Chinese Takeout Dishes to Make at Home

I’ve been cooking for about 30 years. I’m pretty comfortable with cooking any “American” dish and my family heritage means it’s essential for me to know how to make great Italian comfort foods. I decided over the last year to branch out a little and try my hand at other styles of cooking.

So, with wok in hand, I’ve started to recreate some of my favorite Chinese takeout dishes. These Chinese take-out dishes are all fairly simple to make. The key to most of these dishes is finding an Asian market nearby. If you can’t, Amazon has a lot of the hard-to-find ingredients.

Hot and Sour Soup

When you make hot and sour soup at home you can tune the heat and sourness level to your liking. Some of these ingredients might seems a little strange but luckily, Sarah at the Woks of Life includes a handy glossary of Chinese cooking ingredients.

Hot and Sour Soup: Just Like the Restaurants Make It | The Woks of Life

Our family’s hot and sour soup recipe is from my grandpa, who ran a Chinese takeout joint after moving to the U.S. Still the best hot & sour soup I’ve had.

Egg Rolls

I love Egg Rolls dipped in either sweet and sour sauce or that crazy hot Chinese mustard. I always thought these were hard to make but a great short cut is to buy pre-made egg roll wrappers.

Crispy Homemade Egg Roll Recipe

How to make Crispy Homemade Egg Rolls! This egg roll recipe is easy and delicious filled with pork & veggies! This appetizer can be oven baked or fried.

Dan Dan Noodles

I first tried Dan Dan Noodles at a delicious Chinese restaurant in Philadelphia. These noodles are include ground pork and are served in a spicy brown sauce. It’s served as an appetizer but it’s hardy enough to act as a main course.

Dan Dan Noodles (担担面) | Omnivore’s Cookbook

A dan dan noodles recipe that stays true to the authentic Sichuan flavor, with slight moderations for you to enjoy it even if you can’t handle spicy food.

Kung Po Chicken

I like my Chinese takeout spicy so when I make this dish from Tastes Better from Scratch I include plenty of Szechuan and chili peppers.

Kung Pao Chicken

Restaurant style kung pao chicken with peanuts, fresh vegetables, and homemade asian sauce. It’s the type of meal you could eat every night.

General-Tso Chicken

General Tso’s Chicken is a dish that is a Chinese take-out staple in the US. I was shocked to learn that it actually isn’t an authentic Chinese dish. This dish was invented by a Chinese chef who fled China in the 40s and created the dish while living in Taiwan. In the early 70s he moved to New York City and opened a restaurant where the dish become popular.

General Tso’s Chicken

General Tso’s Chicken - that perfect combination of sweet, savoury, spicy and tangy with crispy Chinese Chicken bites. Chinese takeout favourite!

Fried Rice

The secret to great fried rice is to let the cooked rice sit for a day or so. I usually break apart the day-old rice clumps by hand before dropping it into the wok.

The BEST Fried Rice (Better than takeout!) - Chef Savvy

The BEST Fried Rice. This fried rice is loaded with veggies and only takes 20 minutes to make! So much better and healthier than takeout!

Throw some of these recipes in ClipDish, find yourself a local Asian grocery store and try your hand at some of these dishes. Cooking Chinese food isn’t hard but most people don’t try it because its feels unfamiliar. Be fearless! You’ll learn to work with ingredients you’re not used to and give yourself more options when you’re wondering “What should I make for dinner?”