Hot pan, small batches
If the pan temperature collapses, you get steam, not sear. I cook chicken in two rounds if needed.
🇨🇳 Chinese cooking from my kitchen
Chinese recipes I chase for wok heat
Chinese cooking at home is a mise-en-place sport. The pan is ready before I am. The first kung pao I made tasted boiled because I crowded a cold pan and let the chicken stew. Now I velvet the meat, get the oil shimmering, and cook in furious short bursts.
How I cook this
Notes from the stove, not a brochure
Velvetting — a light coating of starch and seasoning on the meat — is the restaurant trick that made home stir-fries tender instead of dry. I do a quick version even on weeknights.
Potstickers taught me not to fidget. Steam-fry: water in, lid on, then uncover for the crisp skirt. Move them early and you tear the bottoms.
Sichuan dishes in my kitchen are about balance more than pure heat: chilli, a little sweet, plenty of aroma. Fish-fragrant eggplant only works when the eggplant is fried enough that it stops drinking oil forever.
Sauce ready first
Dan dan and kung pao move too fast to measure mid-cook. Sauce in a cup before the oil hits.
Eggplant needs courage
Underfried eggplant turns oily and sad. Fry until creamy inside, then sauce.
Velvetting, high-heat stir-fry, and steam-fry dumpling method reflect standard Chinese home/restaurant technique adapted to a home burner.
4 tested dishes
Chinese recipes on CookMe
Same card layout as the homepage — open a recipe for the full method, tips, and estimated nutrition.
DumplingJuicy Pork and Chive Potstickers
Pleat once, steam-fry until the bottoms are glass-crisp, and do not move them too early.
Stir-fryRestaurant-Style Kung Pao Chicken
Velvet the chicken, work fast in a hot pan, balance chilli heat with a touch of sweetness.
NoodlesHand-Mixed Dan Dan Noodles Bowl
Sauce first in the bowl, noodles on top, toss at the table so the chilli oil coats evenly.
SichuanGarlic Sichuan Fish-Fragrant Eggplant
Fry the eggplant until it drinks less oil, then sauce it pungent and a little sweet.