Top Easy DIY Chinese Recipes

Chinese food is one of the world’s most popular cuisines. The emphasis of Chinese cooking is a triple-principle: color (the hue and modeling of a dish), aroma (appetizing smell of the dishes), and taste (to perfect flavor with suitable condiments). Relax, it’s not that complicated.

How to Make Dumplings

Dumplings (Jiaozi，饺子) are one of the most popular foods in China. Chinese people like to have dumplings, especially during traditional festivals like Spring Festival.

Ingredients and Seasonings

• Main ingredients: dough (2 bowls of wheat flour, 3/4 glass of cold water, 2/5 tsp. of salt, 3 tsp. of baking powder)
• Fillings and seasonings: 300g of mutton (beef, chicken, pork, or fish), a large spoon of salt, 250g of minced celery or Chinese cabbage, 2 tsp. of minced green onion, 2 tsp. of soya-bean oil, 1/2 tsp. of monosodium glutamate, one piece of minced fresh ginger, 2 pieces of crushed garlic coriander, 2 tsp. of coriander, 1 tsp. of pepper, 1 tsp. of sesame oil, 1 tsp. of cooking wine, one egg, a tsp. of soy sauce

Preparations and Cooking Instructions

From the filling and the wrappers to the wrapping and cooking, there are four major steps to making dumplings.

1. How to Make the Filling:

• Chop mutton (or other meat) and mix it with minced Chinese cabbages or celery.
• Add salt, monosodium glutamate, minced fresh ginger, soy sauce, cooking wine, sesame oil, crushed garlic, coriander, minced green onion, pepper, and egg.
• Mix the ingredients well by stirring them in a container in the same direction.

2. Make the dumpling wrappers:

• Put flour in a container and add water.
• Stir and knead the dough over and over again until it becomes sticky and one whole piece.
• Let it sit for about 25 minutes.
• Knead the whole dough in a long slender piece (about 1 inch in diameter), cut it into several small pieces, and then knead the individual pieces.
• Press and roll the small pieces into round 3-inch diameter dumpling wrappers (the edge of each wrapper is thinner than the center part) with a rolling pin.

3. Make dumplings:

• Hold one piece of dumpling wrapper in one hand and add some fillings in its center, then fold the wrapper in half, forming a crescent or half-moon shape.
• Form pleats with the fingers of your other hand along the curve of the crescent until the dumpling is completely closed. Press the top pleated edge of the dumpling between your thumb and index fingers to seal it tightly. Repeat until all dumplings are done.

4. Cook:

• Boil a large pot of water.
• Put 20 to 25 dumplings into the boiling water, and stir them slightly in the same direction in case they stick to each other.
• Cover the pot and boil the dumplings for 5 minutes. When the dumplings are floating, you can taste them. Remember: NEVER take your eyes off the pot when boiling the dumplings!

Serving suggestion: Enjoy the dumplings by dipping them in soy sauce, vinegar, or Chinese chili paste.

How to Make Kung Pao Chicken

Kung Pao Chicken is definitely a commonly seen Chinese cuisine on TV in the US. This red cuisine is moderately spicy with tender meat and delicious flavor.

Ingredients and Seasonings

• Main ingredients: 250g chicken, 50g peanuts
• Seasonings: 45g green onions, 10g ginger, 2 pieces of garlic, 8g dried red chilis, 1.5g Sichuan pepper, 60g cooking oil, 2g salt, 2g cooking wine, 6.5g soy sauce, 10g sugar, 5g rice vinegar, 22g starch water (mixed by 4g starch and 20g water)

Preparation and Cooking Instructions

• 1. Soak the peanuts in hot water for 10 minutes and remove their skins; fry them in oil until they turn yellow. Drain them and put them on a plate for later use.
• 2. Slice the chicken breasts and marinate them in cooking wine, cooking oil, white pepper, salt, and cooking starch for 10 minutes, after which mix them well with starch water.
• 3. Chop the green onions, dried red chilis (remove their seeds), ginger, and garlic.
• 4. Make a small bowl of seasoning juice with rice vinegar, salt, sugar, soy sauce, and cooking wine.
• 5. Heat the base oil in a hot wok, then add and fry ginger, garlic, Sichuan pepper, dried red chilis and fry until the scent is released. Later add the marinated chicken cubes and green onions and stir-fry until the chicken turns red.
• 6. Add the seasoning juice and the cool fried peanuts and stir-fry for 30 seconds and serve immediately.

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How to Make Egg Drop Soup

This simple, healthy soup is flavored with fresh ginger root and Chinese five-spice powder. It is quick and delicious and can be made at the last minute.

Ingredients and Seasonings

• Main ingredients: 2 eggs, 2 large and mature tomatoes, 20g dried seaweed
• Seasonings: 1/3 cup of the green portion of scallions and coriander (finely chopped), a spoon of light soy sauce, 2g salt, 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, a pinch of white pepper

Preparation and Cooking Instructions

• 1. Clean the tomatoes: remove their skins in hot water, and cut them into wedges or chopped roughly.
• 2. Tear the dried seaweed into small pieces and beat the eggs until there is a fine layer of small bubbles.
• 3. Heat the sesame oil in a wok or deep pot and add the tomatoes, stir-frying for one minute. And then pour three bowls of water (about 750 milliliters, 250 milliliters for one dinner) and boil for two minutes.
• 4. Add the salt, soy sauce, white pepper, and dried seaweed. Check the taste and simmer to a boil until the dried seaweed is fully rehydrated again.
• 5. Turn up the fire. Slowly pour the whisked egg into the side (not the center) of the pot and stir the soup with chopsticks at the same time.
• 6. Turn off the fire as soon as all the egg is in and add the chopped scallions and coriander. Serve immediately.

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