This is ba bao fan, or "Eight Treasure Rice," one of my favorite uses for glutinous rice. For breakfast, I mix sticky rice with a small amount of lard, add in chopped walnuts and currants, and bury a few generous spoonfuls of red bean paste in the center. When it's done, the rice gets drizzled with honey. More

Kung Pao chicken is a dish often bastardized in Chinese-American eateries into a bland, stir-fried hodge podge of chicken, bell peppers, celery, and peanuts in a gloppy sweet soy-based sauce. The real deal, on the other hand, packs a flavorful punch; savory soy balanced with a touch of sweetness, a splash of dark Chinese vinegar for a fragrant acidity, and plenty of chilis and Sichuan peppercorns for that characteristic ma-la (hot and numbing) profile. More

My feeling about hot and sour soup is that—and bear with me here—it should not be hot and it should most definitely not be sour. Most Chinese recipes for the soup concur, though every once in a while I'll duck into a shop in Chinatown serving up a bowl of the soup that lives up to its name. I want to flag down the manager and ask, Didn't you get the memo about hot and sour soup?, but of course I don't. More

I've never hidden my love for Mapo Dofu, the Sichuan dish of soft silken tofu flavored with beef and mouth-numbing, citrus-y Sichuan peppercorns. But it doesn't have to be a season-less dish. The past few years I've taken to adapting it to the spring by adding in a few big handfuls of sliced ramps, the ephemeral wild spring onions that how up by the bushel at farmers' markets (or if you're lucky, sister's backyard!). More

Crossing a cultural divide, hoisin brings the dominant Asian flavor to this sauce that still retains the American standard of a sweet and tangy tomato base. More

When considering foods eaten out of context—that is, foods eaten in a country or region that they do not originate from—the question of authenticity and what it means to be "authentic" is always a vexing one. Take, for example, Xiao Long Bao—the soup-filled dumplings hailing from Shanghai that have since been popularized throughout the world. Even referring to them as "dumplings" is enough to set off some food scholars who insist that they are distinct from what we traditionally classify as dumplings. The question is, what does it mean to be authentic and more precisely, is it even possible for authenticity to be preserved across the many barriers of language mapping, social custom, and regional tastes? More

What's the longest you've ever waited in line for a dumpling? If you've been to a Din Tai Fung, the Taiwan-based dumpling and noodle chain famous for their xiao long bao (steamed soup-filled dumplings), chances are you've waited at least an hour. Can these soup-filled tiny little buns live up to their reputation? More

During the summer of 1999, I subsisted almost solely on the cheapest menu item at the Chinese food truck: peanut noodle salad. A little spicy, a little sweet, a little salty, chewy Chinese noodles with cucumbers, peppers, and scallions coated in a chunky peanut sauce was a tasty, filling meal that I only occasionally got tired of. Had I known how easy it is to make at home, requiring not much more than a few pantry staples and some fresh vegetables, I would have even been able to add some cheap gin to fully flesh out my minibar. More

Woks are generally associated with super high heat, rapid cooking, and smoking hot oil, but there are other, gentler methods of cooking in one. Braising (or simmering) in a wok is about the simplest thing you can do with it. It doesn't require the crazy high heat you need for stir-frying and it doesn't require mad flipping skills. In fact, it doesn't even require a lot of time, particularly when working with a tender vegetable like eggplant. More

Cut way back on the noodles and add a whole slew of vegetables. That's exactly what I did here. Instead of noodles, the base of the dish is stir-fried bok choy (cooked in a super-heated cast iron wok to get some nice, smoky wok hei into it) along with flowering chives, Chinese chives, and leeks in a savory fermented black bean and soy-based sauce. The noodles are still great—perfect for adding a bit of textural and flavor contrast—but now their ratio is more akin to the marshmallows in the Rice Krispies. More