19 Chinese Recipes for the Nights You’d Usually Order In
Delivery apps make it easy to default to the same Chinese takeout order every time the week gets busy, even though most of what shows up in that bag is simple enough to make at home. These 19 recipes cover the dishes that actually get ordered most: orange chicken, Beijing beef, General Tso’s, fried rice, and egg rolls, along with less common options like black pepper steak and honey walnut shrimp. Each one uses techniques any home cook can manage, no restaurant wok or deep fryer required. Between the proteins, the noodles, and the fried rice, there’s enough here to replace a full takeout menu one recipe at a time.
Panda Express Beijing Beef
Thin strips of flank steak get a cornstarch and egg white coating before frying crisp, then are tossed in a sweet and tangy hoisin and ketchup sauce for Panda Express Beijing Beef, ready in about an hour. It’s one of the more involved recipes here since the beef fries in two stages, but the result matches the crunch of the takeout version closely. Onion and red bell pepper round it into a full plate. Skipping the drive-through wait is the main trade-off for the extra time at the stove.
Get the Recipe: Panda Express Beijing Beef
Chow Mein
Chow mein noodles stir-fry with cabbage, celery, carrots, and a soy and oyster sauce blend in Chow Mein, ready in about 20 minutes, one of the fastest recipes on this list. A cornstarch slurry stirred into the sauce gives it the same glossy coating that clings to noodles at a restaurant. It’s a good side to pair with any of the saucier proteins here, or a fast meal on its own. Sesame seeds on top are the only garnish it needs.
Get the Recipe: Chow Mein
Crispy Sesame Chicken
Bite-sized pieces of chicken breast are coated in cornstarch and egg before frying, then tossed in a honey, sweet chili, and ketchup sauce for Crispy Sesame Chicken, ready in about 30 minutes. The sauce leans sweeter than General Tso’s or Kung Pao, closer to what most delivery menus label as sesame chicken. Garlic and Chinese rice vinegar keep the sweetness from tasting flat. Serve it over rice for a plate that looks and tastes close to the takeout container.
Get the Recipe: Crispy Sesame Chicken
Vegetable Stir Fry
Broccolini, bell peppers, and mushrooms are stir-fried in sesame oil before a soy sauce, rice vinegar, and honey sauce coats everything in Vegetable Stir Fry, ready in about 27 minutes. It’s the one fully vegetable-based option on this list, useful alongside a protein-heavy dish or as a lighter meal on its own. A cornstarch slurry thickens the sauce the same way it would at a restaurant. Sesame seeds and green onion finish it before serving.
Get the Recipe: Vegetable Stir Fry
Crispy Egg Rolls
Cabbage, mushrooms, carrot, and ginger are filled and wrapped in egg roll sheets in Crispy Egg Rolls, ready in about 40 minutes, and making enough for 6 people. Frying them at home means they come out of the pan hot instead of sitting in a delivery bag going soft. Sweet and sour sauce on the side matches the dipping sauce that usually comes with a takeout order. It’s a good appetizer to make alongside a couple of the other dishes here for a full spread.
Get the Recipe: Crispy Egg Rolls
Copycat Panda Express Teriyaki Chicken
Chicken thighs sear before a brown sugar, soy sauce, and ginger glaze thickens around them in Copycat Panda Express Teriyaki Chicken, ready in about 25 minutes and serving 4. It’s a simpler sauce than most of the other proteins on this list, just five ingredients plus a cornstarch thickener. Using thighs instead of breasts keeps the chicken from drying out during the glaze step. It’s a good pick for a night when the usual order needs to come together fast.
Get the Recipe: Copycat Panda Express Teriyaki Chicken
Shrimp Fried Rice
Cooked shrimp and scrambled eggs are folded into rice with peas, carrots, and a soy and sesame oil seasoning in Shrimp Fried Rice, ready in about 25 minutes. Using already-cooked, cold rice is what keeps the grains separate instead of turning mushy, the same trick restaurant kitchens rely on. It’s a good side for almost any other dish on this list, or a full meal with the shrimp already built in. Green onions on top add the last bit of freshness.
Get the Recipe: Shrimp Fried Rice
Sweet and Sour Pork
Cubed pork tenderloin is coated in cornstarch and corn flour before frying, then joins pineapple and bell peppers in Sweet and Sour Pork, ready in about 35 minutes. It’s one of the more colorful dishes on this list, and the sauce here is closer to what most delivery containers actually hold than the neon-red version some restaurants serve. Frying the pork at home means it stays crisp instead of steaming inside a to-go container on the drive home.
Get the Recipe: Sweet and Sour Pork
Chinese Lemon Shredded Chicken
Chicken drumsticks simmer with ginger and Shaoxing wine before shredding and tossing in a lemon, garlic, and sesame dressing for Chinese Lemon Shredded Chicken, ready in about 25 minutes. It’s a lighter, brighter option than the fried lemon chicken most menus serve, since nothing here goes through a deep fryer. Fresh cilantro and toasted sesame finish the dish. It’s a good change of pace from the heavier, saucier dishes on this list.
Get the Recipe: Chinese Lemon Shredded Chicken
Panda Express Black Pepper Sirloin Steak
Sliced sirloin stir-fries with bell peppers and onion in a soy sauce, oyster sauce, and cracked black pepper sauce for Panda Express Black Pepper Sirloin Steak, ready in about 25 minutes. It’s one of the quicker beef dishes here since the steak skips the separate frying step that Beijing Beef needs. Fresh black pepper gives it a bolder, more peppery bite compared to the sweeter beef dishes on this list. Cilantro and sesame seeds finish it before serving.
Get the Recipe: Panda Express Black Pepper Sirloin Steak
Cashew Chicken
Chicken breast cubes are coated in cornstarch before stir-frying with red bell pepper, broccoli, and cashews in a soy sauce and honey glaze for Cashew Chicken, ready in about 40 minutes. Edamame stirred in adds a green vegetable that most takeout versions skip entirely. Rice wine vinegar and chili garlic sauce give the glaze more depth than a plain sweet sauce. It’s a good middle ground between the sweeter and spicier dishes on this list.
Get the Recipe: Cashew Chicken
Shrimp Toast
A shrimp paste seasoned with garlic, ginger, and soy sauce spreads onto bread before a sesame seed coating and a quick fry in Shrimp Toast, ready in about 30 minutes. It’s a menu item that rarely gets made at home since it sounds more complicated than it is, just spread, coat, and fry. Green onions mixed into the paste add color and a mild bite. Cut into triangles, it works as an appetizer alongside egg rolls or on its own.
Get the Recipe: Shrimp Toast
Kung Pao Chicken
Cube chicken breast marinates briefly before stir-frying with red bell pepper and sugar snap peas in a soy sauce, rice wine, and vinegar sauce for Kung Pao Chicken, ready in about 30 minutes. Sugar snap peas add crunch that most delivery versions lose by the time the container gets home. The sauce comes together from pantry staples rather than a specialty chili paste. It’s a good option for the spicier end of this list without needing hard-to-find ingredients.
Get the Recipe: Kung Pao Chicken
Air Fryer Honey Walnut Shrimp
Jumbo shrimp are coated in cornstarch and egg before air frying, then tossed in a honey mayonnaise sauce with candied walnuts in Air Fryer Honey Walnut Shrimp, ready in about 45 minutes. Using the air fryer instead of a deep fryer cuts down on the oil and mess a takeout-style fried shrimp usually needs at home. Brown sugar and water candy the walnuts separately while the shrimp cooks. It’s a good option for one of the pricier menu items without the delivery markup.
Get the Recipe: Air Fryer Honey Walnut Shrimp
Chinese Salt & Pepper Shrimp
Shrimp are coated in cornstarch before frying until crisp, then tossed with garlic, green onions, red chili, and a salt and white pepper seasoning in Chinese Salt & Pepper Shrimp. Skipping a heavy sauce keeps the shrimp’s natural flavor and crunch front and center, closer to the dish’s original form than the breaded, sauced versions some restaurants serve. Sesame oil finishes it with a light nutty note. It’s a good option for anyone who wants the shrimp course without a sugary glaze.
Get the Recipe: Chinese Salt & Pepper Shrimp
General Tso’s Chicken
A cornstarch, flour, and egg white batter coats cubed chicken breast before frying, then toss in a garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and hoisin glaze for General Tso’s Chicken, ready in about an hour. It’s one of the longer recipes here since the chicken fries in batches to stay crisp, but that’s also what keeps it from turning soggy the way a delivered order can on a long drive. Rice vinegar in the sauce balances the sweetness from the hoisin. Green onion on top is optional but recommended.
Get the Recipe: General Tso’s Chicken
Beef and Broccoli
Thinly sliced flank steak sears before broccoli florets and a soy sauce, brown sugar, and ginger sauce join in the same pan for Beef and Broccoli, ready in about 30 minutes. It’s one of the simplest dishes on this list, using pantry staples rather than a specialty sauce, and it comes together faster than most delivery estimates. A touch of apple cider vinegar brightens the soy-heavy sauce. Sesame seeds on top are the only garnish needed.
Get the Recipe: Beef and Broccoli
Panda Express Orange Chicken
A flour and cornstarch batter coats bite-sized chicken breast pieces before frying, then toss in a soy sauce, brown sugar, and fresh orange juice sauce for Panda Express Orange Chicken, ready in about 30 minutes. Using juice squeezed from real oranges instead of just zest or extract gives the sauce a brighter flavor than the syrupy version some containers arrive with. It’s probably the most-ordered dish on this entire list, which makes it a good one to master first. Sesame seeds and green onion finish the plate.
Get the Recipe: Panda Express Orange Chicken
Egg Fried Rice
Scrambled eggs fold into day-old jasmine rice with green onions, soy sauce, and a touch of sesame oil for Egg Fried Rice, ready in about 25 minutes with a short ingredient list. It’s the simplest recipe on this list, useful as a side for any of the saucier proteins or a fast meal when nothing else sounds appealing. Using rice made ahead of time is what keeps the grains from clumping the way fresh rice would. It’s a good dish to have on repeat instead of ordering it separately.
Get the Recipe: Egg Fried Rice
