Start cooking Chinese food
Make the first meal manageable: begin with one dish.
Choose for your kitchen
- Tomato & egg stir-fry: use an ordinary frying pan. Practise cooking eggs first, tomatoes next, then combining.
- Egg fried rice: useful if you have safely stored cooked rice. Practise separating grains and working in batches.
- Pork potstickers: have a lidded nonstick pan ready and allow time for wrapping and separate batches.
Shop for one recipe
Read the ingredient list before buying a pantry set. Check what salt, oil, and soy sauce you already have. Light soy sauce commonly seasons food; dark soy sauce contributes more colour. Do not choose by bottle colour. Black vinegar and rice vinegar taste different: use the recipe's substitution guidance. See the pantry guide for more.
Walk through the method before heating
- Read every step. Check whether you need cooked rice, thawed ingredients, or wrappers in advance.
- Chop and measure first. Mix a sauce bowl if specified; stir cornstarch sauces again just before adding.
- Use separate plates and utensils for raw meat and cooked food. Store remaining ingredients as their packaging directs.
- Keep the serving plate, lid, and spatula within reach. Work in batches if crowded instead of simply turning up the heat.
Understand amounts and timing
Recipe controls switch servings and metric/US measures. Doubling ingredients does not double cooking time. Round whole eggs sensibly and consider pan capacity. A tablespoon is 15 ml and a teaspoon is 5 ml. Grams and millilitres are not interchangeable for every ingredient.
Keep a real cooking note
Record equipment, servings, substitutions, actual time, and difficulties. Change one variable on the next attempt. These recipes remain not yet kitchen-tested and timings are estimates; follow each recipe's doneness checks. Send unclear guidance through Contact & corrections with your notes.