Sure, takeout is easy—you call into the restaurant, pick out a few stir-fries and noodles that sound good, and then camp out in front of the TV with your little foldable cartons and a pair of splintery chopsticks. But for the most part, making your favorite Chinese takeout dish at home is just as easy, and quicker to boot. Chances, are it’s a lot healthier too. Dumplings may seem challenging, but with our dumpling guide, you can fold and crimp your way to easy dinner in no time. Are pork buns a favorite at dim sum? Bam. You can master them too. Still hungry? After you’ve tackled these 25, dive into all of our Chinese recipes.
Watch: How to Make Spicy Beef Dumplings
Chinese Steamed Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao)
Chinese Steamed Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao)Cornstarch adds a silkiness to bao dough, mimicking the bleached, low-protein flour commonly used in Chinese bakeries (but harder to find in supermarkets). Lard adds tenderness, richness, and a subtle porky finish. Get the recipe for Chinese Steamed Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao) »Matt Taylor-Gross
Shanghai Red-Braised Pork with Eggs
Two types of soy sauce and a touch of sugar give this dish—beloved throughout China—its signature glossiness and a deep red-brown tint. Serve the tender pork belly morsels and boiled eggs with a light vegetable, like bok choy. Get the recipe for Shanghai Red-Braised Pork with Eggs »Yuki Sugiura
Sichuan Twice-Cooked Pork Belly
A classic Chinese dish made with boiled-then-stir-fried pork and plenty of leeks and fermented black soy beans. Boiling the pork (the first “cooked”) renders some of the fat and makes it easier to slice and crisp up later in a blazing-hot wok. Get the recipe for Sichuan Twice-Cooked Pork Belly »Matt Taylor-Gross
Cold Sesame Noodles
Peanut butter, sesame paste, and chile-garlic paste combine to make a silky, savory sauce for these noodles—a Chinese-American restaurant staple. Chopped peanuts and a flurry of slivered cucumber and carrot add crunch. Get the recipe for Cold Sesame Noodles »Maxime Iattoni
The go-to Chinese filling: juicy pork mixed with the fresh onion flavor of garlic chives. Try to find a fatty blend of ground pork; it will improve the filling’s flavor and juiciness. Chopped garlic chives, which have a peppery raw-garlic flavor, and fresh ginger cut through the rich meat. Make sure the dumplings are completely sealed and devoid of air bubbles to prevent any leaks during boiling. This recipe is adapted from The Dumpling Galaxy Cookbook. Get the recipe for Boiled Pork and Chive Dumplings »Heami Lee
Pan-Fried Spicy Beef Dumplings
In these delightfully rich dumplings, homemade or store-bought chile oil is balanced by freshness from scallions and ginger and sweetness from oyster sauce. To maximize the crispy surface area, stretch and arc the shape of the raw dumpling slightly. Get the recipe for Pan-Fried Spicy Beef Dumplings »Heami Lee
Kung Pao Chicken
Chiles, scallions, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce flavor tender chicken and peanuts in this moderately spicy dish. Get the recipe for Kung Pao Chicken »Helen Rosner
Steamed Mixed Shellfish Dumplings
In China, this combination of shrimp, scallops, and crab is a special-occasion dumpling filling. The clean flavor and slippery texture of the shellfish are unobscured by any filler. Serve steamed dumplings directly from the bamboo steamers, since their delicate wrappers can break in transfer. Get the recipe for Steamed Mixed Shellfish Dumplings »Heami Lee
An adaptation of the fried wonton, crab rangoon is one of the most enduringly popular appetizers at the posh Polynesian restaurant chain Trader Vic’s. Get the recipe for Crab Rangoon »Matt Taylor-Gross
General Tso’s Chicken
While General Tso remains famous in his home province of Hunan, it turns out the eponymous dish named after him is relatively unknown. Get the recipe for General Tso’s Chicken »Todd Coleman
Tossing these tasty pork wontons (a mix of ground pork, rice wine, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce) in red chile oil adds the signature Sichuan heat. Get the recipe for Chao Shou (Sichuan Pork Wontons) »Ariana Lindquist
Dan Dan Mian (Sichuan Noodles with Spicy Pork Sauce)
We first fell in love with these lightly spicy lo mein noodles when chef Marcus Samuelsson dropped by our kitchen to test drive some recipes for his Harlem restaurant, Streetbird Rotisserie. Laced with oyster sauce, ginger, and yuzu kosho and tossed with pickled mustard greens, the dish is a medley of sweet, tangy, spicy, and sour. Get the recipe for Sho’ Nuff Noodles »Farideh Sadeghin
