23 Flavorful Chinese Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What makes Chinese food so flavorful? ›

A blend of cinnamon, cloves, Sichuan peppercorns, fennel and star anise, these five spices give the sour, bitter, pungent, sweet and salty flavors found in Chinese cooking. This spice works extremely well with meats and in marinades.

Green onions, ginger, and garlic are the three most common Chinese herbs and spices, which are commonly used together to cook all kinds of vegetables and meat, especially in stir fry. Also known as scallions, green onions can also be substituted with spring onions and similar herbs.

When it comes to Americanized Chinese food, there's a few flavor profiles that get all the love, like kung pao, bang bang, and beef with broccoli. We've included a ton of recipes for them here, like kung pao shrimp noodles and brussels sprouts, bang bang cauliflower and shrimp, and beef and broccoli noodles and kebabs.

Worst: General Tso's Chicken

One order clocks in at around 1,500 calories and 88 grams of fat, and it delivers more sodium than you should get in a day. Other fried dishes to watch out for: sesame, orange, and sweet and sour chicken.

Stick with veggie-rich and stir fried shrimp and chicken dishes. Ask for extra broccoli, snow peas and other vegetables. Steer away from entrees that are basically deep-fried meat or chicken in sauce. Don't waste your calories on greasy noodles and fried rice.

Some options for low-sodium dishes at a Chinese restaurant include steamed vegetables, stir-fried dishes with minimal sauce, and dishes made with lean protein such as chicken, fish, or tofu.

Many Chinese restaurants, like other types of restaurants, use sugar in their cooking. Sugar can be added to dishes to balance out salty or spicy flavors and to enhance the sweetness of the dish. However, the amount of sugar used in Chinese cooking can vary depending on the recipe and the individual cook.

Chinese cooks normally use soybean oil, vegetable oil, or peanut oil, all of which have a high smoke point. Peanut oil usually has a pleasant nutty flavor and is suitable not only for stir-frying but also for deep-frying. Canola oil, which has a high smoke point but a neutral flavor, is also a good choice.

Though it's virtually flavorless, cornstarch is easily one of the most vital ingredients in a Chinese kitchen, with multiple uses, including thickening sauces, gravies, and soups.

5 spice is a combination of cinnamon, star anise, fennel seeds and cloves – the 5th ingredient can vary across recipes, we use sichuan peppercorns. But ginger and white pepper are also commonly used as the fifth component.

What are the 3 main ingredients in Chinese food? ›

Green Onion, Ginger, Garlic for Chinese Food

The most Iconic Ingredient(s) after soy sauce would be Green Onion, Ginger, and Garlic (GGG).

The Chinese categorise the taste of food into five flavours: sweet, bitter, sour, spicy and salty. Chinese medicine regards that eating certain flavours can help the function of the five organs to balance your health, as well as treat disease and recover from illness.

More information on most popular chinese food in america

According to a recent StrawPoll survey, the top three most popular Chinese dishes are fried rice, lo mein, and orange chicken.

Peking Duck (The National Dish of China) 北京烤鸭

A typical Chinese's meal usually consists of rice, soup and three to four side dishes. Dishes are made of seasonal vegetables, fresh seafood or bite-size portion of meat or poultry.

Seafood has long been an important staple of the Chinese diet. China consumed 55.2 million tonnes of fish in 2017 – about 36 percent of the global total – making it the largest fish consumer in the world.