We have more very exciting “heavy-hitter (硬菜, yìng cài)” recipes planned for the coming weeks. Nearly everything we post from now until the end of January will be Chinese New Year related, so make sure you don’t miss any! What Is Ru Yi Cai? Ru Yi Cai is a Chinese New Year dish. Each family has their own version, and not all are vegetarian. The one common ingredient, however, is soybean sprouts....
I’m doing it anyway. Because this Strawberry Cheesecake is special: An Accidental Recipe The story of this strawberry cheesecake recipe is all too familiar in our family. Upon my arrival at home for the holidays, my mom—who has built up quite the sweet tooth over the years—marched me over to the refrigerator and pointed at 2 unopened packages of cream cheese left over from Thanksgiving. (We might have gone a little overboard back in November when it came to estimating how much cream cheese we’d be needing for various dessert and mashed potato applications....
Thinly sliced potatoes and onions are layered in an easy homemade cream sauce and baked until tender, golden, and bubbly. Scalloped Potatoes vs. Potatoes au Gratin Said to have originated in England, the word ‘scallop’ refers to how the potato is sliced. This scalloped potato recipe is covered with an onion cream sauce and baked until bubbly. The difference between scalloped potatoes and Potatoes au Gratin is the cheese added to the sauce....
Cabbage Soup is one of our favorite recipes all year long! It’s vibrant, healthy and totally delicious. This easy cabbage soup recipe has loads of fresh vegetables and of course cabbage all simmered in a delicious broth! Easy Prep With just a few minutes of preparation, your slow cooker does all of the work making this the perfect meal to enjoy all week long! Cabbage just seems to be the perfect addition to soups from rich and tomatoey (like Cabbage Roll Soup Recipe) to velvety Creamy Sausage & Cabbage Soup....
What Are Snow Skin Mooncakes? In Chinese, the name of these mooncakes is: bīng pí yuèbǐng (冰皮月饼), or literally, “ice/snow skin mooncakes.” They resemble traditional mooncakes in terms of shape, but the innovation is the snowy translucent skin made of mochi! Traditional mooncakes, like our lotus mooncakes with salted egg yolks, involve making a pastry with flour and inverted sugar/golden syrup. This creates a shiny and glossy exterior and soft texture....
With this spatchcock turkey recipe, you can cook a large turkey in a fraction fo the time. It comes out with juicy meat and extra crispy skin! While it’s perfect as a Thanksgiving dinner or for the holidays, this spatchcocked turkey is easy enough that it can be made any time of year. The Fastest Way to Cook a Big Turkey! My mom has been making spatchcock turkey for years....
This is not a dish that appears on restaurant menus. Not even in China. Nor is it a dish that appears regularly on home dinner tables. It IS a homestyle dish, but it’s reserved for special occasions like Chinese New Year and other holidays. A Unique & Fragrant Dish Fen Zheng Rou is popular in many parts of China, like Sichuan, Hubei, and Jiangxi. I don’t have too many memories from my earlier childhood growing up in Hubei, but I can still see the individual plates of Fen Zheng Rou revealing themselves as the chef lifted open the lid from the giant steamer at the village cafeteria during the holidays....
After our recent posts of the Perfect Prime Rib Roast and Bill’s Pernil-Style Pork Roast to name a few, I felt the need to put out something meatless and tasty for our vegan and vegetarian readers or anyone who is really leaning into their New Year’s Resolutions. Making Homemade Steamed Buns But I am also under zero illusions. I know many people shy away from making steamed buns. They’re not the most approachable of at-home Chinese recipes, and, trust me, it can definitely be frustrating when they turn out less than impeccable....
This super easy recipe is perfect for breakfast or dinner! An Anytime Favorite It’s a one-dish meal, which makes for an easy clean-up. Less mess, fewer dishes! Serve it any time. Sweet Potato Hash is great for breakfast, brunch, or a fun dinner. It’s healthy and full of flavor. This dish is versatile, got mushrooms in the fridge? Leftover roast veggies? Add them in! Sweet potatoes and yams are chock full of Vitamin A, antioxidants, and tons of fiber....
There’s something soothing about the effortless and smooth texture of dal - something that can never quite be outdone by fancier and heavier meat and cream-based dishes. Till today, this Tadka Dal with white basmati rice is what I turn to after a few too many days of eating foods too rich and oily - when my stomach needs a break from extravagance, this simple vegetarian meal really hits the spot and I’m very certain all my readers from the South of Asia will agree with me!...
A Beloved Taiwanese Snack We’ve covered several Taiwanese classics on The Woks of Life, including Beef Noodle Soup, Lu Rou Fan (Braised Pork with Egg Over Rice), Taiwanese Fried Chicken, Taiwanese Pork Chops, and Three Cup Chicken. You’ll see such dishes on most Taiwanese restaurant menus. Another common item on said menu are these Taiwanese beef rolls, made with crispy green onion pancakes. It’s flaky, chewy, tender, sweet, refreshing, savory, and salty, all at the same time....
Simple pantry ingredients come together to create a dough that is crisp and fluffy with a slight chew, perfect for loading with your fave toppings! Fresh From the Oven This recipe is a favorite, we absolutely LOVE this dough and it’s easy to make! Minimal ingredients and minimal steps make the best pizza dough! While this dough takes time, the flavor and texture are perfect. No special tools or ingredients are needed....
Posted Jul 14, 2020, Updated Apr 13, 2024 This is a recipe for the best Homemade Vanilla Frosting Recipe that is perfect for decorating cakes, cupcakes, and cookies! There’s no reason to buy store-bought frosting again, when this frosting recipe is so easy to make in 5 minutes with 6 ingredients! Not only is this the most delicious vanilla frosting recipe you’ll ever try, but it’s also excellent for decorating....
Posted Jul 08, 2020, Updated Sep 02, 2020 My friends at Vitamix sent me this new product – the 48 oz stainless steel container – to test out and review. This post is not sponsored, and as always, all opinions are completely my own! You all know that I am fiercely loyal to my Vitamix blender. It’s my best friend in the kitchen and I use it multiple times every day....
Yum Yum sauce is a popular Japanese-style sauce that is light and tangy, and an absolute go-to for all kinds of things, even salad dressing! This sweet copycat sauce should be in the fridge year-round! Just a few simple ingredients from the pantry and refrigerator are all it takes to have a stir-fry sauce, a hibachi sauce, and a grill sauce all in one! What is Yum Yum Sauce? Also called Sakura Sauce or White or Pink Sauce, Yum Yum sauce is made from just a few simple ingredients found right at home:...
You don’t often see zucchini in Chinese cooking, but this zucchini recipe is a common dish that you may even encounter on restaurant menus that offer homestyle Cantonese cooking. A Recipe Ready for Summer Zucchini Summer is around the corner, which means it’s almost zucchini season! We wanted to blog this recipe in advance of that time, since we all know that when zucchini is coming out of the garden, it can be hard to come up with new ways to cook it....
Air fryers have totally revolutionized the home cook’s kitchen! It doesn’t matter if it’s regular potatoes or sweet potatoes, these spuds are a cinch to make! What Air Fryer is Best? For people who want to follow a healthier diet with less oil and fats in their cooking, air fryers are a miracle appliance! This is truly one of my most used appliances. There are different types of Air Fryers and I have purchased a few to test out....
I’m obsessed with how amazing the air fryer makes everything from burgers to vegetables and this eggplant is no exception! Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, it’s perfect for snacking or dipping! Crispy Parmesan Eggplant Not to be confused with eggplant parmesan, this eggplant is coated in a crispy parmesan crust. To start you’ll need an air fyer. I have this one here and I’m obsessed with it (I literally use it EVERY SINGLE DAY)....
Deliciously seasoned and incredibly tender, this meal is ready in about as much time as it takes to make a side salad. Why We’re Obsessed With This Recipe This recipe is short on prep time but big on flavor! It’s so tender and juicy, you can almost cut it with a spoon! Cooking time is fast, and preheating the air fryer takes just minutes. Pork tenderloin is both low carb and low calorie....
This is the perfect cozy topping, with the richness of pumpkin and the freshness of crisp apples. A Healthier Spread We love apple pumpkin butter as a spiced spread on baked goods. made with fresh apples and canned or fresh pumpkin puree can use any sweetener you choose (honey or maple syrup are favorites) lower in fat and calories than butter lots of flavor (and makes the house smell amazing)...
