CHA SIU BAO - STEAMED BBQ PORK BUNS by Linda Tay Esposito

The char siu bao is a dimsum staple. Sweet, juicy bits of Chinese bbq pork oozing out of the soft, sweet bun. The secret to creating that char siu bao taste is to use dried onions (McCormicks). Please look up the Basic Yeast Dough for Steamed Buns that accompanies this recipe. If you don't have steamer baskets, use a wok…

GOW CHOI GAU – SHRIMP & CHIVES DUMPLINGS by Linda Tay Esposito

Gow Choi - Chinese chives are stronger in flavor -- more garlicy taste than regular chives -- than regular chives. The flat-leaf, foot-long green is used as a vegetable rather than used as a herb. In this classic dim sum dish, the chives are mixed with shrimp and stuffed in a a dumpling. The crystal dumpling skin is made from…

MANGO PUDDING by Linda Tay Esposito

A newer addition to the dim sum repertoire, the mango pudding is influenced by Western desserts techniques (since the Chinese are not too big on desserts! "Not too sweet" is always a sign of a good dessert for the Chinese!). Instead of heavy cream, you can substitute with coconut milk to give it a more tropical flavor.

MINCED CHICKEN & LAP CHEUNG IN LETTUCE CUPS by Linda Tay Esposito

There are so many versions of Chicken in Lettuce Cups. This recipe features the classic trinity of chicken, lap cheung (Chinese wax sausages) and dried shrimp. If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, get the Wycen lap cheung (Washington/Stockton or Clement/7th) . They make their sausages locally and offer extra lean 100%…

BASIC YEAST DOUGH FOR STEAMED BUNS by Linda Tay Esposito

This is a recipe for the dough of the fluffy white skins of the char siu bao and the shanghai cabbage buns. It's truly versatile -- you can use the same dough and fill it with sweetened mashed red beans or lotus seeds for a dessert treat. Or just steam it by itself to turn it into "man tou" essentially steamed white bread that is…

Sweet and Sour Pork by Chez la mere

SHANGHAINESE LION’S HEAD by Linda Tay Esposito

They call it Lion's Head because the meatballs are ye big with manes of soft, tender napa cabbage...looking like a lion. Seriously, in Shanghai, the meatballs are the size of a tennis ball - let's call that a quarter pounder meatball. Slowly braise or steam to get a tender, melt-in-your-mouth meatballs. If you have a small…

Panda Express Egg Rolls Made Skinny by Skinny Kitchen with Nancy Fox

I must admit, I love the chicken egg rolls at Panda Express. I don’t eat them very often because they are deep fried. Happily, i’ve created a skinny recipe I can enjoy guilt-free and you can too! To make them skinny, I’m using lean ground turkey breast, loading the rolls with crunchy veggies and baking–not frying. The skinny for each…

Kung Pao Chicken by Dominick Chirichillo

Chicken Lettuce Wraps by Joanne Weir

This is one of those dishes that I have to order every single time I go to Chinatown and see them on the menu. I love the crunch of the lettuce, the saltiness of the soy sauce, and the sweetness of the oyster sauce. You can substitute turkey, pork or squab with equally delicious results.

Brown Sauce with meatballs by Weining Wang

There is only one reason why I wish to be a good chef: the determination of being a culinary martyr out of real ardent love. Like the lonely old man in my poem who walks along the silent street immersed in the dark night, despite of the sand storms and the agony loneliness trying to swallow him up, he keeps smiling and never loses his…

SHIITAKE & ENOKI ASIAN MUSHROOMS SPRING ROLLS by Linda Tay Esposito

A vegan favorite at the dim sum table. When you bite into the spring roll, you will feel several layers of textures - texture being an important element of Chinese foods. First you have the crisp from the deep fried spring roll skin, followed by the velvety shiitake inter-mingled with the stringy mung bean thread and the silky…

XINJIANG LAMB MINI PITA POCKETS by Linda Tay Esposito

On the Silk Road path, the Uyghur cuisine in north western China uses a lot of spices and features goat and lamb dominantly. It's not what one would typically think of as Chinese foods. The Uyghurs also serve most of their dishes with a chewy flatbread that reminds me of bagel just holeless. This Xinjiang Lamb Mini Pita Pockets…

Chinese Stinky Tofu by Weining Wang

My grandfather’s kitchen is a small but warm place where I spent almost twenty years. The inner satisfaction and happiness I have got cannot be weighed in the scale of universal equivalence.What I spend there is not a time of life. It is a state of mind, the spirit of martyr that I am constantly seeking for.The stinky Tofu added…

CRABMEAT AND CHIVES POTSTICKERS by Linda Tay Esposito

Potstickers are real easy to make. Part pan fried, part steamed, the dumplings have a crisp base and a soft top. In this recipe, we have filled the dumplings with crabmeat and chives, but you can also fill the dumplings with pork or chicken, or just a mushroom medley. The aromatic dipping sauce (adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop's "Land…