at this point Chinese takeout has become a staple in American culture the thing I really love about Chinese takeout is that it’s one of the only things is specifically in American culture it’s actually about a whole meal it’s never just the one it’s the rice it’s the noodles it’s the side dishes it’s the chicken it’s the beef having all of that in one experience maybe one of the few things that the family sits down to eat together which begs an extremely important question which is what is the perfect combination so I asked you the audience that did a poll on my Instagram we asked you to vote on your favorite Chinese dishes in five separate categories so I’m taking the winners of each category I’ll show you how to make them all at home perfectly so that they’re just as good if not better than most Chinese takeout restaurants and at the end we’ll find out our favorite dish and determine is this the perfect Chinese takeout meal at home let’s begin so we’re starting off with the greatest simple homemade egg rolls and before we actually make these egg rolls obviously you’ll serve them with a sweet chili sauce you could easily buy this at the store but come on we’re going to make our own and it’s honestly not that hard so here’s how you do it in a small saucepan add 1 and 1/2 cups or 300 G of granulated sugar half a cup 120 ml of water 1 cup or 240 ML of white distilled vinegar half a cup or 120 ml of fish sauce half a cup or 20 G of dried Korean chilies five whole peeled cloves of garlic two green onions rough chopped place it in the stove bring it to a boil over medium high heat and then Place either a lid or a carou on top reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until everything is completely softened transfer all that to a blender and blend on high until as smooth as possible transfer to a bowl cool it down and you have I would argue one of the most delicious sweet chili inspired sauces that there is for warning fish sauce is stinky when you make it now egg rolls The Filling is everything it is the Beating Heart the soul of the egg roll so use the highest quality 1 lb or 450 G of ground pork you can possibly find I wanted high fat okay none of that lean ground Bull and if you have a meat grinder great but you’re basically just going to grind one pound of a boneless fatty Boston butt I will say this is obviously the benefit of grinding your own I chose to grind my pork two times to make sure the filling was extra fine you obviously don’t have to do that you also don’t even have to grind it yourself if you don’t want to I just like to control my product heat a large pan or pot over medium high heat add just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan add in your ground pork and smash that down to get full contact let that sear for about 2 minutes so you start to get some Browning and use a hand Masher to break up the pork as finely as possible let the pork continue to cook stirring often until you get little crispy Brown bits like this pop one of those in your mouth brother don’t go to flavor Town once that’s brown reduce the heat to medium then to that pot you’re going to add a 1 inch knob of Ginger grated two green onions thinly sliced the whites and the greens four cloves of garlic grated cook that for 1 to 2 minutes then add 1 taspo or 4 G of MSG 1/4 teaspoon or 1 G of ground white pepper 1 TPO or 4 G of granulated sugar 1 tbsp or 15 G of Shing wine 2 tbsp or 30 G of soy sauce 1 taspo or 4 G of toasted sesame oil 1 tbsp or 15 G of oyster sauce two carrots that have been shredded 2 cups of cabbage thinly sliced increase the heat to high and cook tossing often just until the vegetables are soften about 2 to 4 minutes turn the heat off and transfer your cooked filling to a sheet tray to cool completely the rest is extremely easy all you need is an egg roll wrapper obviously you can make them yourself roll wrappers made at home not always worth these squeeze so find the finest quality you can or make them at home if you wish lay an egg roll wrapper in front of you with one of the corners facing you lightly wet the edges with water place three to four tablespoons of your filling slightly off center towards you start by folding the bottom point up and over the filling fold the left and the right side over and before you close this up W the tip of a finger and lightly dab the top point of the egg roll wrapper close and finish rolling all the way up to seal completely now I’m minut to repeat that process with all of your egg roll wrappers and filling until everything has been used up and then fry at 350° F 175° Celsius in a deep fryer or in a pot filled with vegetable oil until the most beautiful blistered gbd egg roll I think I’ve ever seen emerges about 2 to 4 minutes remove transfer to a wire rack to drain and repeat with all of your egg rolls serve with your sweet chili and enjoy moving on to our second appetizer pot stickers this is by far the highest winner of the appetizer category with nearly 40% of the vote so first we need to start with that classic salty slightly sweet and sour dipping sauce so in a small bowl at half a cup of 120 M of soy sauce 1/4 cup or 60 G of Chinese black vinegar 1 taspo or 4 G of sesame oil 2 taspo or 8 G of mirin 1 and 1/2 teaspoons or 6 G of Honey one tight chili thinly sliced and 1/4 cup or 60 G of rice wine vinegar get the little whis together and that’s your sauce let’s talk filling this is a much simpler filling than the last so first you’re going to need a quarter of a head of green cabbage thinly sliced lightly season that with salt and give it a nice little massage feel the little threads of cabbage squeeze out the excess moisture and discard that liquid then mix that into one pounder 450 G of a high fat ground pork adding four green onions thinly sliced three cloes of garlic finely chopped a 1 and half inch knob of Ginger grated 2 teaspoons or 8 G of soy sauce and optionally season with a light pinch of salt to taste mix and knead that by hand until completely Incorporated in tacky now the Assembly of these are simple first you’ll need to lay out a dumpling wrapper jsh what if I want to make it at home hey guess what sweetheart I have a recipe for making your own dumpling wrappers from scratch and the link for that will be in the description obviously you can also use store bot fill that with a 1 to two teaspoon bowl of your meat and here’s the folding technique it’s not as complicated as it looks but it does take some practice first wet the entire border of your dumpling wrapper you’re going to fold it like a taco and pinch right at the top of that taco in the center leaving two open split ends now on each open split end you will crimp and fold one side not both sides of your dumpling wrapper over itself three times sealing it against the other half of your taco which should leave you with one sealed side repeat that on the other side and now you have a crimped beautiful dumpling repeat that with all of your dumplings look at these little things now heat a 10-in DA stick pan over medium heat add 2 tbspoon or 30 G of a neutral tasting oil such as canola once that’s hot add as many pot stickers as you can fit in the pan be careful not to overcrowd they need to be in a single layer only and have full contact with a pan should be around 8 to 12 now let those cook for 2 to 4 minutes or until the undersides of them are a beautiful gbd and here’s the steaming secret quickly add 1/4 cup of water it should immediately boil and immediately add a lid to steam for anywhere between 2 to 4 minutes until the water is completely evaporated and your dumplings are cooked through now for the finishing touch dzz with 1 and 1/2 teaspoons or 6 G of toasted sesame oil over the dumplings just a tiny bit transfer to a plate and serve with your sauce obviously if you want to get real naughty you can put a little chili oil or chili crisp on it and garnish with thinly sliced green oniony onto the noodle portion of our meal we’re going with a classic low man vegetable only but obviously get have protein if you want this won 40% of the vote for the noodle category chain was in second place with 30 5% thankfully we have a recipe for chow by the way which is also the link in the description but this low man is really what we’re talking about so first we need our low man sauce very basic in a small mixing bowl add 2 tbsp or 30 G of dark soy sauce 1 tbsp or 15 G of shaing wine 1 taspo or 4 G of ground white pepper half a teaspoon or 2 G of toasted sesame oil 1 and 1/2 tbsp or 22 G of oyster sauce 2 tasps or 8 G of water and 2 taspo or 8 G of cornstarch don’t skip the cornstarch the thickening properties are a part of the recipe now you’re going to need a big boy walk for this add 2 tbsp or 30 G of canola oil obviously you can use a large pan if you don’t have a walk that’s totally fine but you will not get the walk hay and we all know Uncle Roger is watching heat that over medium high heat and once it is ripping hot add two green onions sliced into 1 in segments three cups of cabbage thinly sliced one large rub of celery thinly sliced one carrot Julien and 1 Cup or 120 g of bean sprouts season that lightly with salt and stir fry just until the vegetables begin to soften about 30 seconds to a minute then add 6 oz or 170 G of low May noodle noodles now look some Lade noodles won’t require cooking prior to stir frying but if they do please check the package directions to ensure you do it correctly now stirfry that just until the noodles are hot another 45 seconds and add a 1in knob of Ginger grated four cloves of garlic finally chopped add your sauce toss to combine transfer to a bowl garnish with green onion and enjoy Not only was this one of the easiest but it’s also the fastest to make and look at this thing I know you want this next up the rice category there are many ways you can enjoy rice but what was really the winner that came in with nearly 70% % of all the votes for the rice category no surprise it’s fried rice here’s one of my most famous recipes so in a small bowl add 2 tbsps or 30 G of soy sauce 2 taspo or 8 G of Shing wine 1 tbspoon or 15 G of mirin half a teaspoon or 2 G of ground white pepper half a teaspoon or 2 G of MSG and 1 teaspoon or 4 G of sesame oil give that a whisk put it to the side and now we’re going to make a very quick very delicious very simple fried rice crack three eggs into a small mixing bowl whis together to combine have those ready for you you will use them soon get a walk and heated over medium high heat add two tablespoons or 30 G of canola oil or really any neutral oil I don’t care you could use avocado oil I don’t know I’m trying to save yall money if I say avocado oil then people go yeah I don’t want to spend money okay then fine so once that’s hot add one shallot thinly sliced one carrot finely diced whites of three green onions thinly sliced season to taste with salt surf for that for about 30 seconds then optionally you can add a half pound or 225 g of a cooked protein if you wish I have some of this cooked charu pork which I have a recipe for the link is in the description for that as well now cook that another minute till you get some Browning on the meat and the veg is softened now push all that stuff to one side of the walk and tilt the walk in a way that the empty side is being blasted with your flame BR add a little extra vegetable oil to the pan if needed add your beaten eggs to the empty side of the pan let those cook just until the eggs are set I forget to season them lightly with salt and once they’re set chop your scrambled egg up into small pieces tossed together then add in three cups of rice that has been cooked and chilled in the fridge overnight make sure that rice is broken up as much as possible stir fry just until the rice is hot then add half a cup or 70 G of frozen peas add in your sauce stir fry for about 30 seconds and add four cloves of garlic finally chopped toss to combine then cut off the heat and garnish with your thinly sliced green onion tops you know the ones that you didn’t add cuz we just used the whites earlier and that is your fried rice now you can’t have a Chinese takeout meal without a couple Entre and the first entree was beef and broccoli so I thought well let’s make the most OG delicious beef and broccoli we can make at home so First Slice one lb or 450 G of flank sck as thinly as possible I’m cutting this on a bias to get wider thin slices now in a large bowl you’re going to Velvet the beef to do that toss your beef with 1 teaspoon or 4 G of baking soda and let that sit for 20 minutes in the refrigerator you can also skip the velveting process if you want but if you want that classic Chinese takeout how is this beef so tender question mark you’re going to do the velveting process next assemble your beef and broccoli sauce in a small bowl by combining 1 teaspoon or 4 G of dark soy sauce 2 tbsp or 30 G of regular soy sauce 1 and 1/2 taspo or 6 G of white distilled vinegar half a teaspoon or 2 G of ground white pepper 1 tbsp or 15 G of granulated sugar and half2 inch knob of Ginger grated 1 tbsp or 15 G of oyster sauce and whisk until combined it’s time to cook this thing brother so heat a large walk over medium high heat add about 2 to 3 tbsp of vegetable oil then once that’s ripping hot add 2 crowns worth of broccoli fettes season with salt to taste and half an onion thenly sliced season with a little more salt to taste just to bring out that water from the onion and stir fry for 2 minutes I want a little bit of color on that broccoli and I want a little bit of crunch left in the broccoli do not overcook it remove that from the walk added some additional vegetable oil another 2 to 3 tablespoons or so now typically people would rinse the beef after the V in process honestly I skip it often times but if you want to rinse it you can toss your beef in half a cup or 60 G of cornstarch shake off the excess add your beef to the walk once you get your Browning on one side of the beef stir fry for about a minute then add your broccoli and onions back to the walk followed by your sauce stirfry for one more minute then cut off the heat finish with four cloves of finely chopped garlic toss and serve in a bowl that is it and finally our most voted for line item more specifically our final entree the one that everybody loves and the one that surprisingly beat out orange chicken it is General so’s chicken so let’s make this easy in a large mixing bowl at 1 and2 lb or 675 G of boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1in pieces 2 taspo or 8 G of salt 1 tbsp or 15 G of soy sauce 1 tbsp or 15 G of shaing wine 1 inch knob of Ginger finely chopped two cloves of garlic finely chopped toss that together and let that marinate for at least 1 hour in the fridge but ideally overnight in a separate large mixing bowl you’re going to combine half a cup or 60 G of cornstarch half a cup or 70 G of allpurpose flour 120 ml of chicken stock 3 tbsp or 45 G of soy sauce 1 tbsp or 15 G of Shing wine once that comes up to a boil which should only take a few seconds add your cornstarch vinegar slurry Follow by your chicken and then constantly toss until it’s completely coated in the most beautiful luxurious lacquer of a sauce pop that chicken in a bowl garnish with toasted sesame seeds and thinly sliced green onions hopefully this ends up concluding the perfect Chinese takeout meal but first i’m want to find out which our favorites are I feel like we got to start with the fried rice just because it’s like the iconic Center piece of a Chinese takeout meal yeah I normally have fried rice with like a ton of soy sauce mixed in but this is still very balanced it’s got that classic restaurant taste to it this is like childhood Nostalgia on a plate everything about fried rice is kind of everything you want in a Chinese takeout meal there’s texture it’s chewy rice it’s salty you got Umami from the MSG a little sweetness garlicky it really is like the perfect dish but I don’t know that it’s my favorite now moving on to General so’s chicken another certified Hood classic I like General so’s chicken right it’s kind of like the same Vibe as orange chicken but just more flavor it’s got a spiciness to it it’s not too sweet it’s saltier there’s also just like the general flavor of the pepper is really what makes this dish all right before we go to the last main let’s move on to an appetizer the egg roll this is a classic you a little dunk in the sauce that sauce just takes it up another level yeah that sauce is not fair the sweet chili you’re used to is like the sugary a little pinge of spiciness red sauce that we’re used to seeing in a packet or in a little mini Deli sauce container this is crack this is essentially that in the sense of you got the sweetness and the spiciness but there is so much flavor compacted into that it’s got like an oceanic quality to it it’s the fish sauce but it doesn’t taste like fish making egg rolls at home should be a standard I’m telling you this out of anything so far is the most worth making yourself this redefined what egg rolls are for me I didn’t know they could be this good homemade I think I’m very used to how they are at restaurants and this effort that you put in is really worth it these set the bar like here to thep top for anybody thinking we’re fluffing this we’re being real this really good moving on to dumpl Lings can’t believe I’m poking this with a fork what I will say is these will taste quite literally exactly like you would expect but the texture is better because they’re fresh made dough and they’re made right in front of you now that being said if you go to a restaurant that’s making them fresh you probably won’t make them better but you will make them just as good at home I love the layering that you can do here there’s a lot of flavor on the inside then you wrap that and then you can layer texture and flavors on the outside I think it’s a great vehicle for flavor dumplings are one of the greatest things in the world cool moving on lowain I love Lan it’s a very sidestep dish to me I like lowain but I don’t love it I think this would be a little more exciting it was the first thing we ate but we ate all these bangers then we go to lowain I think it’s a reminder that low main is quite literally a side dish I’ve been making a lot of noodles recently and it’s a very quick process you just stir fry your veggies you throw the noodles in there you have a sauce that’s it it’s going to take much less time than anything else here but it’s not as good but it’s still a great dish last but not least beef and broccol broccoli I’m surprised Mongolian beef didn’t win this one but hey we made beef and broccoli just for you so you got to get a piece of broccoli piece of beef beef and broccoli is the secondary protein dish that you get when you say we’re going a little overboard right now let’s get something a little healthier that still tastes good I like that it’s not complicated I like that it is quite literally tenderized velveted beef that has a nice rich Savory Brown Umami sauce and some broccoli that’s it the velveting adds a good texture and it’s a very classic Chinese takeout flavor I came into today being like beef and broccoli is pretty boring and I’d rather have Mongolian beef but honestly after eating this I can see the case for it I don’t typically order it but I think now I will if it tastes anything like this meat and potatoes beef and broccoli we’re going to have two different voting rounds one we’re going to vote which one is our favorite and then the second and final vote will be is this the perfect Chinese takeout meal at home I’m going to go with the general shows I think it’s an upgrade over what people like usually the most in America orange chicken but it’s a lot deeper of a flavor and it’s the deepest flavor out of all of these I think it’s still really easy to make and I think the time you put in is going to be worth it for a flavor that you’ll really enjoy I’m going to go with the egg roll you know what’s funny every single thing in front of us here is delicious I’m surprised to say that I agree it’s the egg roll the egg roll here by far is the best thing in front of us and the only reason I say that is because there are other dishes that exist that are like General s chicken that are like fried rice that are like beef and broccoli that are like lowain that are like the dumplings but I mean let’s be honest a Chinese take out egg roll there’s nothing better than this one right here that is by far the best dish to me let’s take our votes yes or no is this the perfect takeout meal would there be something you would want to add to this if this was in front of you or is this the one coming into today I wanted to swap beef and broccoli with Mongolian beef but I’m very happy with every single dish here you have your protein you have great appetizers you have your starches I feel like this is the perfect Chinese take out meal I’m going to say no I’m not a huge fan of low man and for me if I were going to do a meal I would do three appetizers I would change out the low man for crab rang Goods honestly I would probably replace the beef with Mongolian beef just because I prefer a little bit more over the beef and broccoli but I wouldn’t be upset if I got this so in a way this is a universal Chinese takeout meal I would still call it a success but if you want to make the perfect Chinese takeout meal at home you have the things in front of us that you need to make it I hope you enjoyed this I love you subscribe and goodbye

source