Make a Chinese Feast Tonight with These 5 Killer Recipes

Paying a stranger to bring Chinese food to your apartment is a sign of laziness, albeit a very, very common one. Cooking a multi-course Chinese meal, on the other hand, is a sign of being fucking awesome—it's a fact. So stock up on scallions, ginger, and Sichuan peppercorns and get to cooking some of MUNCHIES' best Chinese food dishes; these complex yet comforting recipes hit all the right marks.

The first order of business should be scallion pancakes, because you're gonna want to have a tall stack of these fatty, carby discs on hand while you're cooking. These only have a few ingredients, and the dough comes together quickly in a food processor. Then, you'll make a couple extra twists when you roll them out to get that dreamy, flaky texture.

RECIPE: Scallion Pancakes

The Chinese name "dan dan" refers to the over-the-shoulder carrying poles with hanging baskets that street vendors have historically used to vend this dish—noodles on one side, sauces on the other. This particular dan dan noodles recipe comes courtesy of badass London picklemaker Freddie Janssen, who describes it as "an AZN version of spag bol, essentially Asian noodles with meat ragu." It's admittedly a little more labor-intensive than smashing that "repeat last order" button on a delivery app, but your efforts will undoubtedly be worthwhile.

Whole fish often represents abundance in Chinese culture—and once you hit your fish with a couple tablespoons of xiaoxing wine, you'll have an abundance of that leftover, too. Two birds, one stone. If you aren't sold yet, you should know that this recipe calls for fried garlic, confit garlic, and fermented black bean sauce, a.k.a. the most life-changing savory condiment you could stock your pantry with.

You'll probably want some vegetables to round out this meat-heavy lineup, and this vibrant dish From Carolyn Philips' All Under Heaven will absolutely do the trick. Thinly sliced iceberg lettuce, Thai chilies, and wood ear fungus are doused with hot sesame oil right before serving—this side of greens may very well be the highlight of your meal.

And for dessert, save room for a delicious bowl of sweet rice with red bean paste and dried fruit. This Shanghai glutinous rice dessert is also fun as hell to make—you arrange all of the decorative nuts and dried fruits in the bottom of a bowl, top it with the steamed rice mixture, then flip it over while your guests ooh and ahh.

Start cooking now and you'll have a full belly and a delightfully numb tongue in no time.