Long life noodles with egg: blanched egg noodles topped with wilted spinach, a soft-poached egg, and a glossy soy-sesame chicken broth. Chinese New Year birthday tradition in a bowl.
Chinese-style vegetarian broth made with dried shiitake mushrooms, Sichuan preserved vegetables, scallions, and both light and dark soy sauce. A rich, savory base for soups and stir-fries.
Cantonese salt-baked chicken buried in six pounds of blazing rock salt with ginger, garlic, and scallion stuffing. Hakka-style whole chicken technique that gives you impossibly juicy meat and silky skin.
Stir-fried crabs with ginger and green onions in a classic Cantonese wok preparation. Fresh crab cooked fast over high heat with garlic, rice wine, and soy sauce.
Dry-fried shrimp with fresh ginger, garlic, scallions, and Chinese rice wine in a hot wok. A fast, saucy stir-fry that goes from raw to plate in under 5 minutes.
Wok-fried ginger crabs with garlic, scallions, rice wine, and a light-dark soy sauce blend. A fast Chinese-style crab stir-fry that goes from wok to table in minutes.
Korean-style hot chili beef soup with braised beef, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, green onions, garlic, and toasted sesame seeds in a rich, spicy broth. Slow-simmered for deep flavor.
Chinese red-cooked chicken drumsticks with chestnuts braise crispy fried chicken in dark soy sauce, sherry, five-spice, and rock sugar until glossy mahogany. A classic hong shao technique for festive Chinese dining.
Vegetarian Thai drunkard's noodles stir-fried with green chilies, garlic, kaffir lime leaves, and fresh basil. Spicy, aromatic, and on the table in under 40 minutes. A fiery wok-tossed noodle dish for heat lovers.
Crispy chicken chunks coated in water chestnut flour, deep-fried golden, then tossed with roasted peanuts in a spicy sauce of chili paste, dark soy, sesame oil, and Chinese red vinegar. Restaurant-quality kung pao at home.
Mandarin soup simmers pork, dried mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and bean curd in chicken broth with a silky egg ribbon finish. Classic Chinese soup for cold nights.
I used Cornish Game Hens, but you could also use a cut up chicken. If you can't get winter melon, watermelon will work. Winter melon is white, very mild tasting and a tad denser than watermelon. I think you could get away using something like Honeydew too.
Cold egg noodles tossed in a creamy Sichuan peanut sauce with sesame oil, chili oil, lime, and dark soy, topped with shredded chicken, green beans, scallions, and cilantro. Served at room temperature.
Chinese-style fried fish with whole garlic cloves in a savory black bean and soy sauce. Cornstarch-coated snapper or halibut fillets pan-fried until crispy, then glazed with a bold garlic sauce.
Egg white-battered chicken chunks fried crisp in peanut oil, tossed with roasted peanuts in a spicy sauce of garlic, ginger, dark soy, sesame oil, and red vinegar. Sichuan-inspired heat at home.
Charcoal-grilled pork loin marinated in oyster sauce, soy, and whiskey, sliced thin and piled over steamed sticky rice with fresh cilantro and chilies. A Thai street food feast worth the wait.