Lisa Cheng Smith
Contributor
Lisa Cheng Smith is the founder of Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry, an importer, online shop, and brick-and-mortar general store in Brooklyn, New York, offering premium ingredients for Taiwanese and Chinese cooking. She is also the author of Yun Hai Taiwan Stories, a newsletter exploring lesser-known corners of contemporary Taiwanese food.
Wood Ear and Cilantro Salad
You need a bigger bowl and more water than you might think to rehydrate wood ear mushrooms—they nearly triple in size.
Sichuan Boiled Fish
This recipe moves fast—stay on top of it by prepping and lining up your ingredients before you start cooking.
Chinese Broccoli With Soy Paste
The flavor of the soy paste really shines here, so use the best-quality one you can find. We like Yu Ding Xing’s glutinous rice soy paste.
Soy-Braised Chicken Wings
Dark soy sauce along with regular soy sauce is what gives these wings their rich color. We like to use all flats—arguably the best part of the wing!—but a mix with drumettes or whole wings works too.
Scallion-Oil Noodles
It’s astonishing how much scallion flavor these noodles take on from the infused scallion oil. Still, we encourage you to take it one step further with a garnish of crunchy fried scallion slices.
Crispy Taiwanese Pork Cutlets
Flattening pork chops with the dull edge of a cleaver or heavy knife gives the surface an almost fluffy texture and helps the potato starch coating adhere.
Mala Fried Peanuts
Shelled raw peanuts are easy to find at Asian markets, health food stores, and other specialty food stores.
Five-Spice Powder
This version is made with up to eight spices. It’s worth using them all for the fullest flavor.
Pork Wontons With Sesame Sauce
Whipping an egg into the filling of these simple, folded dumplings makes them fluffy and moist—and a double hit of soy amps up the umami.
Shredded Daikon Salad
This salad is palate-cleansing and refreshing. A little spicy, a little tart—and you can prep it in advance.