceptively simple preparations with an insanely high reward to effort ratio. Just 3 ingredients and a few minutes of prep is all it takes for irresistible, tasty wings that you can serve as a meal or party appetizer! This is also a great recipe for
…
This shakshuka recipe takes the cake in our family. It’s a substantial, rich meal for any time of day. Serve it with some toasted bread or pita and some merguez sausage, and you’ll wonder why you ever made it any other way! What is Shakshuka? Shakshuka (or shakshouka) is a flavorful, hearty dish that originates
…
Roasting tomatoes is one of the best ways to eat them. Because it concentrates their flavors and makes even a just-okay tomato taste like an amazing tomato, it’s a great way to enjoy tomatoes any time of year—not just in high summer! We love making roasted cherry tomatoes, but you can use this method with
…
Not only does black rice have great health benefits, it has an enjoyable texture and taste: chewy, nutty, and slightly sweet. In this post, we’ll talk about how to cook black rice, also known as purple rice or forbidden rice. In fact, I’ve been eating much more black rice than white rice these days, so
…
Making Air Fryer Dumplings is great if you want extra crunch without deep frying or the effort of watching a pan. You can use this technique with any store-bought or homemade dumpling you like, fresh or frozen! At risk of becoming “the water lady,” I have to say that a bit of water in the
…
This old fashioned Chinese egg cake has a dense crumb and comforting flavor that have a sweet nostalgia for many, including me. They are mini cakes—bake the whole recipe in one standard 12-cup muffin pan! I love to eat these cakes on their own with my second cup of coffee for the day or a cup
…
