When takeout sounds good but another delivery order does not, this collection gives you plenty to make at home instead. These 19 recipes cover the dishes people reach for across a full takeout order, from brothy soups and crisp starters to saucy chicken, beef, noodles, and fried rice. Most use familiar grocery-store ingredients and straightforward stovetop or oven methods, while a few bring in techniques such as steaming, frying, or candying fruit. The result is enough variety to build one dinner or pick a single dish whenever a Chinese restaurant craving shows up.
Chinese Steamed Chicken
Gentle steaming keeps Chinese Steamed Chicken tender while a ginger-scallion sauce brings plenty of savory flavor in just 30 minutes. The recipe serves four and pairs boneless chicken thighs with shiitake mushrooms, green onions, ginger, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Because the chicken cooks without frying, it lands lighter than many restaurant-style mains while still working well with rice or noodles. Make it when you want a quieter, less greasy answer to a takeout craving.
Get the Recipe: Chinese Steamed Chicken
Egg Drop Soup
Silky and light, Egg Drop Soup comes together in 20 minutes and makes four bowls, so it is easy to fit beside a larger homemade takeout dinner. Eggs are whisked with cornstarch, then streamed into chicken broth flavored with sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and Sichuan pepper. Green onions, cilantro, and chili oil can finish each serving. Keep this one in mind when the meal needs a warm starter that does not require a long simmer.
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Scallion Pancakes
Crisp around the edges with chewy, layered centers, Scallion Pancakes take 1 hour 10 minutes from start to finish, including a 30-minute dough rest. The four-serving batch uses a simple flour dough rolled with chopped scallions and peanut oil, then pan-fries each pancake until golden. A quick soy sauce and Chinkiang vinegar dip goes alongside. These work especially well when you want a restaurant-style starter that can be cut into wedges and shared.
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Cashew Chicken
Sweet, savory, and loaded with crunch, Cashew Chicken makes four servings in 40 minutes. Cubed chicken breast cooks with red bell pepper, broccoli, cashews, and edamame, while soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, chili garlic sauce, ginger, and garlic form the glaze. The mix gives you protein, vegetables, and sauce in the same pan without needing several side dishes. Spoon it over rice for a weeknight dinner that covers the same ground as a takeout entrée.
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Chinese Salt & Pepper Shrimp
Crunchy, peppery, and built for quick serving, Chinese Salt & Pepper Shrimp takes 35 minutes and serves four. Large shrimp are marinated with fish sauce, coated in flour and cornstarch, fried, then tossed with garlic, ginger, red Thai chilies, scallions, coarse salt, and peppercorns. Fresh cilantro can go over the top before serving. This is a strong pick when you want seafood with crisp edges and enough heat to stand beside rice or noodles.
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Hot and Sour Soup
Bold broth and plenty of texture make Hot and Sour Soup a substantial starter that is ready in 35 minutes for four servings. Chicken broth is seasoned with dark and light soy sauce, white pepper, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes, then filled with shredded chicken, mixed mushrooms, firm tofu, and egg ribbons. Cornstarch gives the broth body without turning it heavy. Serve it before a stir-fry or make it the main event with something crisp on the side.
Get the Recipe: Hot and Sour Soup
Crispy Egg Rolls
Golden and crisp from the oven, Crispy Egg Rolls take 40 minutes and make six servings without a pot of frying oil. Twelve wrappers hold a filling of cabbage, mushrooms, carrot, green onions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil before baking for 15 minutes. Sweet and sour sauce is the simple pairing listed with the recipe. Put these out when you want a crunchy starter that can be passed around while the rest of dinner finishes cooking.
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Crispy Sesame Chicken
Sticky sauce over a crisp coating gives Crispy Sesame Chicken the texture people expect from a takeout box, and the four-serving recipe takes 30 minutes. Chicken breast pieces are dredged with cornstarch, egg, flour, paprika, and seasonings, then coated in a sauce made with sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, sweet chili sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, and soy sauce. Serve it over boiled rice with sesame seeds and scallions for an easy Friday-night fakeout.
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Beef and Broccoli
Fast wok cooking keeps Beef and Broccoli firmly in weeknight territory at 30 minutes for four servings. Thin flank steak and four cups of broccoli cook separately, then come together under a glossy sauce of low-sodium soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and cornstarch. The broccoli stays crisp-tender while the beef gets a quick sear. Pair it with steamed rice or noodles when you want a familiar takeout main without waiting for delivery.
Get the Recipe: Beef and Broccoli
Kung Pao Chicken
Spicy, savory, and vegetable-packed, Kung Pao Chicken is a 30-minute dinner that serves four. This Guizhou-style version uses cubed chicken breast, red bell pepper, sugar snap peas, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, chicken broth, and sesame oil, and it skips the peanuts found in many other versions. The sauce thickens right in the wok after the chicken returns to the pan. Serve it with rice or noodles when dinner needs heat without a long ingredient list.
Get the Recipe: Kung Pao Chicken
Wonton Soup
Brothy but filling, Wonton Soup turns frozen wontons into a four-serving dinner or starter in 30 minutes. Shiitake mushrooms and broccolini simmer with ginger, garlic, sesame oil, low-sodium chicken broth, and soy sauce before 16 wontons go into the pot. Sliced green onion finishes each bowl. Because the wontons handle the dumpling work for you, this one gives you a restaurant-style soup without spending the evening folding wrappers from scratch.
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Chinese Lemon Shredded Chicken
Cool, bright, and different from the usual saucy stir-fry, Chinese Lemon Shredded Chicken is ready in 25 minutes and serves four. Cooked drumstick meat is shredded and paired with cucumber, carrot, and onion, then dressed with lemon juice and zest, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, garlic, cilantro, and chili. The recipe is served as a cold salad, making it useful when you want a takeout-inspired plate that does not depend on a bubbling sauce.
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Tofu Fried Rice
One-pan cooking and crisp-edged tofu make Tofu Fried Rice a hearty way to use cold rice in 30 minutes for four servings. Day-old jasmine rice cooks with tofu, peas, carrots, green onions, garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil, then gets a separate ginger, garlic, brown sugar, and soy glaze. The tofu adds substance without eggs or meat. Serve it on its own for lunch or pair it with egg rolls when you want a larger takeout-style dinner at home.
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Candied Tanghulu
Glassy crunch makes Candied Tanghulu a playful finish after a table of savory dishes, and the recipe takes 40 minutes for 12 servings. Strawberries, grapes, kiwi, or apples are threaded onto skewers, dipped in a sugar-and-water syrup cooked to 300°F, then set quickly in ice water. The hard shell forms around juicy fruit in seconds. Make it when you want dessert to keep the Chinese street-food theme going without baking a cake or tray of cookies.
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Chow Mein
Slippery noodles, crisp vegetables, and a glossy sauce make Chow Mein a 20-minute dinner that serves four. Chow mein noodles are tossed with cabbage, celery, red onion, carrots, and green onions, while soy sauce, oyster sauce, toasted sesame oil, garlic, beef broth, and cornstarch create the coating. Everything finishes together in the wok after the noodles soften. It is the kind of fast, filling choice that makes opening a takeout menu feel unnecessary.
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Egg Fried Rice
Hot wok cooking gives Egg Fried Rice lightly crisp edges while keeping the center tender, all in 25 minutes for four servings. Jasmine rice, four eggs, green onions, soy sauce, sesame oil, and vegetable oil keep the ingredient list short. The eggs form soft curds before the rice goes in, then the soy sauce finishes the pan. Use it as a simple main or a side for sesame chicken, beef, or another homemade takeout-style dish.
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Panda Express Beijing Beef
Crunchy beef and a sticky sweet-spicy glaze make Panda Express Beijing Beef the longer project in this collection at 1 hour 40 minutes, including up to an hour of marinating. The four-serving recipe coats flank steak with egg whites and cornstarch, then combines it with onion, red bell pepper, garlic, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sweet chili sauce, and apple cider vinegar. Save it for a night when recreating a food-court order is part of the plan.
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Spicy Cucumber Salad
Cool crunch and chile heat give Spicy Cucumber Salad a clean break from the richer dishes on the table. The recipe takes 35 minutes and serves four, with most of that time spent letting sliced cucumbers rest with salt. Gochugaru, scallion, garlic, rice wine vinegar, sesame seeds, sugar, and sesame oil make the dressing. Serve it beside fried rice, noodles, or a sticky chicken dish when the rest of the meal needs something fresh and crisp.
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Copycat Panda Express Teriyaki Chicken
Glossy sauce and browned chicken make Copycat Panda Express Teriyaki Chicken an easy 25-minute main for four people. Boneless chicken thighs cook in a skillet before a sauce of brown sugar, soy sauce, water, garlic powder, ground ginger, and cornstarch is added and simmered until thick. The recipe suggests serving it with white rice, scallions, and sesame seeds. Choose this one when the craving is specifically for a Panda Express-style bowl without making a restaurant run.
Get the Recipe: Copycat Panda Express Teriyaki Chicken