I have a confession: anytime Chinese takeout is involved, I go absolutely wild ordering appetizers and my eyes are always bigger than my stomach. I just can't resist all those crunchy, fresh, poppable little bites that kick off a meal so perfectly.
And honestly, Chinese appetizers are a whole universe beyond just egg rolls (though I love those too) with things like bright cucumber salads and pillowy steamed buns waiting to steal the show. I've rounded up 17 homemade favorites that bring all that magic right into your own kitchen.
1. PF Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps
I am completely smitten with these lettuce wraps because they deliver such massive flavor while still feeling incredibly light and fresh. That means I can happily plow through a whole pile of them and still have plenty of room for my main course and dessert without feeling stuffed.
You might glance at the ingredient list for some of these recipes and think wow that's a lot of stuff. And you're not wrong but here's the clever part: so many of the recipes pull from the same core pantry ingredients so it's not as overwhelming as it looks.
2. Easy Chinese Cucumber Salad
Taking a humble everyday cucumber and transforming it into the kind of dish you'll find yourself craving over and over is kind of a big deal. But you truly won't believe how effortlessly this recipe comes together. You'll spot a lot of familiar friends in the lineup here from rice vinegar to garlic and sesame oil which means your pantry is probably already ready to go.
3. Cantonese Spring Rolls
It's kind of funny that I don't whip up a batch of spring rolls more often because they're honestly pretty straightforward once you get into the rhythm of it. You're basically just gathering up a colorful pile of thinly sliced veggies and maybe tossing in some pork if you're feeling it.
The real secret weapon here is buying the wrappers ready-made at the store because that eliminates half the work in one go. Roll them up tight, fry until golden, and you've got the crunchiest little homemade treasures.
4. Okra Salad with Black Vinegar
If okra is totally new territory for you I'd say try it fried first because honestly this veggie has a famously slippery texture that takes a little getting used to. Once you're on board with that unique quality though this simple salad is such a lovely way to enjoy it.
The key move here is blanching the okra pieces for just a quick minute and then immediately plunging them into an ice bath to stop the cooking in its tracks. It keeps everything bright and perfectly tender.
5. 5-Minute Zucchini Salad
Much like that okra salad this dish keeps things beautifully simple and lets the vegetable truly shine as the star of the plate. I personally adore zucchini and eating it this way when it's fresh and bright is just immensely satisfying.
The zucchini gets a brief boil for just a few minutes until it softens up and then it's draped in a wonderful dressing with a generous kiss of hot chili oil. It's fast fresh and totally irresistible.
6. Chinese Zucchini Pancakes
These lovely delicate pancakes are perfect for breakfast a quick snack or a light little starter before the main event. They bring together zucchini shallots and five spice and they absolutely sing when you serve them with that tangy dipping sauce on the side. Most recipes you'll stumble across will tell you to grate the zucchini and then drain it thoroughly which is definitely the path to getting that ideal texture.
7. Chinese Sliced Tofu Salad
To clear things up right away no this is not just a standard salad with some random slices of tofu thrown on top. I was genuinely amazed when I discovered the incredible variety of tofu available these days and the moment I spotted this kind I knew I had to experiment.
Sliced tofu is dense almost like an extra firm tofu and it's cut from thin sheets so it takes on this gorgeous noodle like appearance. You can most likely track it down at your local Asian market.
8. Chinese Style Potato Salad
It honestly shouldn't come as a shock that this dish is outrageously good when you consider the lineup: potato, garlic, salt, and chili oil. I mean what's not to absolutely love about that combination.
You might do a double take when you realize there's zero mayo in this recipe which is a total departure from what you'd expect. Instead it's a beautifully simple toss of potato with a chili infused oil that carries all the flavor. When you're cutting your potatoes just make sure the pieces are as even as possible so they all finish cooking at the same time and watch them closely because overdone potatoes will turn to mush on you.
9. Wood Ear Mushroom Salad
Wood ear mushrooms are these wonderfully unique fungi with a mild flavor that are wildly popular in Chinese cooking. You'll typically find them dried so they need a good soak and a quick cook before they're ready to eat.
Their deep dark color looks incredibly striking when you arrange them on a platter scattered with chilis making for a gorgeous side dish. It's one of those understated dishes that quietly steals the spotlight.
10. Soft Fluffy Chinese Steamed Buns Recipe
These steamed buns are impossibly light and pillowy and so much easier to pull off at home than you'd ever imagine. There's nothing weird or hard to track down in the ingredient list and no marathon proofing sessions required.
All you need is flour, yeast, sugar, oil, salt, and milk to make the magic happen. The dough comes together in a flash using a mixer and once you portion it out it just needs a single rest until it nearly doubles in size.
11. Scallion Pancakes
If you only make one single recipe from this entire list I am begging you to let it be this one. Scallion pancakes require a little bit of love and patience but the incredible savory pancake layered with scallion flavor is worth every second of effort.
To nail that perfect finish you'll shape and mold the dough into balls then roll them out flat before coiling them into cute little logs. The flaky chewy layers that result are pure homemade magic.
12. Chinese Cabbage Salad
I've always had a soft spot for cabbage in pretty much every form whether it's sautéed in butter boiled until tender or shredded fresh for a crunchy coleslaw. I love the texture the flavor and the fact that it's super affordable and stretches a long way. If you're someone who gets excited about a good coleslaw you're going to fall pretty hard for this simple salad.
13. Egg Rolls
So what exactly sets egg rolls apart from spring rolls anyway. Spring rolls tend to have that thinner shatteringly crisp wrapper while egg rolls boast a thicker crunchier shell that really gives you something to bite into.
The fillings share a lot of common ground with cabbage carrots and pork all wrapped up in a similar fashion. Both can take a dip in hot oil but egg rolls are typically deep fried which is what creates that signature bubbly blistered exterior.
14. Vegetable Potstickers
Potstickers and dumplings are basically cousins with one key difference being how they hit the heat because potstickers get both steamed and fried which gives them that glorious crispy bottom. These meat free little beauties are a perfect addition to any spread especially if you're trying to scale back on meat. With earthy mushrooms and crisp water chestnuts in the mix you genuinely won't even miss the meat one bit.
15. Gai Lan Recipe with Oyster Sauce (Chinese Broccoli)
Chinese broccoli is a leafy green that feels like a beautiful cross between broccoli Brussels sprouts and cabbage all rolled into one. It has a similar look to broccoli rabe and carries a pleasantly slight bitterness that I find so appealing. Before you get cooking you'll want to trim the tough ends off the stalks and give those leaves a really thorough wash to get rid of any hidden grit.
16. Crab Rangoon
This unfussy little appetizer comes together with crab meat, cream cheese, garlic, and a splash of Worcestershire sauce tucked into a wonton wrapper and fried until gorgeously golden. The creamy filling is what dreams are made of and here's my little trick: mix the cream cheese with the garlic and Worcestershire until it's silky smooth before you gently fold in the crab meat. That way the crab stays in nice chunky bites instead of getting completely broken up.
17. Sticky Baked Chinese Chicken Wings
For the longest time I could not figure out why my chicken wings never had that glossy, lacquered stickiness you get from restaurant wings. Turns out my impatience was the culprit and I was totally skipping the basting step.
These wings get the full VIP treatment with a deeply flavorful marinade and then they're brushed and coated in that perfect sticky glaze as they bake. The end result is the kind of finger-licking situation that will have everyone hovering around the kitchen.