Notes about Recipes in this book

• Blanched spinach with sesame sauce (Májiàng bōcài)

  • evatoad on November 06, 2023

    Delicious! The sauce would be great on any vegetable, as she notes. A simple recipe to keep in your back pocket.

• Blanched lettuce with ginger soy sauce (Jiāngróng shēngcài)

  • AmomentOfMusic on January 06, 2026

    I wanted to try this recipe precisely because I had hangups about cooked lettuce. I am pleased to report that this recipe converted both me and my partner. The blanching resulted in lettuce that was still pleasantly crisp without feeling like salad. The recipe itself was quick and easy to make. I dried the pot after blanching the lettuce so that I could even make the sauce in the same pan. Although you could use garlic instead of ginger, I thought that the ginger felt nice and refreshing and would use the same next time.

• Blanched sweet potato greens with crispy shallots (Tàng qīngcài)

  • nutrica6 on September 01, 2023

    Delicious and simple side dish. Very easy to make. Worked well with broccolini. Can even use store bought fried onions for a shortcut.

• Stir-fried diced choy sum & tofu (Yóucài dòugān dīng)

  • jenburkholder on September 23, 2022

    Good but not great side of greens. I couldn’t help wanting a bit more flavor - even plain garlicky greens have a bit more punch than these.

  • antimony on January 02, 2023

    Made this with kale -- really nice. Not strongly flavored but there were other strong-flavored dishes on my table tonight and letting the greens come forward in this one was nice.

• Hand-torn cabbage (Shǒusī bāocài)

  • christineakiyoshi on January 28, 2023

    Yummy! Easy to make and packed with flavor. I doubled the sauce to serve with rice.

  • breadenthusiast on October 27, 2025

    I'm not a cabbage fan, but this tastes great and comes together quickly. The Sichuan peppercorns are a bit too numbing for me personally, next time I'll reduce it to 1/2 tsp, I do love the flavour they add. Will make again for sure.

• Napa cabbage & vermicelli salad (Báicài bàn fěnsī)

  • jenburkholder on July 04, 2024

    Very tasty, fresh salad. Only change was to sub rice vermicelli (I really thought I still had mung bean vermicelli!)

  • Vatrushka on November 04, 2024

    Delicious salad, I double the garlic and it tastes just like I remember from Harbin. Pressed tofu sheet noodles are a good addition.

  • john_3rqhu5 on February 10, 2026

    Easy way to use up some of a Napa cabbage that had made its way back into the fridge. Great for leftover lunch too.

  • JimCampbell on February 11, 2026

    A 3.0 out of 5. The salad was good. The dressing stands out. The two tablespoons of sesame oil take it to the darker, richer side. Much different than the lighter Sam Choy Chinese dressing we usually use for Chinese salad. We used rice vermicelli, since it's what we keep on hand. We used green cabbage, and we had a couple of leftover chicken quarters in the fridge we shredded for added protein. We make Chinese salad often and will certainly use the dressing in this recipe to change things up.

  • christineakiyoshi on March 22, 2026

    Delicious! I made a double batch to enjoy for lunch all week. I halved the sugar and added a few extra tablespoons of vinegar. 5 stars

  • kitchen_chick on April 18, 2026

    Delicious. I didn't have a cucumber on hand, so I substituted some julienned daikon radish. I like Vatrushka's idea of adding dried tofu. Slivered tofu sticks would be a really nice addition!

• Stir-fried napa cabbage with vinegar sauce (Cùliū báicài)

  • christineakiyoshi on December 03, 2022

    Fantastic! So easy and delicious

  • lepore99 on January 15, 2023

    I loved this, definitely a keeper. I used Napa cabbage.

  • evatoad on November 06, 2023

    One of the best discoveries in this book (and there have been many). I’ve made this dish at least five times over the last six months and it never gets old. Sometimes I throw in some tofu for a simple one-dish meal alongside rice; sometimes I use this to accompany one or more other dishes.

  • Stephenn31 on January 18, 2025

    Really good. I used arbol chile and the heat came through even though they’re only in for a bit.

  • jazminlui on April 13, 2026

    Amazing how a simple recipe can be so flavorful. I bought dried Chinese chilis and they look very similar to chiles de arbol. 4 small chiles was perfect spice level and very pleasant.

• Stir-fried gai lan with vegetarian oyster sauce (Háoyóu jièlán)

  • jenburkholder on December 10, 2022

    Flat. Way too sweet, unbalanced.

  • lepore99 on January 15, 2023

    I loved this, I doubled the recipe and added a bit more ginger than the recipe called for (18g). A huge hit and definitely a keeper.

  • Blondelectual on March 27, 2023

    It was ok, kind of bland. I used fresh shiitake mushrooms instead of rehydrating dry ones, not sure if that caused some flavor loss. Not my favorite.

  • Notajellyfish on March 03, 2024

    Made like 3 times now. Deliciously simple and a favorite way to prepare greens. I reduce the amount of sugar, but don't skip the MSG.

• Slivered celtuce with sesame oil (Liángbàn wōsǔnsī)

  • jenburkholder on April 24, 2023

    I really do like celtuce, and this is a lovely, simple dish to make with it. Highlights the light flavor of the vegetable.

• Stir-fried broccoli with Sichuan pepper (Qiàngchǎo xīlánhuā)

  • christineakiyoshi on December 11, 2022

    Very spicy and delicious. Comes together very quickly!

• Dry-pot cauliflower (Gānguō huācài)

  • christineakiyoshi on December 11, 2022

    Another great meal from this book. Easy to make with ingredients we always have in the cupboard.

  • lorloff on November 01, 2024

    We had caulilini from the farmer's market and made this dish which was wonderful. I used sichuan chili bean paste from Mala market which was fantastic in the dish. It has a high spiciness level so next time I will 1/2 the amount the recipe called for. My head of flowering cauliflower weighed 1.5 pounds so I doubled the sauce and it worked perfectly. This is a really great dish highly recommended.

  • sometimes on December 24, 2024

    Used a farmers market cauliflower that seemed halfway between caulini and the usual grocery store sort. Arbols for the dried Chiles. Otherwise made as written This was pretty tasty and I’ll make it again, though partly to improve on the process. The issue I ran into is that I had some trouble getting the water out of the pan after the steaming step in the wok as the recipe seemed to intend in asking for the sauce to “caramelize.” In the future I think I’ll parboil the cauliflower for a little longer and skip the temporarily lidded wok to try to help with that

  • Miambe on February 16, 2025

    Great recipe. Highly spicy with loads of flavor. Lots of liquid after adding cauliflower so briefly removed to reduce sauce then added it back to carmalize.

• Stir-fried bean sprouts with Chinese chives (Qīngchǎo dòuyá)

  • jenburkholder on December 20, 2024

    Very enjoyable bean sprout dish. Mild but aromatic and a good side to punchier dishes.

• Smashed cucumber salad (Pāi huángguā)

  • christineakiyoshi on October 08, 2022

    This is very tasty with lots of garlic. We love Dynasty chili oil, so used it in this. I like that she recommends black vinegar, makes everything great!

  • snackbaby on December 19, 2023

    very nice and simple, bright addition to the braised squash. like that she recommends both black and rice vinegar, used the latter as I wanted a fresher cucumber salad.

  • Deja1 on December 01, 2024

    Very good. I made this with store-bought chilli sauce, will follow the suggested recipe from the book next time.

  • Stephenn31 on January 18, 2025

    Excellent balance. Great recipe

  • breadenthusiast on July 15, 2025

    Love this and make it often.

  • wcassity on June 02, 2026

    Best version so far - nice balance, not fussy.

• Fish-fragrant eggplant (Yúxiāng qiézi)

  • christineakiyoshi on October 04, 2022

    This dish is fantastic. Full of flavor. Will make again!

  • patioweather on September 23, 2023

    I like this one better than the Fuchsia Dunlop version but I'm not sure why. I added diced baked tofu when I added the eggplant to the sauce in order to make it a complete meal. With rice, it served two.

  • evatoad on November 06, 2023

    Quite good, but the balance of flavor isn’t what I want from my fish-fragrant eggplant. I think I slightly prefer Fuchsia Dunlop’s version.

  • Notajellyfish on March 03, 2024

    SO delicious. The Doubanjiang is a must and easy to order online.

  • Ntesfai on December 11, 2025

    This was fantastic! I learned some skills along the way, too.

  • SylvanMoon on February 06, 2026

    This was really delicious and not at all too greasy (which I feared it might be). Based on patioweather's suggestion of adding tofu, I marinated tofu batons in the sauce and then fried them in the oil before frying the aubergine. I put the fried tofu back into the sauce to marinate some more and just added it to the dish when adding the sauce. I'll definitely be making this again.

• Stir-fried fava beans & pickled mustard greens (Xuěcài chǎo cándòu)

  • jenburkholder on July 05, 2023

    Very tasty, quick, and easy. Subbed edamame from the freezer.

• Braised winter melon (Hóngshāo dōngguā)

  • jenburkholder on August 26, 2023

    This was surprisingly good, especially given how simple it was. Complex flavor and pleasant texture with a young winter melon.

• Braised winter squash with fermented black beans (Dòuchǐ mèn nánguā)

  • jenburkholder on December 10, 2022

    Quite good, and very simple. I used a butternut squash and plain oil, adding a VERY generous amount of white peppercorn. Only quibble is that it makes a fairly small amount even for a Chinese recipe.

  • antimony on January 02, 2023

    This was excellent. I did toss the white parts of the scallions in with the garlic since the recipe only calls for the green parts and I didn't want to throw them out, and when making it again I'll cut back the water a little as it didn't need that much. I did a double batch with two acorn squash.

  • snackbaby on December 19, 2023

    I really liked this, feels quite simple and light, which was what I was after tonight. served with brown rice and the cucumber salad from the book. I think the combination was nice, I liked how some of the acidity from the cucumber salad mixed into this dish.

  • Vatrushka on November 04, 2024

    I like this when cooking for many because it's so hands-off and holds well while I stir-fry other things. My family loves fermented black beans so this ended up being an unexpected favorite from the book. I use plain oil.

• Stewed beans & potato (Dòujiǎo dùn tǔdòu)

  • antimony on January 02, 2023

    This was kind of bland and had too much water for the beans/potatoes; the only recipe I haven't liked from this cookbook so far, though!

• Steamed eggplant with soy sauce & garlic (Suànróng qiézi)

  • AmomentOfMusic on March 08, 2026

    I ended up using small globe eggplants, as that is all I had. Still good, though it took me closer to 20 minutes before it felt fully cooked. Definitely would make again.

• Three treasures of the earth (Dìsānxiān)

  • LE1162 on January 20, 2025

    I'm a dedicated hater of eggplant and this recipe converted me--the roasted chinese eggplant picked up flavor beautifully and had a nice texture. Great recipe, I've already repeated it once (with some adaptations that weren't as good as the original recipe, so I'll stick to that from now on) and it's probably going to become a regular for me. One tip if roasting instead of frying: it's easier to use two trays and start the potatoes while the eggplant is soaking, to account for the different roasting times.

  • christineakiyoshi on August 02, 2025

    Great recipe when you have an abundance of eggplant and peppers. I also had potatoes that I had grown. Delicious dish, 5 stars.

• Tofu with scallions (Xiǎocōng bàn dòufu)

  • h0lly on December 03, 2025

    Delicious. Just make it.

• Shredded tofu salad (Liángbàn gāndòufusī)

  • jenburkholder on December 10, 2022

    Really nice, delicious dressing. Will make again.

  • alysekstokes on June 12, 2025

    Absolutely delicious salad with bold and punchy flavors. It's a great way to get some protein in alongside some veggies and rice.

• Braised tofu sheets with green pepper (Jiānjiāo gāndòufu)

  • evatoad on February 05, 2024

    Really good, and so simple. The sauce/technique could be used for a lot of different combinations of veg and protein. I did find I wanted a little more depth, so I added a bit of oyster sauce when eating; next time, I might just add a little more MSG and soy sauce. I made it with a large, mild serrano chili and tofu strips cut like noodles. Can’t wait to make it again!

• Pan-fried tofu with pickled topping (Xiāngjiān dòufu)

  • jenburkholder on December 20, 2024

    Pleasant and easy tofu dish. Used some home-pickled mustard greens instead of olive preserved greens.

  • joeljkp on May 16, 2026

    Loved this simple approach to tofu. Omitted the picked vegetables, but kept the sauce, and served it with rice and a vegetable side. Definitely a keeper when tofu is needed to round out a meal.

• Homestyle braised tofu (Jiācháng dòufu)

  • christineakiyoshi on December 03, 2022

    Another delicious recipe. I would probably double the chili bean paste next time. Yummy!

  • jenburkholder on April 24, 2023

    Excellent. Use a good stock - it needs the flavor. Went heavy on the white pepper and doubanjiang.

  • lorloff on January 13, 2024

    Made this with fresh wood ear mushrooms and doubled the mushrooms which I got at the farmer’s market. Really delicious dish and I agree using a great stock is key. Used Szechuan bean chili sauce imported from China by Mala Market. The technique for the tofu takes a few steps but is well worth it. Served as a main at a vegan dinner party with Molly Yeh’s fired rice with all kinds of onions.

  • Notajellyfish on March 03, 2024

    This is my favorite Chinese dish and this recipe absolutely kills it. The doubanjiang is a must. Add tons of extra veggies.

  • alysekstokes on September 26, 2025

    A really satisfying and comforting tofu dish. I doubled the amount of carrots and snow peas and served this with steamed rice—so simple and delicious! Frying (or roasting) the tofu first really is necessary since it creates a lovely toothsome texture that holds up well in the sauce.

• Soft tofu with black bean sauce (Dòuchǐ nèndòufu)

  • jenburkholder on September 19, 2022

    Soft but tasty tofu stew. Makes a soothing accompaniment to hotter or richer dishes. Use a good stock - the flavor is essential.

  • Vatrushka on November 04, 2024

    Less fiddly than mapo tofu, but still savory and delicious. Don't skimp on the black beans.

• Sticky sesame spongy tofu (Zhīmá bǎiyè dòufu)

  • AmomentOfMusic on January 06, 2026

    Made this with tofu puffs as I couldn't find spongy tofu and figured that the deep frying would result in a similar texture to the puffs. Delicious sauce though a bit intense. Paired with braised lettuce which provides a nice, fresh contrast to the earthiness of the tofu.

• Sweet & sour tofu (Gūlu dòufu)

  • Notajellyfish on March 03, 2024

    Classic restaurant style Sweet and Sour. Might buy fried tofu puffs and skip the frying next time.

  • Ntesfai on December 11, 2025

    Learned new skills and blew away the family with a vegan version of a restaurant favorite. I enjoy making this recipe from time to time. Who knew ketchup was a key part in that sweet and sour sauce?!

• Mapo tofu (Mápó dòufu)

  • christineakiyoshi on January 06, 2023

    This was okay but I like more chili bean paste. Will continue to follow my own recipe.

  • seasonsofseoul on August 09, 2024

    – Don't remove the tofu cubes from the boiling water until adding them to the rest of the ingredients in the wok. They will stick together otherwise. - Flavourwise not bad but room for improvement, but sauce feels a bit too chunky? Will try with 3 shiitake mushrooms next time and perhaps a bit more broth. - Good quality dried chillies are essential – not just for heat, but also flavour.

• Braised tofu skins in chili bean sauce (Xiānglà fǔzhú)

  • evatoad on February 06, 2024

    Delicious. Absolutely worth seeking out the dried tofu skin (I ordered it from Amazon after striking out at my local Chinese market). I found that the recipe calls for far too much liquid—next time, I’ll start with 3/4 cup instead of 1-1/2.

  • sometimes on January 02, 2025

    I’m not vegan and used some western style chicken broth since it was what I had on hand. Made as written without issue; reducing the liquid does take a bit, but there’s not much danger of overcooking and I felt like the amount called for was needed to braise the tofu. Delicious, quick, and easy protein dish made with (Chinese) pantry staples. Will make many times again. Be sure to use a good doubanjiang, not the LKK stuff. If you haven’t cooked with tofu sticks before, this dish is a great one to start with; the somewhat pasta like texture is a nice change of pace from fresh tofu

• Stir-fried vermicelli noodles (Bāocài fěnsī)

  • christineakiyoshi on October 11, 2022

    This was very good and we made the scallion oil. We served with some chili oil since we like it spicy. Subbed rice vermicelli.

  • Stephenn31 on January 19, 2023

    Very easy and delicious. I soaked the noodles for 15 min like the recipe said, then soaked in boiling water because they didn’t seem pliable enough. That was a good idea because the sauce liquid evaporated quickly and before I had a chance to toss the noddles in all of it too cook/soften them

  • mlonigan on January 12, 2026

    It's a little hard to integrate the veggies fully into the noodles (I ended up with clumps of noodles), but this is such a lovely balance of greasy comfort with the hit of vinegar that makes it super craveable.

• Scallion oi (Cōngyóu)

  • christineakiyoshi on October 11, 2022

    Yummy! Use the leftover scallion bits for garnish

• Stir-fried oyster mushrooms with snow peas (Xuědòu xiùzhēngū)

  • Stephenn31 on December 06, 2022

    Easy but somewhat lacking in flavour as a dinner on its own. I used snap peas because that’s what I had on hand and added a bit extra garlic. A nice textural mix between the mushrooms and peas

  • Notajellyfish on March 03, 2024

    Made this with asparagus as it is what I had on hand. Next time, I will cook the mushrooms longer to get more depth of flavor.

• Cold-dressed enoki mushroom & cucumber salad (Liángbàn jīnzhēngū)

  • jenburkholder on December 10, 2022

    This was too sweet for my taste as written, and I didn’t feel it held up as well as it should have, due to the large amount of dressing. Okay once I got it balanced.

• Gluten puffs with napa cabbage (Miànjīn shāo báicài)

  • antimony on January 02, 2023

    Saw pre-made gluten puffs in the store and made this with them -- tasty, and with pre-made ones very, very easy.

• Sesame noodles (Májiàngmiàn)

  • christineakiyoshi on January 04, 2023

    So quick and delicious! Will put this on rotation

• Spicy sesame king oyster mushrooms (Měizī xìngbāotiáo)

  • kitchen_chick on January 23, 2023

    Delicious dish! We used only a rounded teaspoon of sugar instead of the full tablespoon.

  • evatoad on February 05, 2024

    Quite good. Next time, I would skip the cumin or use a lot less of it—it kind of stole the show and I loved the sauce without the cumin.

• Tomato noodle soup (Fānqié tāngmiàn)

  • Apollonia on October 11, 2024

    To be honest, this wasn't wildly flavorful -- obvious enough from the minimal ingredients -- but it tasted good and was warm and nourishing. I probably wouldn't make again, but I am not sorry to have tried it.

  • SylvanMoon on March 24, 2026

    Unfortunately this recipe doesn't really work (for us at least). It had very little body to it and nothing that shouted "Chinese" to us. I really like all the other recipes I've tried from this book so far, but this one will be one I don't return to.

• Fried peanuts (Zhà huāshēng)

  • sometimes on March 15, 2025

    Made this with blanched peanuts since they were out of raw w/ skins. They still tasted raw so I gave it a go. Was very diligent about temp and stirring but never got to the crackling stage mentioned; after about 35 minutes the peanuts were finally a noticeably darker tan than a reference peanut I’d set aside, and weren’t releasing much water at all, so I continued to the higher heat step then removed them, seasoned generously, and let cool for half an hour. Could have turned out worse, they were reasonably crunchy, but the centers in particular were still a bit soft, more noticeable after chewing a bit. I think the blanching water logged or softened them too much. Will try this again with totally raw peanuts as the recipe recommends.

• Scallion flower buns (Huā juǎn)

  • breadenthusiast on June 23, 2025

    They are nice, strong scallion flavour! I used AP flour. But I will tweak them a bit when I make them next time. I'd reduce the salt in the scallion oil a bit the next time (maybe to 3/4 tsp salt), it was still perfectly edible, more personal taste. Mine were slightly underproofed I think, will proof for 30 min. next time. And I needed to press the chopsticks in deeper when shaping, now they are sort of two rolls stacked on top of each other and two slid off.

• Scallion pancakes (Cōngyóubǐng)

  • Ntesfai on December 11, 2025

    The resting in the refrigerator is worth the wait. This recipe is fun, no stress, easy, and delicious.