(I’ve made that mistake before, and believe me, it is TORTURE waiting for your rice to cook when you’ve got a full wok of deliciousness waiting.) What Is Sha Cha Sauce? It took me a little while to warm up to sha cha sauce in general. Sometimes translated as “Chinese BBQ sauce,” sha cha sauce is made from seafood (brill fish and dried shrimp, generally), shallots, garlic, and chilies. It has a faint seafoody air about it that made my formerly seafood-averse self shy away from it (everyone makes mistakes)....

One of Our Favorite Winter Vegetables Napa cabbage is THE star when we talk about winter vegetables. Walk into any local produce market in China right now in the beginnings of winter season, and you will find truckloads of them with people buying three or four at a time. I remember when I was very little living in Hubei, China…this was the only leafy vegetable we had in the deep winter....

The simple addition of Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix takes this addictive party mix from ordinary to extraordinary. The best part is that it cooks up effortlessly in your slow cooker! It’s no secret that while I love the occasional sweet treat, I’m all about the savory snacks. Bring me chips and dip or cheese over chocolate and candy any day of the week! I love making party mixes because they’re totally irresistible and so easy peasy to put together!...

Now that many of us are working from home and spending more time at home in general, this recipe is a snap. Just throw quartered tomatoes in the oven for 3 hours and forget about them. Once that step is out of the way, you’ll have dinner on the table within 20 minutes! 9 Simple Ingredients This recipe calls for just nine simple ingredients, including tomatoes, olive oil, salt, chilies or chili flakes, lots of garlic, anchovies, tomato paste, parsley, and pasta....

I’m also using a rotisserie chicken, because I’ve lately discovered that rotisserie chickens are a working girl’s best friend. After a long commute to work, a long day, and a long commute home, the LAST thing I want to do is spend an hour putting dinner together. This spicy chicken salad checks of all the right boxes. Fast? Check. Takes 20 minutes from start to finish (and that’s a conservative estimate)....

Posted Oct 30, 2021, Updated Feb 22, 2024 We didn’t go out to eat often when I was a kid, but when we did it was usually at a local restaurant called Zander’s Cafe. It was unimpressive in both it’s location and atmosphere, but the food was incredible. Well, during my last pregnancy I craved this creamy spinach tortellini dish I used to get from the aforementioned restaurant, so I decided to recreate it in my own kitchen....

Colorful and naturally sweet, steaming carrots is easy to do without any special tools and they pair with almost any main dish. Steamed carrots have so much flavor compared to frozen or canned carrots, and they’re affordable and sp easy to prep—in fact, baby carrots require no prep at all. A Simple Side Dish Steaming vegetables preserve their nutrients while cooking them until tender. I frequently steam green beans, asparagus, and carrots....

Tender juicy meatballs are simmered in a quick two ingredient sauce for the perfect sweet and sour cocktail meatball! These will be the first thing gone, and nobody will ever believe what is in them! Perfect Party Appetizer Cocktail meatballs are a party recipe! Serve them at every party or gathering, and watch them disappear! They’re so easy to make with just three ingredients! Serve these sweet and sour meatballs as an appetizer or even served over rice for a weeknight meal that your family will love!...

Posted Nov 04, 2022, Updated Feb 15, 2024 When you think of a fall pie I bet your mind goes straight to pumpkin pie like mine often does. However, this sweet potato pie recipe is one that should not be overlooked, and is (dare I say) even more delicious than its pumpkin counterpart. In this sweet potato pie, a sweet filling is infused with rich fall spices and vanilla. The filling is made in the blender so it’s smooth and creamy and not at all stringy – which is very important to me and something that was a top priority when developing this recipe....

Serve with your favorite toppings like sour cream, pico de gallo, or a dollop of the best guacamole. We love all things taco flavored from an easy taco dip to our favorite taco soup! Take this easy taco lasagna to a potluck or an office luncheon! Make it even easier by assembling and baking it earlier! Just reheat it when you reach your destination! How to Layer Lasagna For this taco lasagna (made with noodles), start with the tomato sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish....

The three eggs in question are beaten chicken eggs, salted duck eggs, and thousand year old eggs (AKA century eggs or millennium eggs—no one can seem to agree on the appropriate visual age of said eggs/preferred level of hyperbole). It’s all topped with crispy fried shallots and a light soy sauce mixture for a satisfying and light meal with a bowl of rice and vegetables. The Richness of Eggs x3 It’s hard to pick one favorite element in this dish....

A Simple Childhood Soup from Shanghai In our cookbook, I shared stories of my childhood encounters with food while living with my grandmother in Shanghai. This soup comes from my memories of that time. We lived in close quarters in a multi-family building, with every family doing their cooking in the shared walkway where the only sink in the building sat. Not only did we all know each other’s business, we also knew what everyone was cooking for the day....

Tender pork meatballs, veggies (and shrimp) are simmered in a sesame ginger broth for a delicious meal. Quick & Easy Tiny meatballs made from ground pork (or chicken or shrimp) are simmered in a flavorful ginger-sesame broth. Making ginger and onion pork meatballs is quick and flavor packed! The meatballs can be made ahead of time and frozen and then tossed right into the broth to thaw and cook!...

Pan-fried noodles are always satisfying, but a good vegetarian chow fun noodle dish is long overdue. Our version isn’t just the sad plate of noodles with carrots, celery, and broccoli the chef throws together to appease each passing vegetarian guest. This dish is an ode to vegetarians; and for you skeptical carnivores out there, this dish is just as good as dishes with meat! For this vegetable chow fun, I decided to make it with eggplant–lightly fried to give the dish a richer texture....

For those of you seeing these for the first time, youtiao are usually served alongside porridge, soy milk, scallion pancakes, shao bing and/or steamed sticky rice (糍饭). I have also seen youtiao used as an ingredient in many recipes, from a plain youtiao soy sauce soup (my grandmother’s go-to last-minute meal) to stir-fried youtiao with beef. (We had it in a Zhejiang-style restaurant, and it was so decadent!) While making this recipe, I unearthed some funny childhood memories that I’d completely forgotten about....