Recipes – Towards China

A good place to begin

Easy

Short ingredient lists, simple moves and plenty of confidence.

Easy20 min

Aubergine in plum sauce

A quick steam softens aubergine before it reaches the frying pan.

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Easy10 min

Blanched lettuce with oyster sauce

Lettuce can be cooked. A very brief dip in hot water softens the leaves without making them collapse, ready for a garlicky oyster-sauce topping.

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Easy22 min

Blistered tiger-skin peppers

Brown blisters on green peppers give this dish its tiger-skin name.

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Easy16 min

Broccoli in garlic sauce

A quick blanch cooks broccoli evenly before it meets a glossy garlic sauce. Sliced carrot adds colour, and even the peeled broccoli stalk gets used.

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Easy30 min

Cashew chicken stir-fry

Cashews go into the pan first so they turn golden without burning. Chicken, peppers and a savoury sauce follow, with the nuts returning right at the end.

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Easy27 min

Chicken and mushroom stir-fry

Thin chicken slices and mushrooms cook quickly in a glossy savoury sauce. Cutting across the meat’s grain helps each piece stay tender.

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View all 57 easy recipes

Ready for the next step?

Medium

A little timing, folding or slow cooking. You can take it one step at a time.

Medium45 min

Aubergine, potato and pepper stir-fry

Di san xian brings together potato, aubergine and green pepper. Cooking each separately lets the potato soften while the pepper keeps some bite.

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Medium47 min

Beef chow fun

Wide rice noodles need gentle handling: toss rather than mash them into the pan.

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Medium45 min

Beijing-style noodles with soybean sauce

Beijing-style zha jiang mian combines a rich soybean-and-pork sauce with noodles and crunchy vegetable toppings. The sauce is concentrated, so mix it through before eating.

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Medium45 min

Beijing-style shredded pork

Thin pork strips get a glossy sweet-bean coating, then go into little wraps with cucumber and spring onion.

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Medium55 min

Big-plate chicken with potatoes

Big-plate chicken combines potatoes, peppers and a spiced chicken sauce with broad noodles underneath.

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Medium32 min

Black pepper chicken

Freshly ground black pepper gives this chicken stir-fry its warmth.

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View all 57 medium recipes

Make a kitchen project of it

Challenging

Stretch, pleat and wrap. Allow the resting time, and enjoy learning a new skill.

Challenging12 hr 35 min

Aromatic crispy duck

Steaming makes duck legs tender before a short fry crisps their surface. It is a two-stage project, finished with pancakes, cucumber and spring onion.

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Challenging2 hr 5 min

Baked lamb bao buns

These lamb buns bake rather than steam.

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Challenging1 hr 20 min

Black-sesame tang yuan

These glutinous-rice dumplings hide a sweet black-sesame filling. The dough is soft and delicate, so a secure seal matters more than a perfectly round shape.

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Challenging6 hr 50 min

Cantonese turnip cake

Despite the English name, Cantonese turnip cake uses daikon radish. Steam the savoury mixture first, then cool and slice it for a golden pan-fried crust.

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Challenging39 hr 30 min

Cantonese-style baked mooncakes

A thin golden pastry wraps lotus-seed paste and salted egg yolk in these baked mooncakes.

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Challenging2 hr 5 min

Char siu steamed pork buns

Sweet barbecue-pork filling sits inside a soft steamed bun.

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View all 56 challenging recipes

Every swap explains what changes. Some specialist ingredients are worth finding: plain flour cannot do the job of glutinous rice, and chilli sauce cannot recreate fermented bean paste.