Quick Soupy Noodles – move over ramen!

We’re deep into the school and after-school schedule now, which means trying to get dinner on the table before swim class or Tae Kwon Do or…. This is a super quick twist on the Pan Asian Noodle Soup recipe posted a long time ago. For noodles, I like to use yaki-soba, but you can use any [...]

The Original Chicken Rice Bowl

In Southern California, with its large Asian population, the “rice bowl” is a common item in many restaurants, from the ethnic mom & pop shop (many of which make a great one!) to fast food joints (both those that qualify as Asian, like Yoshinoya, and downright American ones, like Jack-in-the-Box, all of which are pretty [...]

Chinese Super Bowl Wings

It’s Super Bowl weekend, so of course – it’s time for wings, right? Here is a faux Chinese (meaning I created it) recipe for chicken wings – sweet and spicy and baked or grilled instead of fried, so much better for you than the traditional hot wings. You can get whole wings and twist them [...]

Chicken with Mushrooms (Moogoo gaipan)

Pronounced mogu jipian in Mandarin, but probably best known as “moogoo gaipan,” this is a basic stirfry that appears on many restaurant menus but is, as most dishes are, infinitely more healthful and tasty when made at home. In the interest of taking out processed/dried ingredients and using fresh, local ones, I replace the dried woodear [...]

Pearl Meatballs

These delightful little meatballs are coated with rice – they will look like they’re studded with pearls if you use short-grain rice, and if you choose to use longer-grain rice, they will look like little hedgehogs. A big hit with kids, and a good school lunch item if packed in a thermos. Can be made [...]

Steamed Pork with Five-Spice Rice Powder

This is a delicious dish that can be quickly assembled if you use Cream of Rice cereal or the rice powder sold in Asian markets. Or you can make the rice powder from scratch – it’s not difficult, but will take an extra step (see note below). You can then let the dish steam while you [...]

Mooshu Vegetables (or Pork or Beef or Chicken or Shrimp or…)

“Mooshu” will never be the same after Disney’s character (voiced by the hilarious Eddie Murphy) in Mulan, but Mooshu (also spelled moo shu, moo shi, or mu xu in Mandarin) is probably found in most Chinese restaurants in America. Its name appears to come from the dish’s appearance: the ingredients are basically cut into such [...]

Chinese Chicken Soup for the (Body and) Soul

This is an unusual Chinese dish to the American palate, a bit on the sweet side (sometimes very sweet!) and often served as a tonic in China, but since it’s close to “turkey day” with its festive bird, it seemed like a logical inclusion. If you omit the browing step, it’s also very easy to put [...]

Dong’an Chicken

This dish is from the town of Dong’an in Hunan province, and it is unusual in that it uses chicken that has been precooked. Be sure not to overcook the chicken during the precooking stage, or it will be tough. As always, I recommend you find pastured chicken – your taste buds will thank you, [...]

Stirfried Chicken with Cucumbers

We don’t usually eat cooked cucumbers – I sort of consider them a summer vegetable best suited to salads and cold dishes, and my daughter would rather have them pickled. But this recipe is a wonderful way to use the last of the summer’s cucumbers, which are slowly disappearing from the farmers’ market.
I encourage you [...]