Chinese Steamed Buns (馒头/Mantou; with sourdough discard option!)
| | | | |

Chinese Steamed Buns (馒头/Mantou; with sourdough discard option!)

Chinese steamed buns, or mantou (馒头), are a staple food in China. Mantou usually refers to plain steamed buns while filled buns are called baozi (包子). Flower rolls (花卷) are like an intermediate since they have filling, but it’s sealed on the inside. Check out my recipe for scallion or sweet sesame flower rolls! This…

Chive, Egg, and Mushroom Pockets (韭菜盒子; with sourdough discard option!)
| |

Chive, Egg, and Mushroom Pockets (韭菜盒子; with sourdough discard option!)

These chive, egg, and mushroom pockets are my version of Chinese chive pockets (or boxes, the literal translation of their name). Chinese chives, aka garlic chives, have a pungent flavor that their name only partly captures. It can come off as too strong to people who haven’t used it before, but to me, it smells…

Colorful Veggie Rice & Seaweed Rolls (Gimbap/Sushi)
| | |

Colorful Veggie Rice & Seaweed Rolls (Gimbap/Sushi)

What better way to take advantage of seasonal produce than by making these colorful veggie rolls with them? The rolls also a good way to use up leftovers. They’re similar to gimbap or sushi, though due the variety of non-traditional ingredients, I’m just calling them rolls. These make an excellent packed lunch or picnic dish,…

Red Bean and Jujube Zongzi (红豆枣粽子, Rice Dumplings in Bamboo Leaves)
| |

Red Bean and Jujube Zongzi (红豆枣粽子, Rice Dumplings in Bamboo Leaves)

Zongzi are a staple during the Dragon Boat Festival, held on the 5th of the 5th lunar month every year. The history of the holiday is interesting and you can read more about it here, but here’s a summary of the most popular story: after some political issues, the poet Qu Yuan drowned himself in…

Orange Noodles (colored with carrots!)
| | |

Orange Noodles (colored with carrots!)

Noodles are great, but they’re even better when they’re colorful. These carrot noodles have a very mild carrot flavor when cooked, so if you wanted to highlight it in a light broth, it’ll be there, but if you wanted to add heavier seasonings, the carrot flavor won’t interfere. Homemade noodles are time-consuming, but much of…