How do I find a specific recipe?

Use the search bar at the top or browse by tags like 'stir-fry', 'dessert', or 'quick'. You can also check the Recipes page to see everything we've published so far.

Are these recipes tested?

Yes. Every recipe on the site has been cooked and adjusted before publishing. The ingredient amounts are precise (grams, milliliters) because 'a pinch of this' doesn't help when you're learning a new dish.

Can I save recipes for later?

Click the bookmark icon on any recipe page. Your saved recipes show up under 'Saved Recipes' in the menu. Everything is stored in your browser — no account needed.

Where can I find the ingredients?

Most ingredients are available at Asian grocery stores. For specialty items like Sichuan peppercorns or Shaoxing wine, we include notes on what they are and what you can use instead if needed.

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Vol. 2026 · Issue 07

大暑Greater Heat

23 recipes · since 2024

The Cooking Journal

Real Chinese recipes, made simple.

Home-tested dishes from across China — Sichuan, Cantonese, Hunan, and the everyday cooking in between. No filler, no fluff, just recipes that work in a real kitchen.

Browse the journal About the kitchen

This Week's Featured

A bowl of Taiwanese braised pork rice with glossy pork belly and a soy-braised egg

Jul 25, 2026 90 min

Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice (Lu Rou Fan)

A comforting Taiwanese rice bowl with tender strips of pork belly slowly braised in soy sauce, rice wine, aromatics, warm spices, and caramelized rock sugar until the sauce turns glossy and amber.

Chapter 01 · 新出锅

Latest from the kitchen

Recently tested, written down, and added to the journal.

Browse all

A plate of Hunan-style hand-torn cabbage stir-fried with pork belly and chilies

Nº 01

Stir-fry 20 min

Hand-Torn Cabbage Stir-Fry (Shou Si Bao Cai)

A spicy, tangy Hunan-style cabbage stir-fry with crisp-tender torn cabbage and fragrant pork belly. The key is high heat, quick cooking, and returning the cabbage to the wok only at the end.

A small bowl of glossy Chinese sweet and sour sauce

Nº 02

Sauce 10 min

Sweet and Sour Sauce (Tang Cu Zhi)

A classic Chinese sweet-and-sour sauce with an easy-to-remember balance of water, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, and cooking wine. Stir it together in minutes, then simmer it with your dish until glossy.

Golden deep-fried milk bars with a creamy white center

Nº 03

Dessert 150 min

Deep-Fried Milk (Zha Xian Nai)

A crisp, golden Chinese dessert with a soft milk-custard center. The custard must be cooked until thick and chilled until fully set before breading and frying, so the pieces hold their shape in hot oil.

A warm bowl of tremella and lotus seed porridge with red dates and goji berries

Nº 04

Dessert 210 min

Tremella and Lotus Seed Porridge (Yin Er Lian Zi Zhou)

A gently sweet Chinese dessert porridge with silky tremella, tender lotus seeds, red dates, and optional goji berries. Long soaking and slow simmering give it a soothing, lightly gelatinous texture.

Slices of tender steamed pumpkin arranged on a white plate

Nº 05

Pumpkin 20 min

Steamed Pumpkin (Qing Zheng Nan Gua)

Pumpkin steamed until naturally sweet and tender. This simple home-style dish preserves the squash's delicate flavor and makes an easy dessert, side dish, or light staple.

Guilinggao tortoise jelly dessert in bowls

Nº 06

Dessert 90 min

Guilinggao (Tortoise Jelly)

Herbal jelly made from guilinggao powder — slightly bitter on its own, but add honey or condensed milk and it becomes a proper summer dessert. Simple to make, just don't rush the cooking.

Chapter 02 · 味道

Find it by flavor

Browse by region, technique, or what's in your pantry tonight.

A note on measurement

" A pinch of this doesn't help when you're learning a new dish. Every recipe here is in grams, milliliters, and minutes ."

— jackTao, in the kitchen

Chapter 03

Common questions.

Quick answers about using China Recipe.

Mostly Chinese home cooking — the kind of food you'd eat at someone's house in China, not a fancy restaurant. We cover dishes from Sichuan, Guangdong, Hunan, and other regions. Some recipes are quick weeknight meals, others take more time but are worth it.