Sure, Chinese is a complex cuisine, but every family 家 has their go-to recipes for when time isn't on your side. The kind of satisfying dinner that takes no time to make, but everyone loves. We’ve kept the preparation and cooking time to under 30 minutes – though you’ll need extra time when marinaTing is called for.
Luke Nguyen reckons you can pull off Hong Kong dish in 15 minutes flat. Challenge accepted.
It's a classic Hong Kong breakfast dish, but Cantonese fried egg noodles make for an enjoyable fast dinner too. Source: Alan Benson
A flavour-packed stir-fry is always a good idea and is so simple to pull together. You can put the chicken into the marinade in the morning and keep it in the fridge, ready to go. The rest takes about 10 minutes to prepare.
This kung pao chicken recipe was a winner on The Chefs' Line. Source: The Chefs' Line
Fire up the burners because needs some serious heat to pull off. If you can bring the sizzle, beef chow fun takes mere minutes to cook and is basically wonderful.
Beef chow fun needs plenty of heat to work, so if you're cooking for more than two, cook in batches. Source: Sharyn Cairns
There’s a reason is a perennial favourite in Chinese restaurants all over the world: it’s mighty good. It also takes just 20 minutes to make.
This chicken with black bean recipe is inspired by the Shunde region, in Guangdong province. Source: Phaidon Press
Fish is so fast to prepare when in a broth spiced with ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns and chilli. Make sure you’ve got your so you’re ready to go.
Poaching in a spiced broth is a quick and simple way to make a meal. Source: Alan Benson
She might be ’s Aunty Kim, but you’ll want to adopt her after trying . It’s ready in 20 minutes and is tasty and filling.
"Serve as a fabo dine-alone vegetarian dish or as part of a shared meal," Poh advises of her Aunty Kim's mint egg dish. Source: China Squirrel
Prepare and blanch the vegetables and marinate the beef in the morning to keep in the fridge. Then it’s just a matter of throwing everything into a wok when you get home. You’ll be eating within 15 minutes.
Par-cooking the vegetables before frying means this dish cooks faster and more completely in the wok. Source: Steve Brown / Hachette
works best with leftover cooked rice, though you can make it with freshly cooked too. Once you've mastered the basics, you can add extra ingredients, depending on what's in your pantry.
Simple is so often the best, as egg fried rice for dinner proves. Source: Steve Brown / Hachette
Are you sensing a theme here? You simply cannot go wrong with a quick stir-fry on weeknights. is super-tasty, full of nutrition, takes 20 minutes from scratch and can be modified to suit different palates.
Master a good Chinese stir-fry technique and you can be eating fast food every night. Source: Brett Stevens
A you can have on the table in under half an hour. You can prepare the marinated mushrooms in advance, or marinade as soon as you get home.
If you're cooking this black sesame rice noodle dish for vegetarians, simply omit the pork. Source: Benito Martin
A featuring pork, tofu and plenty of big Chinese flavours like Shaoxing, Sichuan peppercorns and Sichuan pickled chillis. Serve with steamed Asian greens for a hearty, well-rounded mid-week meal.
Spicy, appetising mapo tofu is a classic Sichuan dish. Source: Alan Benson
This is a great . The layered depth of flavour in belies the fact that it takes only 30 minutes to create. Guaranteed to become a favourite.
Bang bang chicken was named after the batons street vendors used when shredding the chicken. Source: Feast / Derek Swalwell
