10 Essential for Cooking Chinese Food at Home

Recently I was reading Meera Sodha’s Fresh India, where she shares “Ten Ways to Raise Your Game in the Kitchen” for Indian cooking. It’s a brilliant guide for anyone starting their journey, and it got me thinking: Chinese food deserves its own version.

Chinese cooking runs on an entirely different set of techniques, rhythms, and philosophies from Western kitchens, which is often where the intimidation creeps in. But with a few guiding principles, it becomes far less mysterious, and a lot more fun.

So here are my 10 tips to help you cook Chinese food confidently at home.

1.

Invest in a Sharp Knife & Good Wok

I read this advice in Chinese cookbooks for years and ignored it, but Chinese cooking really is a chore without both. There’s so much chopping that a sharp knife turns prep from drudgery into pleasure. And a well-seasoned cast iron wok will instantly improve your stir-fries: it heats fast, sears properly, and helps you avoid the sad fate of floppy, watery veg.

2.

Finish Your Prep

Before you touch the stove, know exactly what needs chopping and mixing. Chinese cooking is built around using as little heat as possible, which is why everything is cut small and sauces are mixed ahead of time. Once your wok is hot, the entire dish comes together in minutes.

3.

Go Hot

Most home stovetops can’t match the blast-furnace heat of a Chinese wok burner, so what counts as “medium” heat in China might mean “maximum power” for you. Don’t be afraid to turn it up, but never walk away. At these temperatures, perfection can become charcoal in three seconds.

4.

Use More Oil Than You Think

Western chefs often say “use more salt than you think”; for Chinese food, it’s “use more oil.” A good baseline is 2–3 tablespoons at the start. Oil carries heat, prevents sticking, and gives vegetables that glossy, restaurant-style finish.

5.

Don’t Overcrowd the Wok

Add too much food at once and the temperature crashes, leaving you with steamed instead of seared ingredients. If you get the heat (Tip 3), the oil (Tip 4), and the portion size right, your food will taste immediately better.

6.

Respect Your Aromatics

If Western kitchens rely on onion, celery, and carrot, Chinese cooking is built on spring onion, garlic, and ginger. They’re the backbone of countless dishes, but they burn fast. Chinese recipes often layer aromatics twice: a little at the start for depth, and a little at the end for freshness.

7.

Treat Meat As A Treat

Historically, meat was used sparingly in Chinese home cooking; more for flavour than for bulk. Think slivers of pork belly tucked into a mountain of cauliflower. A Chinese meal doesn’t need a standalone “meat dish”; instead, meat adds richness and contrast across the table.

8.

Dry Before you Fry

If you’ve ever made chao mian (chow mein) or egg-fried rice at home, it tastes nothing like in the restaurant. Well, the trick is simple: par-boil your noodles or rice, toss with oil, and then dry them out completely before adding to the wok. If you do this, chances are you’ll get closer to that take-away taste. Chinese Cooking Demystified just wrote a post on this topic recently here.

9.

Stock Up on Essentials

You’ll burn through soy sauce, vinegar, Shaoxing wine, and cornflour faster than you expect. Keep them replenished. A simple rule of thumb: once a bottle drops below halfway, buy another.

10.

Wash Your Rice

I ignored this for years, too. Unwashed rice tends to clump and turn stodgy. Rinsing removes excess starch, giving you fluffier, cleaner-tasting grains, and better rice makes every meal better.

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