3 . Gong Bao Chicken was originally a family dish of Ding Baozhen, an official of the Qing Dynasty. Over the years, it has become one of the most popular dishes in Chinese restaurants all over the world.

It’s hard for people to refuse the delicious dish. What’s more, it is easy to make. So, why not pick up some chicken and try this recipe out?

RECIPE

Ingredients

chicken breast.................................................300g

roasted peanuts.................................................50g

small pieces of dried tofu.................................50g

cooking oil...............................................2 spoons

dried chillies..................................................5 or 6

spring onions...........................................a handful

soy sauce...............................................1 teaspoon

vinegar...................................................1 teaspoon

sugar......................................................2 teaspoon

salt.........................................................1 teaspoon

Instructions

1. Heat the oil over a high heat.

2. When the oil is hot, add the chillies and stir them for about 30 seconds.

3. Add the spring onions and stir them for about 30 seconds.

4. Add the chicken and cook it through.

5. Add the soy sauce, vinegar and sugar.

6. Add the peanuts and dried tofu and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.

7. Add some salt and serve.

7 . It’s funny—as a writer, it’s easy to share your knowledge, or your personal stories with an unknown listener of many. You think your friends and family may not read your articles. But as I began to talk more openly about Chinese traditions and food, I learned that they were interested, curious and really hungered for it. Their interest and curiosity grew and the culmination of their interest and curiosity was this past Spring Festival. They would like to spend the Spring Festival with me. It was an inconvenient Monday. I’d never had the Spring Festival when anyone but my father cooked.

I took the day off work in a madness of last-minute preparation. I drove 45 minutes out of town to a Cantonese BBQ shop where I bought a whole roast duck (烤鸭) and watched, fascinated, as it was changed into bite sizes. I shopped at a faraway international market like madwoman, looking for Chinese vegetables and other foods that would be new for my guests I called my dad, asking for six-second pointers on how to make dishes I’d never made. I texted him pictures of the sea fish I picked out, and the red clothing they threw on for luck.

In just a few hours, I cooked a dinner of 15 dishes for six friends who cared enough about me and my culture to come over on a cold winter Monday night to celebrate my tradition with me. We drank, ate and toasted the beautiful night. And that night, I felt what it was to be loved for my culture as well as our food.

8 . Cooking with steam is of great importance in Chinese cuisine. It's one of the best ways to lock the original flavors in the ingredients.

Vegetables are healthy and full of fiber, and steaming is a quick way to cook them without using much oil. Chinese cabbage is a perfect vegetable to steam: crunchy, tender, less fibrous and mildly sweet. The tender cabbage can be steamed directly with a simple sauce consisting of garlic paste, soy sauce and sugar. Root vegetables like sweet potatoes are also great for steaming. They can be cut into thick sticks or slices and then steamed until the center becomes soft. Thin pieces of carrots, fresh sophora flowers (槐花) can be coated with dry flour and then steamed. This quick dish is usually served with a garlic paste and vinegar sauce.

Steaming fish, shrimp and crabs, is all about preserving the original taste, so freshness is the absolute No. 1 rule when we shop for seafood to be steamed For fine foods from a river, lake or sea, they must be freshly caught the day you buy them. Frozen fish is seldom steamed directly, because there can be a stronger fishy smell and taste. With all the internal organs and scales removed and blood cleaned, the fish is packed with slices of ginger and scallions (姜和葱) that can neutralize the fishiness. It's then placed in a steamer that has been preheated to boil, and cooked for 8 to 10 minutes depending on the size of the fish. The final step is to place scallions on top of the steamed fish. Then, in a small pot, heat up some oil and pour it across the body of the fish to help the flavor release. Next, drizzle (浇) a couple spoons of seasoned soy sauce for seafood around the plate and serve. When eating the fish, it's best to dip it in the sauce for the sweet taste.

9 . The American holiday table is as diverse as the country itself, making the “traditional” meal something different for every family. But when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, it’s hard to beat the classic golden brown delicious Butter Roasted Turkey.

Here are the steps to make it.

STEP 1: Melt 2 cups of butter over medium-low heat. Remove it from the heat; stir in wine. Set it aside.

STEP 2: Wash the turkey with cold running water. Pat it dry with paper towels.

STEP 3: Place it in a shallow roasting pan, breast-side up. Salt and pepper its inside with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Stuff it with onion pieces. Sprinkle (撒) 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper onto the turkey.

STEP 4: Put it in the wine and butter mixture (混合物), squeeze out a little of the liquid. Pour more wine and butter mixture over the turkey.

STEP 5: Heat the oven to 230°C. Roast it 30 minutes. Pour more wine and butter mixture over it again.

STEP 6: Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C. Pour more wine and butter mixture over the turkey every 30 minutes. After 3 hours, pour the remaining wine and butter mixture over the turkey.

STEP 7: Remove the turkey from the oven. Let it stand 30 minutes before carving.

Notes:

1) The size of the turkey varies depending on the number of guests. Typically it’s one pound per person or one and a half pounds per person if you want leftovers.

2) Turkey doesn’t take quite as long as people think and over-roasting leads to a tough bird and a shortage of juice.

3) Remember to allow at least 20 minutes to let the turkey stand at room temperature after roasting and before slicing. The meat will then slice more easily!