Cook Classic Chinese and Asian Restaurant Recipes at Home
Many popular Chinese and Asian dishes are is surprisingly easy to make at home – from Mongolian lamb, to san choy bow, to nasi goreng, to salt and pepper squid and many others. These classic recipes will show you how to make them in your kitchen using readily available ingredients. Enyoy!
Classic Chinese Mongolian Lamb Recipe
Ingredients
- Steamed rice, to serve
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1 small leek, finely sliced
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- 1 spring onions, cut into short lengths
- 2 tablespoons rice bran or grape seed oil
- 500 g (1 lb) leg lamb steaks, sliced as finely as possible
- 3 cm (1 1/2 inch) piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
For the marinade
- 1 teaspoon cornflour
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- 2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine
- Pinch of salt
Method
Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a medium size non-metallic bowl or a large zip-lock bag. Then, add the lamb and mix well to combine. Cover the bowl, or seal the bag and refrigerate for 2–7 hours or overnight. Then, take the lamb out of the fridge about 30 minutes before cooking to allow it to come to room temperature. Next, drain the lamb and keep the marinade for making the sauce. Next, stir-fry the lamb slices in 2-3 batches in very hot oil in a wok or heavy frying pan, without stirring. Fry for about for two minutes, so that the lamb develops a golden crust. Flip the lamb over to cook all surfaces and then remove the lamb and set aside. Add some extra oil to the wok and heat until the oil just starts to smoke. Add the ginger, leek, garlic and spring onion and stir-fry for 2-4 minutes until tender and fragrant. Add the lamb back into the wok and mix to combine well. Stir through the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, the reserved marinade and 1 cup of water. Fry for 2-3 minutes, until well combined. Add a teaspoon of cornflour dissolved in a little water. Stir and cook until the sauce has thickened. Serve hot with steamed rice.
Classic San Choy Bow - Homemade Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 head iceberg lettuce
- 500 g (1 lb) minced pork
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoons caster sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 small carrot, coarsely grated
- 2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine
- 2 spring onions, sliced at an angle
- 60 ml (4 tablespoons ) oyster sauce
- 100 g ( 3 oz) water chestnuts, coarsely chopped
- 3 cm (1.5 inch) piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
Method
Remove the core of the lettuce and place the whole head into a bowl of cold water. Set aside for 15-18 minutes. Gently separate the entire leaves. Place them onto a tray lined with paper towels. Set aside in your refrigerator until ready to use. Next, heat the oil in a Dutch oven, or wok over a high heat. When the oil is hot add the ginger, garlic, and spring onion pieces and stir-fry for a minute or two. Add the pork and stir-fry for another 4-5 minutes, until the pork browns a little. Next, add the carrot and stir-fry for another 2 minutes. Add the sugar, rice wine, water chestnuts and oyster sauce and cook while stirring for another 2-3 minutes, or until the sauce thickly a little. Add a serving into the chilled lettuce leaves, and sprinkle with fresh herbs and spring onion greens.
Classic Sweet and Sour Pork Recipe
Ingredients
- Steamed rice, to serve
- Rice bran oil, for deep-frying
- 400 g (14 oz) pork scotch fillet, finely sliced
For the batter
- 1 free range egg
- 3 tablespoon cornflour
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dry sherry or Chinese rice wine
For the sauce
- 1 firm tomato, chopped
- 1 tablespoon cornflour
- 4 tablespoons tomato sauce
- 80 g (3 oz) granulated sugar
- 1 carrot, cut into thin sticks
- 1 green capsicum, seeded and chopped
- 4 tablespoons white wine or rice vinegar
- 300 g (10 oz) canned pineapple pieces, in juice
Method
Place all the batter ingredients in a large bowl and combine well. Add the pork, mixing well to ensure all the pieces are coated in the batter. Cover with bowl and set aside for 30 minutes in the refrigerator, or up to a 2–3 hours. Bring to room temperature before frying. Next, make the sauce by combining the pineapple pieces and juice, with the tomato sauce, sugar, tomato, capsicum, vinegar and carrot in a small saucepan. Add 1 cup of water and bring the mixture to the boil over a high heat. Simmer vigorously for 4–6 minutes until all the vegetables are just tender. Next, add two tablespoons water to the cornflour in a cup. Stir to make a smooth paste. Add the paste to the simmering vegetable sauce mix and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the sauce thickens and becomes glossy. Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside.
Next, line a plate with paper towels. Add enough oil to half-fill a Dutch oven or large deep saucepan and heat over a moderate-high heat to a temperate of 220 degrees C (430 degrees F). Working in small batches, remove excess batter from the pork slices and carefully slip into the hot oil. Deep fry each batch for about 3–4 minutes, moving the pork around in the oil to cook all sides evenly. When the slices are cooked and golden brown use a slotted metal spoon to remove the slices from the oil and to transfer the paper lined plate to drain. Add a serving of the pork to small serving bowl and top with some sweet-and-sour sauce and fresh herbs. Serve hot with steamed race.
Classic Chinese Salt and Pepper Squid Recipe
Ingredients
For the Squid
- Lemon wedges, to serve
- 65 g (2.5 oz) cornflour
- 400 g (14 oz) squid hood
- 1 spring onion, finely sliced
- 1 large red chilli, finely sliced
- 2 cups rice bran or grape seed oil, for deep-frying
For the Spiced Salt
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
For the Batter
- 120 g (4 oz) cornflour
- 1 cup soda water, chilled
Slice the squid hood down the centre on one side and open it flat on a chopping board. Remove the membrane on the inside of the hood by scraping with a knife. Then, slice the hood lengthwise into 1 cm (1/2 inch) wide strips. Dry the squid pieces using paper towels and transfer to a mixing bowl. Next, prepare the spiced salt by combining the sugar, salt, white pepper and five-spice powder in a small bowl, and set it aside. Then, make the batter by combining the cornflour with the soda water to make a smooth dough mixture. Set aside in a bowl suitable for dusting the squid pieces. Half-fill a saucepan with enough oil for deep frying and heat over a high heat to a temperature of about 220 degrees C (400 degrees F). Toss the squid pieces around to lightly coat in the cornflour mixture, and then mix in the batter. Wipe each pieces on the side of the bowl to remove any excess batter. Fry the squid in the hot oil in small batches for 2-3 minutes, until light golden brown in color. Transfer the cooked squid to a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat to cook the remaining squid in batches.
Next carefully fry the spring onion and chilli in the hot oil for about 1-2 minutes. Transfer the squid to a serving bowl and add the fried chilli and spring onion. Mix well and then sprinkle with the salt mixture and toss to coat all surfaces on to a serving plate. Serve the squid with lemon wedges, fresh herbs and steamed rice.
Classic Nasi Goreng Recipe with Chicken
Ingredients
- salt to taste
- sugar to taste
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 80 g (3 oz) water spinach
- 2 tablespoons kecap manis
- 2 tablespoons sambal oelek
- 43 g (1.5 oz) anchovies, fried
- 3 1/2 cups cooked long grain rice
- Rice bran or grape seed oil for frying
- 150 g (5 oz) chicken breast, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoons belacan paste, available from most Asian grocers
For the Garnish
- tomato wedges
- fried shallots
- cucumber slices
- 4 free range eggs
- 1 sliced spring onion
Method
Heat 2 tablespoons of rice bran or grape seed oil in a Dutch oven or large, deep skillet over high heat. When the oil is very hot, sauté the chicken slices until browned on both sides and cooked through. Set aside. Then, sauté the garlic and onion until just tender and fragrant. Next, add the sambal oelek and belacan and mix well. Next, add the cooked chicken and rice, breaking up the any lumps. Stir fry over high heat until the rice is heated through and well coated in the sauce. Next, add the anchovies, water spinach, fish sauce and kecap manis and stir to mix through. Taste and season appropriately with salt, fish sauce and sugar. Fry the eggs sunny side up. Transfer the fried rice to a serving platter, add the eggs on top, with sprinkles or fresh herbs, spring onions and fried shallots. Serve with cucumbers, tomatoes and fresh chilli slices on the side.
