Our love of Chinese food knows no bounds. And when it comes to cooking Chinese cuisine, who better to turn to than the people who cook it for a living?
Chinese cuisine is a rich tapestry of flavors, techniques, and regional specialties that delight the senses. From the fiery heat of Sichuan to the delicate dim sum of Cantonese kitchens, each dish tells a story of tradition and refinement. From fresh starters like Louis Tikaram’s grilled scallops with soy and ginger and Tony Tan’s Chiu chow raw fish salad, heftier mains like Victor Liong’s masterstock-braised meats and tofu, comforting classic like Kylie Kwong’s comforting Cantonese-style prawn wonton soup to sweet custard-filled doughnuts by Melbourne’s Flower Drum, there’s a carefully refined Chinese recipe by a top chef here for all.
Even for the masters, nailing Chinese recipes begins with the right ingredients: Shaoxing wine, Sichuan peppercorns, and fermented black beans add depth and authenticity. Wok-frying at high heat imparts the coveted wok hei, while slow braising creates deeply flavoured broths.
Whether crafting Kylie Kwong’s delicate dumplings, adding the final, chilli-spiked flourish to Neil Perry’s smashed cucumber salad, or simmering Tony Tan’s braised beef brisket, these are all the restaurant-quality Chinese recipes you’ll ever need.
Dan Hong’s crisp eggplant with fish-fragrant sauce
Fish-fragrant sauce doesn’t actually have any fish in it, but its sweet, sour and spicy elements are traditionally used to cook Sichuan fish dishes and give this dish its name.
Kylie Kwong: Caramelised pork belly with Chinese coleslaw
Chinese-style pork belly is always a crowd-favourite — and Kylie Kwong’s rich caramelised pork belly with Chinese coleslaw is no exception.
Ma po doufu
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for ma po doufu by Dan Hong.
Tony Tan’s Sichuan sliced pork with garlic and chilli sauce
The Sichuan dipping sauce is a spicy foil for the fattiness of pork belly.
Flower Drum’s jin deiu (sesame doughnuts with custard)
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for sesame doughnuts with custard by Flower Drum, Melbourne.
Louis Tikaram’s grilled Hervey Bay scallops with soy and ginger
The perfect dish to whip up after a day at the beach, according to the Stanley chef.
Tony Tan’s Chiu chow raw fish salad
A dish from China’s Chiu Chow community that makes the most of the top-shelf fresh fish.
Neil Perry: Cucumber with smashed garlic
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for cucumber with smashed garlic by Neil Perry and Andy Evans from Sydney restaurant Spice Temple.
Flower Drum’s twice-cooked king prawns with soy sauce (si yow wong ha)
With this recipe, the key to success lies in the timing.
Tony Tan’s crab soup with pickled vegetable and tomato
Sure, it’s messy to eat. That just makes it more fun.
Victor Liong’s cold silken tofu with peanuts, salted daikon, coriander and black vinegar
The Lee Ho Fook chef’s go-to dish for summer.
Kylie Kwong’s deep-fried chicken with finger-lime sauce
“Lemon chicken is one dish I don’t look back at with nostalgia – there’s no love lost there,” says Kylie Kwong. “This is my interpretation, which steers well clear of the processed sauces from a jar.”
Victor Liong’s three sliver salad
A classic, cooling dish from the northern regions of China.
Dainty Sichuan’s wawa cabbage (chow wawa cai)
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for wawa cabbage (Chow wawa cai) from Dainty Sichuan in Melbourne.
Victor Liong’s Xinjiang-style lamb skewers
Time to spice things up.
Flower Drum’s pan-fried pei pa tofu with Chinese sausage and prawns (heung jin pei pa doufu)
An ideal starter for a Chinese banquet.
Flower Drum’s char siu pork with egg noodles (keong chung cha siu lo mein)
Quick, easy and very slurpable.
Tony Tan’s guide to making Hakka salt-baked chicken
This surprisingly simple dish rewards a little attention to detail with a lot of flavour.
Dainty Sichuan’s bang bang chicken (bang bang ji)
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for bang bang chicken (bang bang ji) by Dainty Sichuan in Melbourne.
Good Luck Pinbone’s Sichuan chilli eggplant with wood-ear fungus
“The spicy eggplant at Sydney’s Good Luck Pinbone is one of my favourites. Would you get the recipe?” – Susan Ridge, Bowral, NSW
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Victor Liong’s grilled eggplant with sesame, cumin and chilli
A fragrant eggplant dish by Lee Ho Fook’s head chef that recalls the cooking styles of Dongbei and Xinjiang in northern China.
Tony Tan’s eggplant and broad beans with soy-sesame dressing
You love eggplant but you’re short on time. This is the recipe for you.
Lau’s Family Kitchen’s scallops stuffed with prawn mousse
For best results, find the freshest of fresh scallops.
Louis Tikaram’s stir-fried snake beans with pork
It’s one of the Stanley chef’s all-time favourite Chinese dishes, for good reason.
Lau’s Family Kitchen’s vegetarian sang choi bau
A meat-free take on the Cantonese classic.
Lau’s Family Kitchen’s calamari with shrimp sauce
A fresh, simple and easy seafood dish from the long-standing Melbourne restaurant.
Victor Liong’s Sichuan sour and spicy poached fish with pickled mustard greens
A sweet-sour dish by the Lee Ho Fook chef that showcases the depth of flavours from Hunanese and Sichuan cuisines.
Victor Liong’s masterstock-braised meats and tofu
The ultimate one-pot dinner (and the Lee Ho Fook chef’s ideal death-row meal).
Lau’s Family Kitchen’s prawns and char siu with vermicelli in a claypot
A knockout dish from the family-run Cantonese restaurant in Melbourne.
Pickled black fungus
Recipe for pickled black fungus by Victor Liong from Lee Ho Fook in Melbourne.
Tony Tan’s stir-fried asparagus with shiitake mushrooms and chilli
Inspired by an asparagus dish eaten in Sichuan, Tony Tan stir-fries his own version with fresh shiitake mushrooms, ginger and soy sauce. So simple, so good.
Tony Tan’s braised beef brisket with chilli-oil sauce
A magical version of the Cantonese classic, with a robust chilli oil to boot.
Kylie Kwong’s beef with black bean and chilli sauce
“This Cantonese classic needs no introduction, and needs little in the way of tweaking to bring it up to date,” says Kylie Kwong.
Flower Drum’s stir-fried water spinach with preserved bean curd (fu yu ong choy)
An easy way to eat your greens.
Stir-fried beef and gai lan with rice noodles
Why order in when you can whip up Thai-style noodles in half the time?
Kylie Kwong’s sweet and sour pork with Davidson’s plum
The chef’s take on the Cantonese classic.
Cheong Liew’s pork hock and wood fungus
The yielding goodness of braised pork, the crunch and texture of wood fungus. This dish is the complete package.
Tony Tan’s braised pork belly with soy sauce
A cinch to prepare, and it tastes even better the day after it’s cooked.
Victor Liong’s stir-fried beef hor fun
Slippery noodles, smoky beef, and the crunch of vegetables. This dish has it all.
Victor Liong’s white-cut chicken, aromatic chilli oil and peanuts
“White-cut chicken, in my opinion, is one of the great Chinese techniques,” says Liong.
Tony Tan’s Cantonese fried rice with chicken, salted fish and bean sprouts
A comfort food classic.
Lee Ho Fook’s Fujian-style scallop and spanner crab fried rice
A classic fried rice dish that has it all.
Louis Tikaram’s fried rice of shiitake, salted radish and peas
The Chinese classic you know and love (and it’s vegetarian too).
Kylie Kwong’s XO fried rice
“Everyone loves fried rice. Growing up, we’d have it twice a week, and even devoured it cold,” says Kylie Kwong. “XO sauce takes it to another level.”
Tony Tan’s bang bang chicken
This popular Sichuanese dish is a heady mix of refreshment and spice, with peanuts and cucumber providing plenty of crunch. It’s the type of dish you could get addicted to.
Kylie Kwong’s stir-fried Australian native greens with garlic
The legendary chef’s simple and delicious celebration of Australian native produce.
Lau’s Family Kitchen’s tangerine duck
It’s a three-part process to making the Melbourne restaurant’s duck dish, but the results are worth it.
Flower Drum’s braised squab with oyster sauce and shiitake mushrooms (tung ku wat yu kap)
Try squab for its dark, gamy and richly flavoured meat.
Sunda’s lamb ma po tofu with green beans
Chef Khanh Nguyen learnt this recipe during his time at Sydney’s Mr Wong, and now it’s a hit at staff meals at his Melbourne restaurant.
Ricky & Pinky’s steamed snapper with coriander and ginger
At Melbourne’s Ricky & Pinky, their steamed snapper is served with a Shaoxing wine-based Chinese broth spooned over. It’s incredibly aromatic.
Lau’s Family Kitchen’s salt and pepper whiting
No recipe secrets here. This crowd favourite just needs fresh fish, clean oil and this easy batter.
Kylie Kwong’s steamed fish fillets with ginger, soy sauce and spring onions
The legendary chef’s take on a Cantonese classic.
Kylie Kwong’s Cantonese-style prawn wonton soup
“The success of this classic soup, the ultimate comfort food, lies in using the freshest ingredients,” says Kylie Kwong.
Kylie Kwong’s fried eggs with XO sauce
Her restaurant Billy Kwong may be gone, but we’re still dreaming about that go-to dish from Kylie Kwong’s restaurant.
Kylie Kwong’s deep-fried duck with Davidson’s plum sauce
A signature Kylie Kwong recipe, for good reason.
Dan Hong’s mud crab with XO sauce
Dan Hong shares his recipe for a stunning main course of crab stir-fried with Chinese flavours such as ginger, spring onion and XO sauce.
Flower Drum’s sautéed mud crab with ginger and spring onion (keong chung hai)
A luxurious seafood dish from the Melbourne favourite.
Louis Tikaram’s mango pudding with lime tapioca and coconut ice-cream
The classic yum cha dessert, with a twist.
Spice Temple’s custard buns
These buns are excellent steamed. Deep-fried? They’re a revelation.
Kylie Kwong’s prawn dumplings with organic tamari and chilli dressing
Don’t underestimate that dressing – it’s a smoky, sweet, sour, spicy and salty hit that works wonder with the dumplings.
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