Our 17 Most Popular Chinese Food Recipes

A smattering of Chinese dishes we have on repeat, plus some classics from the archive.

Updated May 13, 2024

A wooden steamer basket holding steamed, translucent pork and chive dumplings. — Serious Eats / Qi Ai

We crave Chinese food often—and a lot of the times, we crave the authentic versions of it. Lucky for us (and for you!), we've got a wide-ranging list of our favorite Chinese recipes to make at home right now. Several of them are on the spicier, Sichunaese end of the spectrum, like mapo tofu and gong bao ji ding, but Genevieve's recipe for Macanese-style pork chop sandwiches and Lucas' claypot rice are new additions to our repertoire. If you're not seeing one of your favorites here, make sure to check our extensive archive of Chinese (and Chinese-American) recipes!

Macau Pork Chop Sandwich
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
This salty-sweet sandwich—featuring a tender, flavorful bone-in pork chop on a toasted, buttered pineapple bun—is a classic in Macau.
Macau Pork Chop Sandwich
Extra-Flaky Scallion Pancakes
Serious Eats / Mateja Zvirotic Andrijanic
These dough for these pancakes are rolled out and layered with sesame oil and thinly sliced scallions twice over to create an abundance of rich, flaky layers. The pancakes are then fried in a skillet until nicely browned. If you're planning on cooking in the backyard, try grilling your scallion pancakes instead.
Extra-Flaky Scallion Pancakes
Fish-Fragrant Eggplants (Sichuan Braised Eggplant With Garlic, Ginger, and Chiles)
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
No fish here—this flavor-packed classic applies the garlic, ginger, and pickled chiles of Sichuan fish cookery to tender, fried eggplant.
Fish-Fragrant Eggplants (Sichuan Braised Eggplant With Garlic, Ginger, and Chiles)
Homemade Spicy Chili Crisp
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
We get it. You have a chili crisp problem, and premium brands of the stuff are pretty pricey. If you're perpetually running out, try making a large batch of this spicy, tingly, salty, crunchy, captivating chili condiment yourself.
Homemade Spicy Chili Crisp
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Stir-Fried Choy Sum With Minced Garlic
Serious Eats / Qi Ai
This simple, classic side is our go-to accompaniment for wontons, meatier stir-fries, fried rice, and more. You can also use this recipe as a template for other sturdier greens, like gail lan, bok choy, tatsoi, and Malabar spinach.
Stir-Fried Choy Sum With Minced Garlic
Gong Bao Ji Ding (Sichuan Kung Pao Chicken)
Serious Eats / Liz Voltz
This is a near-perfect weeknight dish based on the version from Chengdu. Our takeout-style kung pao chicken is also worth a look. If you have a little more time to spare, check out Kenji's "real deal" recipe, which involves briefly marinating the chicken and doubles down on the chiles and Sichuan peppercorns.
Gong Bao Ji Ding (Sichuan Kung Pao Chicken)
Chinese Cold Noodle Salad with Sesame Dressing
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
Sesame noodles are a Chinese-American takeout classic. Here, Lucas skips the rinsing step and chills the noodles in the refrigerator. The starches left on the surface of the noodles holds on to the toasted sesame dressing much better.
Chinese Cold Noodle Salad with Sesame Dressing
Cantonese Clay Pot Rice
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
This comforting meal of rice steamed and crisped within a Cantonese clay pot is a favorite in Hong Kong, where it’s served with an assortment of toppings. Here, Lucas calls for a simple combination of sliced Chinese sausage and gai lan. Be sure to check out his recipe for velveted chicken and mushroom clay pot rice, or Chinese meatloaf-topped clay pot rice.
Cantonese Clay Pot Rice
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Chinese Scrambled Eggs With Tomato
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
This staple of Chinese home cooking is deeply comforting and comes together very quickly. We like to whip it up for breakfast or a last-minute lunch.
Chinese Scrambled Eggs With Tomato
Dim Sum–Style Steamed Pork Ribs With Fermented Black Beans
Serious Eats / Andrew Valantine
A mineral bath and deep tissue massage makes these ribs extra tender. After their spa treatment, a long bath in a marinade of fermented black beans, Shaoxing wine, and sesame oil gives the ribs a wonderful savoriness.
Dim Sum–Style Steamed Pork Ribs With Fermented Black Beans
Hong Kong-Style French Toast
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
With a custardy interior that oozes peanut butter and a generous drizzle of condensed milk, this is the breakfast of champions.
Hong Kong-Style French Toast
Mapo Tofu
Serious Eats / Melissa Hom
This traditional Sichuan dish of silken tofu and ground beef is packed with málà flavor from fermented chili bean paste and Sichuan peppercorns.
Mapo Tofu
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Pork and Chive Dumplings
Serious Eats / Qi Ai
An equal proportion by weight of rich, fatty ground pork and Chinese chives goes into these classic homestyle dumplings. This recipe makes enough for a small get together, or freeze half for your future self to enjoy on a rushed weeknight.
Pork and Chive Dumplings
Easy Fried Rice
Serious Eats / Eric Kleinberg
Use fresh or leftover white rice for this easy, vegetable-studded fried rice. We fry the grains in batches and season lightly for perfect texture and flavor.
Easy Fried Rice
Toothpick Lamb
Serious Eats / Debbie Wolfe
These morsels of marinated lamb are deep-fried, stir-fried with garlic, whole chiles, and cilantro and then dusted with a mixture of ground chiles, cumin, sesame seeds, Sichuan peppercorns, and salt. Perfect for serving with beer—or any cold beverage, really.
Toothpick Lamb
Suanla Chaoshou (Sichuan-Style Wontons in Hot and Sour Vinegar and Chili Oil Sauce)
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
Coated in an intensely aromatic sauce made with vinegar, garlic, and roasted chili oil, these wontons are easy to make and even easier to eat.
Suanla Chaoshou (Sichuan-Style Wontons in Hot and Sour Vinegar and Chili Oil Sauce)
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Shanghainese Sticky Red-Cooked Pork Belly
Serious Eats / Fiona Reilly
This recipe features sweet and savory cubes of meltingly tender meat in an aromatic sauce.
Shanghainese Sticky Red-Cooked Pork Belly

Our 17 Most Popular Chinese Food Recipes

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