Firecracker chicken is an Americanized Chinese takeout dish consisting of crispy chunks of batter-fried chicken and a sweet-spicy sauce.  While my parents once owned a Chinese takeout restaurant, I had never encountered this dish until recently. After trying it at a large fast casual Chinese takeout chain, I decided to create my own version! A […]

Beef with Mushrooms and Bamboo Shoots, or 双冬牛肉 (shuāng dōng niúròu) is a hearty Chinese dish. The literal translation is “double winter beef,” where “double winter” refers to two ingredients: winter shiitake mushrooms and winter bamboo shoots.  While this is a seasonal dish, you can find winter bamboo shoots canned or in the freezer section […]

Chow Har Kew is a luxurious version of a Chinese Shrimp and Vegetable stir-fry, with crispy, golden shrimp! Deep-frying meats or proteins—in this case large shrimp—and then tossing them in a velvety sauce makes a Chinese-banquet-worthy dish.  The name Chow Har Kew is the way this dish usually appears in English on Chinese restaurant menus, […]