Gansu-style Veggie Noodles / 炒拉刀削麵

What follows is based on the Mala Market's lovely recipe for 炒拉條子 / chǎo lā tiáozi, featuring a style of handmade noodles popular in the northwestern Chinese province of Gansu. I am not big on making any sort of dough, so when I was adapting this recipe my big change was to substitute the knife-cut noodles we can buy at the local Chinese supermarket for the homemade noodles. If you have the time and desire to make the right noodles for this dish, then definitely check out the original recipe! If not, my recipe stays close to the original - albeit with the noodle swap and a reduction in sodium intake - and is a fair approximation. 

Easy Wonton Soup

A nice hot bowl of wonton soup makes for a lovely, easy, light breakfast (or dinner!) and as a result is a staple in my family. This recipe is our own and vaguely Chinese, but perhaps not classically so as it's just what suits our preferences and tastes. We're usually cooking for two, so adjust the amounts accordingly as needed, and enjoy!

Corn n' Egg Drop Soup

This is a variation on another old Cantonese favorite, in this incarnation an adaptation of Meet the Chows' straightforward recipe. It's great as part of a set of dishes, a starter, or even on its own when you're short on time and not too crazy hungry. (A scoop of rice would no doubt help in that last scenario!) It's simple yet very moreish at the same time. Enjoy!

Soy Sauce Fried Rice

This is another old staple that somehow fell off my menu during the early COVID years and kinda got forgotten. I've made other fried rices since, but I've been missing the simpler, more classic fried rice that made many a breakfast for me when I was still living in China. I've largely followed Red House Spice's recipe, with modifications to better fit my family's taste. Try hers, try mine, to each their own! Whatever you do though, enjoy!

Dumpling Dipping Sauce

Dumplings are rarely (never?) served in China, Taiwan, or other countries with communities of the Chinese Diaspora without some sort of dipping sauce, which can range from fairly simple (a bit of vinegar or soy sauce) to complex. What follows is largely Vicky Pham's lovely recipe, tweaked (as always!) to better fit my family's more northern Chinese tastes. The original is worth checking out if you have a bit more of a sweet tooth, but this version works great for us. Whichever you try, enjoy! 

Manchurian Kung Pao Chicken

When I moved to northeastern China I quickly discovered that as a foreigner I was supposed to really like kung pao chicken (宮保雞丁 / gōngbǎo jīdīng in Mandarin), which was news to me as I couldn't even remember if I'd had it before! I grew up with Cantonese food and stereotypically Chinese-American food, but we moved enough during my childhood that I really couldn't say whether or not kung pao chicken made an appearance on my plate when we were in North America and Hong Kong - if it did it certainly didn't stand out. Despite all this I caved to the pressure to try the kung pao chicken in Manchuria and was a little embarrassed to realize I did indeed really like kung pao chicken!

Northeastern Chinese-style Braised Squash

This comforting, hearty recipe is my adaptation of Old Northeastern Cuisine's great recipe for northeastern Chinese braised squash with pork (肉片炖板栗瓜 / ròupiàr dùn bǎnlì guā). The original recipe is worth a try, but I've made some adaptations to make the dish match one of my favorite lunches from my days teaching at public schools in Manchuria. That version also had pork (pork knuckle) and often had chunks of corn on the cob too, but I've gone for a somewhat simplified dish easy to make on any weeknight. If you're wanting that extra bit of protein, then replace the vegetable oil in my recipe below with some ground pork, sautéing it until it's thoroughly cooked through before proceeding with the recipe. Whatever you do though, I hope this comfort food favorite of mine hits the spot for you too!

Golden Fried Rice with Chili Crisp

What follows is my adaptation of this lovely recipe, which I came across a bit ago while wasting time on Instagram. I adapted the original to better fit my family's tastes. So far our favorite version has involved Chinese sausage, but it's a flexible recipe that can be made to fit both carnivorous and vegetarian tastes alike. I hope you like it as much as we have!

Cold Sesame Noodles

I don't remember having cold sesame noodles till I moved to Manchuria - it was when I was living there that they became a summertime favorite. The winters are cold in northeastern China, but the summers are sweltering and these noodles were a gift on hot, sweaty days at work. (Air conditioning was not much of a thing where I lived.) My favorite wonton restaurant had a delightful version of this dish with chilled wontons - if you have a brand you like, try adding a couple to each serving. Even without wontons this dish is gorgeous, however!

Chicken Fried Rice

Fried rice - what's not to like? I wish I could say my fried rice recipe comes from my Chinese mother-in-law or a good Taiwanese friend, but alas it's just the result of my experimentations over the years. This recipe is nothing fancy, but it's a lovely weekday go to when there's leftover rice on hand in the fridge. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to leave them in the comments!

Chinese-style Tomato Scrambled Eggs

Although I live in China, I don't cook much Chinese food because of how easy it is to get great takeout here. I do make a couple of simple dishes, however, when I'm not feeling like agonizing through a Mandarin-language phone call to one of the nearby restaurants for delivery or going out to pick up takeout from one of those same restaurants. (Laziness is sometimes a good thing!)