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Stir-frying

Making a dish with a fun name like this is alawys intriguing. It also tastes great with the ground pork (the ants) and mung bean noodles (the twigs of a tree).

Meat• Rice, noodles, and grains• [Stir-frying]

Ants climbing a tree (ma yi shang shu 蚂蚁上树)

Stir-fried head-on shrimp with black pepper, garlic, and Shaoxing wine, creating an explosion of peppery and smoky flavors on the outside and sweet, juicy, and tender flesh inside the shells.

Fish and shelfish• [Stir-frying]

Black pepper shrimp

With a unique aroma and a complex salty, bitter, and sweet taste, fermented black soybeans add a nice punch to the sweet and delicate manila clams.

Fish and shelfish• [Stir-frying]

Manila clams in fermented black bean sauce

Among the many varieties of amaranth, my favorite is the multicolor variety. Here, the multicolor amaranth leaves turn the cooking liquid into a beautiful red-purple broth while retaining their vibrant green and red colors when cooked.

Vegetables• [Stir-frying]

Stir-fried amaranth with garlic

Chinese eggplant is perfect for simple and quick cooking methods like steaming. Here, the steamed eggplant is jazzed up by the fish-fragrant sauce made with chopped salted chillies, ginger, garlic, scallions, salt, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and rice wine.

Meat• Vegetables• [Steaming]

Steamed eggplant with fish-fragrant pork

It’s easy to understand why Yangzhou fried rice has become the most famous fried rice in the world if you have tasted a well-made one with generous amounts of shrimp, ham, and mushrooms.

Rice, noodles, and grains• [Stir-frying]

Yangzhou fried rice (扬州炒饭)

Chinese "velveting" technique makes the beef tender and moist in this delightful stir-fry with green peppers.

Meat• [Stir-frying]

Stir-fried beef with green peppers (青椒牛柳)

Many people consider twice-cooked pork the number one dish of Sichuan cuisine. I wholeheartedly agree—it’s a remarkable dish on so many levels.

Meat• [Steaming]• [Stir-frying]

Sichuan twice-cooked pork (四川回锅肉)