Chinese Recipes for Cooking Chinese Food, All Free Recipes

Chinese cooking is one of the easiest cooking to attempt and has become increasingly popular in the West for the last three decades. It has seen a gradual progression from the hot kitchens of Chinese restaurants to home kitchnes. So long as you have all the main ingredients ready to go, you will have no problems making them. Speedy stir-fry ensures that you will have the most delicious, aromatic and exotic dish within minutes. The best part of Chinese cooking is because the food is cooked rapidly, it maintains much of its vitamins, color and texture. Make sure you have everything ready for a stir-fry as it it takes literally minutes to complete a whole dish.

Chinese cooking makes an abundant use of vegetables. By stir-frying fresh vegetables, you can preserve their crunchiness (texture), the wonderful vivid color, the robust flavor and even maintain the vitamin cotent. It may take a little getting used to as the names might throw you off but don't let that stop you from trying delicious vegetables like Gai Lan or Buck Choi with your meals. Experiment with other root vegetables like lotus and taro roots instead of plain potatoes.

There are also dishes that you can make with noodles such as the ever popular Shanghai Noodles and Wonton Noodles which is wonderful in the winter months. Or simply choose to start with the basic by stir-frying a very simple dish known as Fried Egg Noodles Chinese style Egg Fried Rice is a good way to use left-over rice and is quite filling as a main dish by itself. I hope that you would try as many of the Chinese recipes below. Remember, as always, these are merely guidelines so experiment and adjust to your palate.

The Chinese wok is considered a necessary and essential tool in any Chinese cooking. It is perhaps the perfect invention since the wheel. It's round-based pan is designed to cook any sliced (fine) and chopped ingredients quickly, evenly and rapidly. You only have to keep the food moving throughout the process, making sure you don't burn the ingredients. It may take time but it will only come with practise. Not only is the wok a perfect balance for stir-frying, it is also multi-functional as it can be used to steam, poach, deep-fry and even bake. However, if you cannot gain access to a wok, use a good non-stick pan instead. For more information with regards to cooking with Chinese utensils, click here.

The Low-Down on Salt in Chinese Cooking I'm reminded of my recent conversation with my sister on the issue of too much salt in Chinese cooking. While it is true that Chinese cooking uses a lot of salt (e.g. soy sauce) in the dishes, you can actually cut down on the amount of salt in the cooking by simply using stocks (chicken/beef/pork etc) for flavor. You can futher cut down on the sodium content by choosing to make your own homemade stock instead of buying canned ones or bouillion cubes. Increase the flavor of your dish by spicing it and increasing the amount of ginger, garlic etc.

Chinese desserts in my opinion are usually light and refreshing. They are often not too sweet, sometimes a little salty or a combination of sweet and salty. If you haven't already tried Bubble Tea, you should really give it a go. It isn't exactly tea per se but a delightful fruity drink, usually taro, mango or whatever you desire with round black tapioca balls. This drink can be served hot or cold. Other Chinese desserts include Almond Curd Junket, Deep Fried Wonton with Ice Cream, (a very clever way to use left-over wontons) and my absolute favorite to make Deep Fried Ice Cream with Coconut. Even if you do not have the time to prepare these wonderful recipes, you can always serve a platter with exotic fruits such as lychees, papaya, rambutans, longans and other fruits. Most of these can be purchased either fresh or cans.

Chinese Recipes

Index of New and Latest Chinese Recipes:

• Shredded Steamed Chicken ^NEW
• Stir Fried Shrimp with Zucchini ^NEW
• Char Siu Sauce Honey Glazed Chicken Wings ^NEW
• Smoked Fish ^NEW
• Braised Red Wine Chicken Wings ^NEW
  
  Chicken, Duck, Quail & Poultry Recipes:
  
• Chicken and Asparagus Soup
• Chicken Congee ^popular
• Chicken Sang Bow Choy or Lettuce Wrapped Chicken ^popular
• Chicken Skewers with Chilli and Lime Sauce
• Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup ^popular
• Chicken with Almonds
• Chicken with Kai Lan Vegetables
• Chicken with Peanuts and Chilli ^popular
• Chicken Wontons Easy Bites ^popular
• Crispy Aromatic Duck
• Duck Feet with Black Mushrooms
• Five Spice Chicken
• Fried Chicken with Curry Leaves
• Grilled Chicken and Broccoli Salad
• Grilled Chicken with Red Chilli Sauce
• Honey Chicken
• Kung Po Chicken (Szechuan Style Chicken) ^popular
• Lemon Chicken ^popular
• Peking Duck ^popular
• Pineapple Chicken
• Spicy Chicken Stir-Fry
  
  Pork, Beef, Veal and Lamb Recipes
  
• Beef with Black Bean Sauce ^popular
• Fried Pork Chops with Rose Tea
• Melon and Shredded Ham Soup
• Pork in Plum Sauce ^popular
• Sichuan Pork Soup
• Sizzling Mongolian Lamb ^popular
• Slow Cook Hot and Sour Pork
• Stewed Pork Balls
• Steamed Pork Egg Custard
• Steamed Sausage Buns
• Supreme Pork Chop
• Sweet and Sour Pork ^popular
  
  Seafood Recipes
  
• Braised Fish with Mushrooms
• Crab in Black Bean Sauce
• Fish In Wine Sauce
• Fried Orange Shrimp
• Har Gow (Prawn Dumplings) ^popular
• Garlic Chili Shrimp ^popular
• Prawn Toast ^popular
• Siew Mai (Steamed Shrimp Dumplings) ^popular
• Stir-Fried Prawns with Leeks
• Stuffed Scallops with Snow Peas
  
  Vegetarian Recipes
  
• Broccoli in Oyster Sauce
• Chinese Cabbage with Soy Sauce
• Chinese Coleslaw
• Crispy Seaweed
• Chinese Crullers (Yow Char Kway)
• Egg Fried Noodles
• Eggplant Szechuan Style ^popular
• Pok Choi and Mushroom ^popular
• Steamed Vegetarian Tofu Rolls
• Sweet and Sour Vegetarian Meat
• Vegetarian Ma Po Tofu ^popular
• Vegetarian Spring Rolls ^popular
• White Fungus Soup
  
  Eggs Recipes
  
• Egg Fried Rice ^popular
• Marbled Quail Eggs
  
  Noodles & Rice Recipes
  
• Pork Egg Noodles or Chow Mein
• Shanghai Noodles
• Stir Fry Noodles with Chicken
• Stir Fried Silver Needle Noodles with Shrimp
• Won Ton Noodles ^popular
  
  Dessert & Sweets Recipes
  
• Almond Curd Junket
• Deep Fried Ice Cream in Coconut ^popular
• Fried Wontons with Ice Cream ^popular
• Moon Cakes ^popular
• Rainbow Cream Cake
• Toffee Apples

Agar-Agar
This is a type of gelatine made from seaweed. Does not require refrigeration, and produces a firm jelly with an interesting crunchy texture.

Bamboo Shoots
Can be bought fresh, dried or canned in Asian cookery. Fresh shoots are sweet and crunchy. Can ones should be boiled in water for 5 mins to remove metallic taste.

Bean Thread Vermicelli
Chinese names: tang feng/ tang hoon, also called cellophane noodles are thin translucent threads made from starch of green mung beans.

Bean Sprouts
Creamy yellow shoots sprouted from green mung beans. (Larger yellow ones come from soya beans). Soak briefly in iced water before use to make them crisp. Will only keep for a few days in refrigerator so used as soon as possible. Try to use fresh ones if possible.

Black Soy Sauce
Receives additional richness from extended fermentation and is reduced to concentrate the flavor. Darker and more bold tasting, the texture is slightly thicker than normal soy sauce.

Black Bean
Salted and fermented soya beans which are deep and soft. Usually chopped to use as a salty seasoning. Before using black beans, soak the beans in water for 15 mins, drain then chopped fine.

Bok Choy or Bok Choi
Commonly known as Chinese cabbage. Used in most Asian dishes, this vegetable group includes the variety choi sum (translate: vegetable heart) and Shanghai Pak Choi or qingcai as it is commonly known in Shanghai.

Dark Soy Sauce
Chinese brands are often labelled 'superior soy sauce' is dense black and thicker, less salty and with a malty tang.

Chillies or Chilli Sauce
Fresh red chillies should be slit open and seeds removed before use unless you prefer really hot, in which case leave seeds and membranes alone. Wear rubber gloves to avoid skin irritation. Hot Chinese chilli sauce is sold in small bottles and should be kept in the refrigerator after opening. Sweet chilli sauces are often used as a dipping sauce in most Chinese recipes.

Chinese Five Spice Powder
A mixture consisting of cinnamon, star anise, Szechuan pepper, clove, and fennel.

Coriander
This leafy fronds of the seed spice coriander is more commonly known as Chinese Parsley and coriander. Pungent, lemony taste, used in most Chinese cooking as part of a dish or garnish.

Corn, Baby Cobs
You can find them usually in cans and sometimes fresh. These small minature cobs with their pleasing crunchy texture and bland taste are a popular addition to any stir-fry dishes.

Dried Shrimps
Is a popular seasoning in many Asian dishes. Choose dried shrimps that are pink in color and soak in water to soften before use.

Egg Noodles
Generally made from wheat and egg and are available in round or flat of variety of sizes. The noodles are dusted lightly with flour before packing to stop them from sticking together.

Eggplants
Also known as aubergine. Depending on their age, they may have to be sliced and salted to reduce their bitterness. Rinse and dry well before using. Baby eggplant (Japanese eggplant) are small and slender and don't need to be salted before use. Thai egpplant is known as pea eggplant and are green and white, marbled-sized.

Ginseng
Panax Ginseng, a herb root believed to have certain medicinal properties. Botanical cousin is the American Ginseng, most widely availabe in the USA and America.

Ginger
Fresh root ginger should be skinned (with a spoon) and very thinly sliced, chopped or shredded. Dried ginger is not a good subsitute but crystallised ginger can be used in emergencies.

Gluten
Wheat gluten (seitan, wheat meat, gluten meat) is made from the gluten of wheat. It is a great alternative to soy-bean meat otherwise known as tofu. Deep fried gluten can be purchased in packages. Other forms of gluten such as steamed gluten (zheng miàn jin) can be purchased in can forms and baked spongy gluten (Kao fu) is available in fresh, frozen, and canned forms.

Light Soy Sauce
Brewed from wheat, salt and soy beans, is available in several forms. The most common is regular light soy sauce,a clear medium brown liquid with a salty taste, often used as a table condiment.

Longan
In Cantonese, the translation for this fruit literally means "dragon eyes". That is because of the fruit's resemblance to an eyeball when it is shelled. The flesh of the fruit is white while the seed is small, round and dark. Can be purchased fresh or in cans.

Lychee
Lychees have a deep red leathering skin with hairy features while the inside of the fruit is a clear white color. It has a pit in the centre which must not be eaten. When selecting lychees, pick the ones that are firm and do not look brown or split. Lychees do not ripen after picking so you need to store them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator and eat shortly after buying. Lychees (sometimes called litchee) can be purchased fresh or in cans.

Mushrooms
And fungi of various types, fresh and dried are used in Asian cooking. Shiitake mushrooms, also known as Chinese black mushrooms, are large and meaty, and used in soups, stir-fried and side dishes, or as meat subsitute. Straw mushrooms add smooth texture to disehs and are very high in protein.

Papaya and Paw Paw
They are both from the same family but the papay is the one with the bright orange fresh. Both papaya and paw paw can be eaten unripe or green. You can also use them in salads (shred them first though). To ripen these fruits, stand them at room temperature till the skin turns a soft orange color and the the fruit emits a nice pleasing smell.

Pickled Mustard Cabbage
Also known as gai choy, this cabbage is grown to be pickled. Availabe from most Chinese grocery stores in jars or packages.

Preserved Chinese Vegetables
Also known as tang chye/ tung choi. Is either salted or pickled mustard greens and available in jars.

Rice Noodle Sheets
Fresh rice noodle sheets should be used on the day they are purchased. If this is not possible, refrigerate, covered for a day otherwise they will become hard but softened when cooked.

Rice Vermicelli
Are made from rice flour, and are dried noodles that can be easily rehydrated by soaking in hot water for a few minutes, then rinsing before further boiling or frying.

Rice Stick Noodles
Are similar to rice vermicelli except that they are flatter and larger, ranging in width from very narrow to about 8 mm.

Rice Wine
Used in Asian cooking as a tenderizer and flavoring. A good alternative to rice wine is dry sherry or sake. Known as Mijiu or Lao-zao in China and for the rest variety it is known as Ang Jiu which is quite popular among the FooChow Chinese.

Sesame Oil
Extraced from seame seeds that have been well toasted, producing a dark, dense, aromatic oil with a nutty, smoky flavor. Often used in marinades, sauces and soups or as a table condiment. The most commmon variety is Chinese sesame oil.

Sichuan or Szechuan Pepper
Also known as flower pepper, is one of the ingredients in five spice powder. Sichuan peppercorns are available in both whole and ground.

Snake Beans
Also known as Chinese long beans, cowpea, asparagus beans or yardlong beans. Grows from 35 to 75cm in length. Best eaten when shoots are young and tender.

Szechuan Pepper-Salt Powder
Made by roasting 2 tbsp salt, 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns and 1 tsp white peppercorns till fragrant and just beginning to smoke, then grinding the mixture to a powder in a spice grinder or with a motar and pestle.

Tiger Lily Buds
Or golden needles are the unopened buds of a variety of Chinese day lily and are prized for their earthly flavor. Buds are available dried at Asian food shops, and are soaked and their tough stems removed before use.

Tofu or Beancurd
Also known as beancurd, is made of soybeans in a process that is much like making cheese. This protein-rich product has little flavor on its own, but redaily absorbs flavors of whatever sauces it is cooked in. Available in soft, medium, firm, extra firm, dried and creamy silky.

Vegetable Oil
A mild vegetable oil is used for deep frying but most Chinese cooks prefer a 'cooked' oil for stir-frying. The oil that has been used once or twice for deep-drying can be used as the main oil for stir-frying, as it has lost some of its 'raw' taste. Peanut oil is great for added flavor.

Vinegar, Chinese Black
Usually sold in Chinese food stores, it is a dark and mild-tasting vinegar. Not to be confused with the normal white vinegar. You may subsitute with malt vinegar, rice vinegar or rice vinegar diluted with a bit of water.

Water Chestnuts
These small rounded crisp vegetables are sold in cans and can sometimes be bought fresh. They have a beautiful crunchy texture and a bland, very slight sweet taste. Store unused water chestnuts in water in a container in refrigerator for several days only.

Winter Melon
This wonderous giant melon (dong gua) resembles a water melon but has a bland tasting cream colored flesh. Usually can be found in soup dishes. The shoots, tendrils, and leaves of the plant are also edible.

Won Ton Wrappers
Known also as wantan, wanton, or wuntun. Small thin squares of pasta dough, usually made from egg yolks and flour. The fillings for won ton are usually made from minced pork, shrimp and various minced vegetables. Sold in stacks of about 30, they can be stored in refrigerator for several days.

XO Sauce
This is a type of seafood sauce which usually accompanies Cantonese cuisine. The sauce is usually a blend of dried seafoods, such as scallop, dried fish and shrimp that has been cooked with chilli, onion, garlic and oil. Can be purchased in jars at any Asian grocery store.