The Expat's Guide to Cooking in China

You may have some concerns about living and teaching in China. When it comes to cooking, many of the ingredients can look unfamiliar, and it’s often difficult to decipher the characters on the packaging.

This post is my guide to cooking in China as an expat. I’ll cover ingredients, essential kitchen tools, and the survival phrases you’ll need. By the time you’ve finished reading, you’ll be ready to dive into the kitchen!

I've never been someone who loves cooking. I usually cook simply because I'm hungry and need to eat. My go-to meal was often pasta with sardines. If I was feeling adventurous, I might make my favourite dish: spaghetti bolognese.

However, even a reluctant cook can find their mojo!

About two months ago, I decided that even if I don’t love cooking, I’d like to be able to prepare decent meals quickly. This was mainly to benefit myself after teaching a late class—when the temptation to order takeaway tends to creep in. I chose to focus on cooking Chinese food because the ingredients are easily accessible and far cheaper than buying Western food.

I browsed the cookbook section in a bookshop and picked the one with the brightest pictures and the simplest-looking steps. Fortunately, I can read a fair amount of Chinese, so I wasn’t put off by the characters. If you're learning Chinese, it’s a great way to expand your culinary vocabulary. That said, there were still plenty of cooking verbs and phrases I had to learn.

I also worked out the basic ingredients commonly used in Chinese cooking and hot-footed it down to my local supermarket.

I decided to work with ingredients that were mentioned the most in the cookbook, and I whittled it down to the following:

• 酱油 (jiàng yóu) – Soy sauce

• 生抽 (shēng chōu) – Light soy sauce

• 老抽 (lǎo chōu) – Dark soy sauce

• 蚝油 (háo yóu) – Oyster sauce

• 醋 (cù) – Vinegar (often black vinegar)

• 料酒 (liào jiǔ) – Cooking wine (usually Shaoxing wine)

• 糖 (táng) – Sugar

• 盐 (yán) – Salt

• 味精 (wèi jīng) – MSG (monosodium glutamate – optional)

• 鸡精 (jī jīng) – Chicken bouillon powder

• 胡椒粉 (hú jiāo fěn) – White/black pepper powder

• 姜 (jiāng) – Ginger

• 蒜 (suàn) – Garlic

• 葱 (cōng) – Spring onion / scallion

• 辣椒 (là jiāo) – Chilli pepper

• 香油 (xiāng yóu) – Sesame oil

• 花椒 (huā jiāo) – Sichuan peppercorn

• 豆瓣酱 (dòu bàn jiàng) – Fermented broad bean paste (e.g. Pixian Doubanjiang)

• 豆腐 (dòu fu) – Tofu

• 面条 (miàn tiáo) – Noodles

• 米饭 (mǐ fàn) – Cooked rice

• 淀粉 (diàn fěn) – Starch (often corn or potato starch for thickening)

One thing I’ve learnt about Chinese cooking is that once you add soy sauce, there’s no need to add any extra salt—otherwise, it becomes far too salty. Garlic fried with ginger gives meat that distinct Chinese flavour. Some recipes include seafood, but at the moment I’m mainly trying out meat and egg dishes.

The pictures in this blog show some of my favourite meals I’ve made so far—they take about 30 to 40 minutes to cook.

Learning to cook from a Chinese cookbook took some time, especially deciphering the cooking verbs! Some I worked out on my own, while others I had to check with Chinese friends. Once I got the hang of the actual cooking, it became easy—and the cookbook is, of course, very visual.

I’m not a vegetarian, but I’ve been having tofu meals more often than I used to. The Chinese seem to have a plethora of ways to cook tofu, which makes vegetarian meals a lot more appetising for me.

There’s a super easy tofu dish I learnt to make from a fantastic WeChat account called 上班族的便当 (Shàngbānzú de Biàndāng). If you’re not keen on deciphering a Chinese cookbook, this account offers very simple and quick recipes perfect for the busy office worker.

Don’t worry if you don’t understand the Chinese—it includes videos for every recipe, along with step-by-step visual guides to help you through the process.

As with most Chinese cooking, you’ll need a sturdy wok and a rice cooker. I’ve certainly gotten a lot of mileage out of my rice cooker—it’s incredibly handy. You can pick up a decent wok from your local supermarket; I think it’s best to invest in a good-quality one, which will probably cost around 150 to 200 RMB. A decent rice cooker can be found on Taobao for about 100 RMB, or possibly even less.

I also decided to buy a steamer, though in my opinion, it’s not an essential kitchen tool. I’d only recommend getting one if you’re happy to spend the extra money—it’s especially useful for steaming pork ribs.

If you think you want to make an attempt at reading a Chinese cookbook, the one I'm using is called 像营养师一样（xiang yingyangshi yiyang). The steps, in my opinion, are really clear. As with the basic ingredients, there are some basic verbs that appear in the book connected to cooking.

1. 炒 (chǎo) – to stir-fry

2. 煮 (zhǔ) – to boil

3. 蒸 (zhēng) – to steam

4. 炸 (zhá) – to deep-fry

5. 烤 (kǎo) – to roast / to bake / to grill

6. 煎 (jiān) – to pan-fry

7. 炖 (dùn) – to stew / to simmer

8. 拌 (bàn) – to mix / to toss

9. 剁 (duò) – to chop finely / to mince

10. 切 (qiē) – to cut / to slice

11. 剥 (bāo) – to peel

12. 腌 (yān) – to marinate / to cure

13. 翻炒 (fān chǎo) – to toss-fry / to stir-fry flipping

14. 烧 (shāo) – to cook by simmering or braising

15. 焖 (mèn) – to simmer with a lid on

16. 凉拌 (liáng bàn) – to prepare cold dishes (usually mixed salads)

17. 搅拌 (jiǎo bàn) – to stir / to whisk

18. 点缀 (diǎn zhuì) – to garnish

19. 倒入 (dào rù) – to pour in

20. 煨 (wēi) – to slow cook / simmer gently

Who knows, I might cook for others one day. Since attempting to cook more, it has changed the way I feel about my own cooking, and that was my main focus of this mini cooking adventure.