My 5 All-Time Favorite Easy Chinese Takeout Recipes

Is there anything better than that moment your Chinese takeout finally arrives?

You know the one. You’re in sweatpants, you’ve been thinking about orange chicken since 2pm, and that little bag of fortune cookies feels like pure gold.

I love takeout as much as the next person, but after one too many soggy egg rolls, $40 delivery fees, and “your driver is 10 stops away” notifications… I decided to just learn how to make the good stuff at home.

And guess what? It’s actually way easier, faster, and cheaper than waiting for delivery. We’re talking glossy, sticky sauces, crispy chicken that stays crispy, and fried rice that tastes exactly like your favorite restaurant’s – all in about 30 minutes and with ingredients you probably already have.

No fancy wok skills required. No hunting down weird ingredients. No tip-top-shelf chef techniques.

So put down that takeout menu, keep your slippers on, and get your soy sauce ready. I’m rounding up my 5 all-time favorite, foolproof, better-than-takeout recipes that never, ever let me down.

5 Easy Takeout Dishes I Make at Home on Repeat

These easy takeout dishes all work in a wok or a big skillet, with sauces you can buy at the grocery store. For each dish you get the full ingredient list as I use it, then the video I cook from.

Chicken Fried Rice

Chicken fried rice is the dish I make when I want to skip ordering out. It is on the table in about 45 minutes, and most of that is the chicken sitting in its marinade. It serves one or two, and to me it beats the takeout version on a busy night.

The pinch of baking soda on the chicken is what keeps it soft and juicy the way takeout chicken is, even with breast meat. The recipe uses two soy sauces: light soy sauce brings the salt, and dark soy sauce is mostly there for that brown takeout color.

If you have no day-old rice, fresh rice chilled in the freezer for a little while works in a pinch. A splash of oyster sauce or sesame oil gets the fried rice closer to the restaurant kind. It doubles easily and reheats well for lunch.

Ingredients

• 150 g chicken
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• a pinch of baking soda (not baking powder)
• 2 eggs
• 3 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/4 cup red onion
• 1/3 cup green beans
• 1/2 cup carrot
• 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
• 2 cups cooked rice (day-old)
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tsp dark soy sauce
• pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup spring onion

Chicken Chow Mein

Chicken chow mein is my fix when I want noodles with crisp edges, plus chicken, cabbage and scallions in a sweet and salty sauce of oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and a little sambal. I tried it first because its video on YouTube has over 12 million views.

Pan-fried chow mein noodles are the soft bagged kind from the refrigerated or noodle aisle, not the crunchy canned topping you sprinkle on salad. The trick is dry noodles: they get boiled, chilled and dried before they hit the wok, so the edges crisp. I fry the chicken in small batches so it browns instead of steaming.

This chow mein tastes like the one from my local spot, and my family asked for it again. When I cannot find the pan-fried kind, udon or plain chow mein noodles work.

Ingredients

• 1 lb thinly sliced chicken breast
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 12 oz (340 g) bag pan-fried chow mein noodles
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp sambal
• about 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• about 3 oz (1 1/2 cups) thinly shredded cabbage
• 5 scallions, whites and greens
• 2 large celery sticks
• 1 medium carrot, julienned
• 4 to 5 cloves garlic, sliced
• cooking oil (a good amount)

Tender Beef Stir Fry

Tender beef stir fry turns cheap lean beef soft like restaurant beef, with ginger, garlic and green onion in a quick soy and oyster sauce. It is on my list for the restaurant trick that keeps the beef so tender.

The trick is a soak of baking soda, ice water, egg white and cornstarch before a quick sear. The baking soda is the part that keeps the beef soft and juicy. I rinse the beef after the soak so there is no soapy taste. An hour in the freezer before slicing makes thin, even slices easy.

The 2 pounds of beef in the list make four portions, and one portion makes this stir fry, so the rest waits for another night. I use the same soak on chicken too.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs lean beef
• 1.5 tsp baking soda
• 1.5 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp MSG
• 12 oz ice water
• 1 egg white
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1/8 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• cooking oil, as needed
• a few slices of ginger
• a few slices of garlic
• green onions, white parts and tops

Szechuan Chicken

Szechuan chicken is my spicy one, with Sichuan peppercorns and dried chillies, plus chicken thigh, red pepper, onion and lots of cashews in a sweet and salty hoisin sauce. Sichuan peppercorns are not just hot. They make your tongue tingle and go a little numb, which is different from chilli heat.

Szechuan chicken is the takeout order I pick when I want real heat, and this recipe tastes close to my favorite Sichuan restaurant. The cooking takes only a few minutes once everything is cut, so I set out every ingredient in the order it goes in before I start. There is no time to chop later. This dish makes a lot of smoke, so I run the fan.

When I have no chilli bean paste, black bean sauce with sambal oelek works.

Ingredients

• 1/2 onion
• 1 red pepper
• 10 dried red chillies
• 2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 bird’s-eye chilli
• 400 g boneless chicken thighs
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce (marinade)
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp granulated sugar
• large pinch Chinese five spice
• 1 1/2 tbsp cornflour
• 2 tsp chilli paste or chilli bean paste
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce (sauce)
• 3 tbsp rice wine
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 200 g cashew nuts
• 1 spring onion

Chicken and Onion Stir Fry

Chicken and onion stir fry is soft chicken and onion that still has a little crunch, in a shiny brown sauce of chicken broth, oyster sauce and dark soy sauce, served over rice. It is a one-pan dinner that feeds 4 to 6. The onion cooks only a short time, so it stays crisp next to the chicken, ginger, garlic and green onion.

The comments under its video on YouTube are full of people who made it for dinner, which is why I had to make it too. The chicken comes out juicy and better than takeout for me when I cut it thin. Do not cut back the dark soy sauce. One time I used half, and the dish needed the full amount. It still turned out well when I skipped the broth or the rice wine.

Ingredients

• cooking oil
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 11.8 oz (335 g) onion
• 1 1/2 tsp rice wine
• 20.64 oz (585 g) chicken
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 3/4 tsp oyster sauce
• 3/4 tsp dark soy sauce
• 4 1/2 tsp water
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp white pepper powder
• 5 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
• 3 tsp sesame oil
• 6 slices of ginger
• 6 stalks of green onion
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 3 tsp rice wine
• 2 tsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 3 3/4 tsp dark soy sauce
• 3/4 cup unsalted chicken broth
• 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/3 tsp black pepper

Easy Takeout FAQ

Once people start cooking easy takeout dishes at home, these are the questions I hear most.

Do I Need a Wok?

No. I use my biggest skillet on high heat, and it works fine. A flat-bottomed wok is nice on an electric stove because it sits steady and holds heat. Whatever pan you use, keep it hot and do not crowd it. Cook in batches if you need to, so the food sears instead of steaming.

Why Is My Fried Rice Mushy?

When the vegetables and rice go in together, the pan cools and the rice steams. I cook the vegetables first so their water cooks off, then add the rice last on high heat. Let the rice sit and toast for a moment before you stir, then toss it just enough to coat it in the sauce.

What Should I Keep in the Pantry?

The dishes above share the same few bottles: light and dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, cornstarch, sesame oil, Shaoxing or rice wine, and white pepper. MSG is sold as Accent in the spice aisle at US grocery stores. The FDA treats added MSG as generally safe, so I add a pinch when I want it.

How Do I Make It Less Spicy?

I use fewer dried chillies and go easy on the sambal when kids are eating. If someone does not like the numb feel of Sichuan peppercorns, white pepper gives a sharp heat with no tingle, and pink peppercorns give a brighter, flowery taste with no numbing. Either pepper swaps in for the Sichuan peppercorns.

How Long Do Leftovers Keep?

I keep the cooked chicken and beef dishes covered in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. For longer than that, I freeze them, and they keep for 2 to 6 months in the freezer. After that, I throw them out instead of taking a chance on them.

I line up every sauce and every sliced ingredient before the burner goes on, because these easy takeout dishes cook faster than delivery can get to my door. Pick the dish that matches what you have, open the video and start cutting.