The best egg drop soup should have a clear, ever-so-slightly thickened broth with the intense flavor of chicken, supported by a hint of the sweet depth of Chinese ham. The eggs should form tender, silken curds, some large, some small, offering texture, sure, but predominantly flavor and richness to an otherwise extremely simple soup. More
Dan Dan Noodles are an exceedingly simple dish to make. Once you've put together your roasted chili vinaigrette (which holds for months in the fridge, by the way), it's just a matter of cooking your noodles, frying your chopped pork, and throwing everything together. More
Crisp, with a steaming hot center and dipped into a sweet sauce, egg rolls are a study in contrasting textures and flavors. More
Of all the foods off the A1 through A24 section of your local Chinese takeout menu, fried dumplings (that's Peking ravioli to you Bostonians) are perhaps the ones that benefit most from some home treatment. Unless you're really lucky, takeout dumplings are thick-skinned and greasy, any crunch having left them in the long steamy bike ride from the kitchen to your door. More
When I first learned how scallion pancakes are made, I was floored. Whoah, ancient Chinese secret! was what ran through my head. It took me several years to realize that conceptually, the method is almost identical to that of making puff pastry, croissants, or any number of laminated pastries, which makes scallion pancakes a perfect subject for exploring in this week's Food Lab. More
