China & Korea

Sichuan, Canton & the Korean table

This corner of East Asia rewards a well-stocked pantry and a screaming-hot pan. It runs from the numbing heat of Sichuan and the lacquered roasts of Cantonese kitchens to Korea’s marinated grills and fermented depth. Japan, deep enough to stand on its own, now lives in its own hub.

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Every recipe

11 recipes in this region.

Glossy red-orange folded packets of napa cabbage kimchi stacked on a dark wooden board, white radish and carrot matchsticks visible between the leaves, with a small bowl of steamed rice, dark chopsticks and a brown earthenware onggi behind on a weathered table.

Korea — the kimjang tradition, from mild Pyongyang-style kimchi in the north to the seafood-heavy kimchi of Jeolla in the south · Korean

Baechu-Kimchi (Traditional Napa Cabbage Kimchi)

Korea's defining side dish, made the whole-leaf way: napa cabbage brined until it bends, packed leaf by leaf with a gochugaru paste of garlic, ginger, fish sauce and salted shrimp, then left to sour into something deep, fizzy and alive.

IntermediateSidesFermented

A bibimbap bowl of white rice topped with neat sections of green spinach, white bean sprouts, orange carrot, sautéed zucchini, brown mushrooms, and marinated beef, with a sunny-side-up egg in the center and a spoonful of red gochujang sauce.

Korea · Korean

Bibimbap (Korean Mixed Rice Bowl)

Korea's beautiful mixed rice bowl: a base of warm rice crowned with seasoned vegetables, marinated beef, a fried egg, and a spoonful of sweet-spicy gochujang sauce — all stirred together at the table. Endlessly adaptable and a feast of colour, texture, and flavour.

IntermediateMainsCustomizable

A plate of bulgogi — glossy, caramelised thin slices of marinated beef with softened onion and green spring onion, scattered with toasted sesame seeds, served with rice and lettuce leaves for wrapping.

Korea · Korean

Bulgogi (Korean Marinated Grilled Beef)

Korea's beloved 'fire meat': thin slices of beef marinated in a sweet-savoury blend of soy, pear, garlic, and sesame, then seared hot and fast until caramelised at the edges. Tender, glossy, and ready in minutes once it hits the pan.

EasyMainsQuick

Sliced char siu pork with glossy caramelised red-brown edges and a juicy pink interior, arranged over white rice with blanched green vegetables and a drizzle of dark sauce.

Guangdong (Cantonese) · Chinese

Char Siu (Cantonese Barbecue Pork)

The lacquered red-edged pork that hangs in every Cantonese roast-meat window: pork shoulder marinated in a sweet-savoury glaze of hoisin, soy, honey, and five-spice, then roasted and basted until sticky and caramelised. Easier at home than you'd think.

EasyMainsMake-ahead

Four golden-brown Chinese scallion pancakes on a dark round wooden board, the front one cut clean through to reveal dozens of thin separated flaky layers with green spring onion running between them, a torn piece resting on the rim of a small black bowl of dark soy-and-vinegar dipping sauce, sliced scallion rings scattered across the board and whole spring onion stalks and a pale linen cloth in the soft background.

Vegan

Shanghai and the lower Yangtze, drawing on the northern wheat belt of Shandong and Henan where the bing tradition began · Chinese

Cong You Bing — Chinese Scallion Pancakes with Shatteringly Flaky Layers

Flour, water, oil and spring onions, laminated like puff pastry and fried until the layers separate into flakes. The two things that decide the outcome are a half-boiling-water dough and an oil roux — not plain oil — between the sheets.

IntermediateBreadsVegan

A wire cooling rack of freshly baked Hong Kong egg tarts on dark wood, their fluted golden shortcrust shells holding smooth, glassy pale-gold custard with no browning on top, one tart tipped on its side to show the thin crisp pastry base and the clean set of the filling, with a glass cup of dark Hong Kong milk tea and a scattering of loose tart tins behind.

Veg

Hong Kong — the cha chaan teng and bing sutt bakeries of Central, Wan Chai and Kowloon, with roots in 1920s Guangzhou · Hong Kong

Hong Kong Egg Tarts (Daan Taat)

The glassy, wobble-free custard tart of Hong Kong's cha chaan teng — a short, biscuity butter crust, a filling of whole eggs and evaporated milk strained twice until it sets clear, and a two-stage bake that browns the pastry before the custard ever has a chance to soufflé.

IntermediateSweetsBakery classic

Overhead view of a wide cream stoneware bowl of Korean japchae on a dark weathered wooden table — glossy amber noodles tangled with strips of browned beef, sliced mushrooms, bright orange carrot matchsticks, red pepper slivers and dark green spinach leaves, scattered with toasted sesame seeds, with wooden chopsticks resting to the left and small bowls of red kimchi and steamed white rice at the top edge of the frame.

Korea — a Joseon royal-court dish from Seoul, now cooked in every Korean home · Korean

Japchae (Korean Glass Noodle Stir-Fry)

Korea's celebration noodle — chewy sweet-potato dangmyeon tossed with beef, shiitake and a rainbow of vegetables each cooked separately so every strand keeps its own colour and bite. A royal-court dish from 1600s Seoul that now appears at every first birthday, wedding and Chuseok table.

IntermediateSidesCelebration dish

A bowl of mapo tofu — soft white tofu cubes in a glossy deep-red chili-bean sauce flecked with minced pork and ground Sichuan pepper, scattered with sliced green spring onions, served over white rice.

Sichuan · Chinese

Mapo Tofu (Sichuan Tofu in Spicy Bean Sauce)

The great tofu dish of Sichuan: silky cubes of tofu in a fiery, savoury sauce of fermented broad-bean paste and minced pork, finished with the tongue-tingling buzz of ground Sichuan pepper. Ready in 20 minutes and built on a handful of pantry powerhouses.

IntermediateMainsQuick

Bamboo steamer baskets of Cantonese dim sum, with open-topped pork and shrimp siu mai dumplings among other steamed dumplings.

Guangdong / Cantonese (China) · Chinese

Siu Mai (Cantonese Pork and Shrimp Dumplings)

The open-topped dim sum classic — juicy pork and shrimp filling in a thin wheat wrapper, pleated into a little cup and steamed until plump. The dumpling at the heart of any dim sum spread, easier to make at home than you'd think.

IntermediateSnacksSteamed

Overhead view of a wide dark-glazed bowl of Taiwanese beef noodle soup on a weathered dark wooden table: deep red-brown broth holding chunks of glossy braised beef shank, a coil of pale wheat noodles, a segment of collapsing tomato and a sprig of coriander with sliced spring onion, flanked by two halves of blanched baby bok choy with bright green leaves and white stems. A small ceramic dish of chopped pickled mustard greens sits at the top left, a shallow bowl of red chilli oil at the bottom left, and a pair of wooden chopsticks lies on the wood to the right in warm, low natural light.

Taiwan — born in the juancun military-dependents' villages around Gangshan in Kaohsiung, perfected in the noodle shops of Taipei · Taiwanese

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup — Red-Braised Niu Rou Mian with Shank and Tendon

Taiwan's national bowl: beef shank and tendon braised for three hours in a dark, glossy broth built on fried chilli bean paste, caramelised rock sugar and tomato. The colour comes from frying the doubanjiang in oil, not from soy sauce — and that one step is the whole dish.

IntermediateMainsMake-ahead

An overhead view of a round bamboo steamer basket holding nine Shanghai xiaolongbao arranged in a ring, each dumpling pleated into a tight twisted spiral at the top, faint steam rising from the basket; a small black dish of dark vinegar with fine ginger matchsticks and a pair of wooden chopsticks sit to the left and a pale cup of green tea to the right, on a dark weathered wooden table.

Nanxiang, in Shanghai's western Jiading district — and the teahouse counters around Yu Garden that carried it into the city · Chinese

Xiaolongbao (Shanghai Soup Dumplings, the Nanxiang Way)

The dumpling that carries its own soup: chilled pork aspic folded into the filling, sealed inside a thin unleavened wrapper with eighteen pleats, and steamed until the jelly melts back into broth. Every part of the technique exists to protect that liquid.

AdvancedSnacksWeekend project