This Eggplant Stir-fry with Chicken is in the Cantonese style—the flavor of the eggplant shines through with aromatic garlic, scallions, ginger, and juicy chicken. It’s a delicious one-pan meal and my new favorite way to enjoy Chinese eggplant.  Do I Need to Use Chinese Eggplant?  Chinese eggplants have fewer seeds than the average globe variety […]

Today, I’m sharing how we wash our vegetables. Getting the most out of produce and making sure they’re as clean as possible is very important to me, as I’m sure it is for many of you! We break down how to wash everything from leafy greens to herbs, peppers, and more.  If you’d rather watch […]

If you’ve spent any time cooking from this blog, you’ve probably noticed that in some of our recipes, we call for a couple different types of soy sauce. Most often, it’s light soy sauce and dark soy sauce. But if you’re standing in the Asian grocery store aisle, staring at a wall of bottles, you’ll […]

Close your eyes, take a bite of this tropical granola, and it’s like you’re halfway to a beach somewhere. Made with toasted oats, golden cashews and/or macadamia nuts, coconut flakes, and sweet chunks of dried papaya and pineapple, this tropical granola recipe makes sunshine in a jar.  Sprinkle it over some plain yogurt with honey, […]

This Shallot Vinaigrette makes even the most basic pile of mixed greens out of the box taste wonderful. A liberal drizzle of this salad dressing feels like you’re sitting down at a nice restaurant, and it couldn’t be simpler to make!  Our New Go-To Salad Dressing I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I’m […]

This Sesame Tofu is deliciously savory and has all the trappings of another takeout favorite,  Sesame Chicken! The tofu is crusted in sesame seeds and pan-fried until crispy and golden, then tossed in a classic sweet sesame sauce!  Our Perfected Sauce The key to a great sesame sauce, whether for sesame tofu or sesame chicken, […]

There’s something special about Pork Belly Char Siu that goes above and beyond a traditional roast pork char siu.  Super-tender and decadent, pork belly roasts up beautifully and just melts in your mouth! Serve it over a plate of steamed rice with a simple side of blanched greens, and you have a simple but outrageously delicious meal. It […]

These red bean zongzi are sticky rice dumplings full of molten glutinous rice dotted with tender red (adzuki) beans! Serve with a little maple syrup or honey for a truly special dessert or snack, especially around the Dragon Boat Festival!  Using Whole Red Beans for a Different Texture  With the Dragon Boat Festival coming up, […]

Stir-fried Spinach is a popular choice of leafy green side when it comes to Chinese home cooking. It’s nutrient-dense and cooks quickly. Here’s how we do it!  The Benefits of Cooked Spinach  So much of spinach these days is consumed raw in salads, but when you stir-fry it, it’s much easier for your body to […]

These Gluten Free Scallion Pancakes are a marvel: chewy, crispy, scallion-packed and absurdly fast to whip up. Instead of using gluten-free flour, which produces a dense, dry pancake, we make them with layers of Vietnamese rice paper—to gloriously chewy and crispy effect!  The Best solution for a chewy, flaky, gluten-free scallion pancake Making Chinese food […]

The St. Paul Sandwich is a uniquely American creation, ironically originating in St. Louis, Missouri. It’s an Egg Foo Young patty sandwiched between white bread, with mayo, lettuce, tomato, and pickles, and it is glorious!  We recently decided to put The Woks of Life spin on it, with a step-by-step recipe and a new YouTube […]

These Chive Egg Pockets are everything a breakfast should be: crispy, golden, and impossibly satisfying. They’re the kind of comforting handheld meal you’d find sizzling on a griddle at a bustling Chinese street market—sweet, garlicky chives and rich egg tucked inside crispy, chewy dough. One bite and you’re somewhere else entirely. The Breakfast That Lives […]

We’ve been making this Hot Dog Potato Salad for years. It’s perfect for summer gatherings with family and friends when you need a satisfying and tasty side dish!  This recipe is a great new way to savor hot dogs, particularly when maybe you don’t have quite enough for each person at the table to have […]

These strawberry bars are incredibly simple to make, with just 6 ingredients. A crisp shortbread base holds strawberry jam and fresh strawberries, and the topping is a crumble made from the same shortbread dough! They’re so easy, not-too-sweet, and you’ll make them again and again.  Baking Doesn’t Have to Be Hard Sometimes you come across […]

Moo shu pork is an iconic Chinese restaurant dish of stir-fried pork, cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms, served on paper-thin, chewy pancakes with a sweet hoisin-based sauce. It is an absolutely delicious combination, and this moo shu pork recipe will yield that nostalgic flavor from American Chinese restaurants past.  Moo Shu Memories Fun to eat and […]

Imagine a wrapper so thin it’s almost translucent, yet strong and chewy enough to cradle a mountain of savory filling — that’s the magic of fresh moo shu pancakes, or chūnbǐng (春饼). They are as easy as combining all-purpose flour, salt, and boiling water. We’ll show you the simple rolling technique to get perfectly paper-thin […]

Beef with Snow Peas is a classic Chinese stir-fry that belongs in every home cook’s weeknight rotation. Tender, savory slices of marinated flank steak meet crisp, sweet snow peas in a glossy, umami-rich sauce. It all comes together in under 30 minutes! Serve it over a bowl of steamed white rice and you’ve got a […]

Memorial Day BBQs have always been events at our house to look forward to––sunshine, spring temperatures, the smell of fresh cut grass, and yes, delicious food! Check out this list of unique Memorial Day recipes to shake up your kitchen and/or grill this year and serve something different alongside (or in lieu of?) burgers and […]

This Lap Cheong Mei Fun is a deliciously simple way to enjoy mei fun, or thin rice vermicelli, with Chinese sausage and a bright variety of vegetables!  We enjoyed a dish similar to this at a Chinese restaurant in Queens recently, and it snuck up on me how much I loved it. In a large […]

Ayam kecap is a popular Indonesian chicken dish made with kecap manis — a sweet dark soy sauce — and a unique blend of spices including fresh ginger, garlic, shallots, makrut lime leaf, galangal, coriander, and clove. Although we have never been to Indonesia, we love the flavors of Indonesian food, and many Indonesian dishes […]