Cooking with a Wok: 7 Easy Chinese Recipes at Home

A wok pan is a versatile and essential piece of cookware in many Asian kitchens,  and a traditional Chinese wok is characterized by its round bottom and high, sloping sides. This unique shape allows for quick, even heating and easy tossing of ingredients. The rounded bottom also helps concentrate heat at the center, ideal for stir-frying.

With more Chinese dishes coming in the United States and other countries, a modern adaptation of the traditional wok pan is the flat-bottom wok.

Unlike the traditional round-bottom wok, the flat-bottom wok has a flat base, making it more stable on Western stovetops, particularly electric or induction cooktops. However, the flat area is not as large as a typical frying pan or skillet, maintaining the wok’s unique sloping sides.

Flat-bottom wok retains the versatility of traditional wok, suitable for stir-frying, steaming, deep-frying, braising, and boiling. The design allows for tossing ingredients easily while offering more stability.

These woks can be made from the same materials as traditional woks, including nonstick, cast iron, and stainless steel.

There is an interesting fact that most Chinese families own just one large wok in one size for stir and fry and even steaming, with no extra skillets, grill pans, or crepe pan. For them, they can just use one wok to cook any food that is even cooked in frying pans.

One of our team members is from China, and she said the fanciest part of a wok pan is you can mix any ingredients and come out a quick and nice dish. Here are some dishes she often cooked for two or three people.

Tomato and Egg Stir-Fry

This is a easy recipe and you can cook in a wok or a suate pan, though I prefer a wok. It’s also the so-called “must-learn” recipe for most Chinese teenagers.

Ingredients:

• 2 tomatoes
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Sugar
• 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced

Instructions:

1. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add a pinch of salt, and beat until well mixed.
2. Heat a wok over medium heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Pour in the beaten eggs and stir-fry until just cooked. Remove the eggs and set aside.
3. Cut the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces.
4. In the same wok, add a little more oil and heat it over medium heat.
5. Add the tomato pieces and stir-fry until they soften and release their juices.
6. Return the cooked eggs to the wok, add a pinch of sugar and salt to taste, and stir-fry everything together until well mixed. Finally, add the chopped scallions at the last minute and serve.

Garlic Spinach

Garlic Spinach is a dish that vegetarians must not miss. The key to making this dish is to cook it quickly over high heat and then take it off the stove. A friend mentioned that he usually lets the wok heat up on the stove for 2-3 minutes before adding oil.

Ingredients:

• A bunch of spinach
• 3 cloves of garlic
• Salt

Instructions:

1. Wash the spinach thoroughly and cut it into sections.
2. Peel and mince the garlic.
3. Heat a wok over medium heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Add the minced garlic and stir-fry until fragrant.
4. Add the spinach and stir-fry quickly over high heat until wilted and tender.
5. Add a pinch of salt to taste, stir to combine, and serve immediately.

Stir-Fried Bok Choy

It has the same secret with garlic spinach, just cook it in high heat and quickly stir.

Ingredients:

• A bunch of bok choy
• 3 cloves of garlic
• Salt

Instructions:

1. Wash the bok choy thoroughly and cut it into sections.
2. Peel and mince the garlic.
3. Heat a wok over medium heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Add the minced garlic and stir-fry until fragrant.
4. Add the bok choy and stir-fry quickly over high heat until tender.
5. Add a pinch of salt to taste, stir to combine, and serve immediately.

Egg Fried Rice

It’s the best main food for lunch if you have leftover rice from the last dinner. Another “must-learn” dish among Chinese teenagers.

Ingredients:

• 2 bowls of leftover rice
• 2 eggs
• Half a carrot
• 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
• Salt
• Soy sauce

Instructions:

1. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add a pinch of salt, and beat until well-mixed.
2. Peel and dice the carrot. Chop the green onions.
3. Heat a wok over medium heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Pour in the beaten eggs and stir-fry until just cooked. Remove the eggs and set aside.
4. In the same wok, add a little more oil and heat it over medium heat. Add the diced carrots and stir-fry until they soften.
5. Add the leftover rice and break up any clumps, stir-frying until heated through.
6. Return the cooked eggs to the wok, add the chopped scallions, a pinch of salt, and a splash of soy sauce. Stir-fry everything together until well mixed and heated through. Serve hot.

Vinegar Potato Shreds

This is one of my favorites! Can you believe that potatoes can be shredded and stir-fried? When my American friend saw this dish for the first time, he could hardly recognize that it was made from potatoes.

Ingredients:

• 2 potatoes
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• Vinegar
• Salt
• 3 cloves of garlic

Instructions:

1. Peel and shred the potatoes. Soak the potato shreds in water to remove excess starch.
2. Slice the green and red bell peppers into thin strips.
3. Peel and mince the garlic.
4. Heat a wok over medium heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Add the minced garlic and stir-fry until fragrant.
5. Drain the potato shreds and add them to the wok, stir-frying quickly over high heat.
6. Add the bell pepper strips and continue to stir-fry until the potatoes are tender but still slightly crisp.
7. Add a splash of vinegar and a pinch of salt, stir to combine, and serve immediately.

Ginger and Scallion Chicken

This dish seems to require some skill, but in fact, its preparation is quite simple and doesn’t involve complex cooking processes. The key is to ensure the chicken is quite fresh, preferably freshly slaughtered, rather than the kind that has been frozen for several days in the refrigerator. However, I guess this might be a bit challenging for you.

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken breast
• 3 slices of ginger
• 2 scallions, chopped
• Salt
• Cooking wine (Shaoxing wine)
• Soy sauce

Instructions:

1. Slice the chicken breast thinly and marinate with a pinch of salt, a splash of cooking wine, and a dash of soy sauce.
2. Slice the ginger and cut the green onions into sections.
3. Heat a wok over medium heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Add the ginger slices and stir-fry until fragrant.
4. Add the marinated chicken slices and stir-fry until they are just cooked through.
5. Add the green onion sections and stir-fry for another minute until the green onions are fragrant and slightly wilted. Serve hot.

Stir-Fried Pork with Peppers

Stir-fried pork with Green Peppers is a classic Chinese “rice-friendly dish,” which means that when you eat this dish, you can enjoy more staple foods like rice or noodles. When making Stir-Fried Pork with Green Peppers and noodles, simply add this dish to cooked noodles and broth. This dish can be slightly spicy, so if you prefer less spicy food, you can substitute the chili peppers with milder bell peppers or sweet peppers.

Ingredients:

• 250g lean pork, sliced or cut into strips
• 2 green peppers, sliced or cut into strips
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 piece ginger, sliced
• 1 scallions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon cooking wine
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• Salt, to taste
• Sugar, to taste
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• Cooking oil, as needed

Instructions:

1. Marinate the pork slices or strips with cooking wine, soy sauce, salt, sugar, and ground black pepper for a few minutes.
2. Remove seeds from the green peppers and slice or cut into strips. Mince the garlic, slice the ginger, and chop the spring onion.
3. Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the spring onion, ginger slices, and minced garlic, and stir-fry until fragrant.
4. Add the marinated pork to the wok and stir-fry until it changes color.
5. Add the green pepper strips and continue stir-frying until the peppers are tender but still crisp.
6. Adjust seasoning with salt and ground black pepper according to taste.
7. Stir well and transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with chopped scallions before serving.

If you want to cook with a wok, you can start with these simple 7 recipes. After making these 7 dishes, you will discover that some Chinese stir-fries are quite simple—you just need to prepare some common ingredients like soy sauce, cooking wine, garlic, ginger, scallions, and chicken bouillon powder. With these, you can stir-fry combinations of vegetables and meats to create delicious dishes with minimal effort.

Other Chinese recipes you can use a wok:

Mapo Tofu Recipe