We all love food, right? Okay, some of us prefer sweets, while others enjoy spicy meals. Plus, nowadays, we can choose between different dishes and cuisines, so it is impossible not to have a favorite meal. Furthermore, some of us enjoy cooking. They find it relaxing and are always looking for new recipes to try out. On the other hand, there are those who consider this activity to be more or less a waste of time, so they stick to the dishes they can make quickly and easily.
Do you like Chinese cuisine? Who doesn’t, right? If you go out to Chinese restaurants way too often or order the food to be delivered to your home, it may be time to try to cook some of the dishes on your own. We know, your first thought is that making these is probably way too complicated, plus there is an abundance of ingredients you need. Well, when it comes to the latter, it’s probably true, but today, these are available in every store, so you can easily get them. However, the former one isn’t necessarily correct. There are many dishes that you can whip up quickly, and in the following text, we will give you some suggestions. Since we will focus on the simple ones, if you want to cook something a bit more complicated, you should visit the 78recipes for inspiration.
Basic Fried Rice
Upon hearing the words “Chinese cuisine,” most of us think of rice immediately. After all, they use it as a foundation in many dishes, and they prepare it in a million different ways. If you want to master the skill of cooking Chinese food, this is the best place to start.
All you need for this meal is cooked rice, which you can prepare in a matter of minutes, eggs, green onions, salt and pepper, and oyster sauce or soy sauce. You can always add some other vegetables and meat if you want to transform it into another dish.
Basic Beef Stir-Fry
You might be wondering what “stir-fry” actually means since it can appear to be a tricky technique. In reality, it isn’t. It basically means that you will cook everything quickly in hot oil while stirring it continuously.
When it comes to this recipe, first, you have to mix rice wine, soy sauce, cornstarch, and sesame oil together and marinate the meat in it. Then, you have to fry the meat and cook the vegetables separately, and once it’s done, combine them together.
This recipe can take a bit of your time, especially when compared with the previous one since you have to make the marinade, let the meat sit in it, and also chop all the veggies. If you don’t have enough time on your hand, you can always go with the frozen vegetables and store-bought sauce.
Sichuan Pork
Without a doubt, this is one of the most famous and also adored Chinese dishes. We have introduced you to the stir-fry technique in the previous recipe, but if it doesn’t seem too appealing to you because it requires a lot of oil, you should definitely try this meal.
For this dish, you have to boil the meat in water, which means no oil is included. In order to preserve the meat’s tenderness, a coating of egg white and starch is added to it. Add some vegetables, and that is it.
Dumplings
Nowadays, dumplings are considered to be the traditional food, and how could they not be when they were first created many centuries ago. One of the things that people absolutely love about dumplings is that you can fill them with almost everything, from meat and fish to vegetables and sweets.
The dough can be made of a variety of starches, and some of the most popular fillings are minced meat, veggies, chicken, beef, shrimp, and so on. There is also a variety of ways in which these can be cooked. You can boil, fry, or steam them, whichever method you find most appealing.
Kung Pao Chicken
We are almost certain that this is the most frequent order in all Chinese restaurants. If you enjoy spicy food and still haven’t tasted this dish, you are missing a lot, and you should definitely try cooking it at home. Basically, the secret ingredient is the Szechuan pepper, which gives the dish that spicy kick. You will also need some soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine, as well as cashews or peanuts, and of course, chicken. When it comes to the way you cook the chicken, some recipes will tell you to deep-fry it, but you can always go with the stir-fry technique and make it a bit healthier.
Spring Rolls
We would dare to say that spring rolls are as popular as Kung Pao chicken is. They are basically appetizers filled with meat or vegetables. There is a variety of these, depending on the region, so they can be savory or sweet. Traditionally, the wrappers are made of rice flour, but as you can imagine, there are numerous recipes for these. Once the filling is wrapped up, the rolls are fried, which gives them that beautiful golden color.
Beef Chow Fun
We cannot talk about Chinese food without mentioning at least one recipe that calls for noodles, right? Well, here it is. The trick is that you should use broad noodles, which will enhance all the flavors of the meal. Start by marinating the beef and then cook it with rice noodles, which are called ho fun noodles, black bean sauce, and baby corn using the above-described stir-fry method. This isn’t the most traditional recipe, but it is perfect for you if you are a complete beginner. Once you get the hang of it, you will be able to move a step further and prepare something a bit more complicated.
Vegetable Chow Mein
Before we conclude this article, we will introduce you to a vegetarian dish everyone loves. It calls for numerous types of veggies such as bell pepper, zucchini, shiitake mushrooms, onion, garlic, and ginger. Also, don’t forget to include soy sauce or oyster sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine. If you want to enjoy it with someone who is not a vegetarian, you can easily add meat to it.
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