Ordering takeout gets expensive fast, especially when several people need dinner. These 19 Chinese-inspired recipes bring familiar noodles, fried rice, stir-fries, soups, crispy appetizers, and saucy chicken dishes into the home kitchen using everyday ingredients. Cook one as the main dish, serve it with an inexpensive side, and eat well without adding another delivery charge.
Spicy Cucumber Salad
Crisp and cool, Spicy Cucumber Salad tosses thinly sliced cucumbers with gochugaru, scallions, garlic, rice vinegar, sesame seeds, and sesame oil. The 35-minute recipe spends most of its time resting and makes four servings. Mix it before starting the main dish so the cucumbers have time to drain and absorb the dressing. Serve it beside rice, noodles, or a saucy stir-fry to add crunch without buying another takeout side.
Get the Recipe: Spicy Cucumber Salad
Tofu Fried Rice
Built around cold cooked rice, Tofu Fried Rice combines crisp tofu with peas, carrots, green onions, garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil. It cooks in one pan in 30 minutes and makes four servings. Day-old rice works especially well, giving an inexpensive leftover a completely different use. Cook it for lunch or dinner, then serve straight from the skillet with extra green onions scattered over the top.
Get the Recipe: Tofu Fried Rice
Sweet and Sour Pork
Ready in 35 minutes, Sweet and Sour Pork pairs pork with pineapple, red and green bell peppers, onion, garlic, ginger, and a glossy sweet-and-sour sauce. The recipe produces four servings, making it manageable for an ordinary family dinner rather than a large restaurant order. Cook the vegetables just until they retain some bite, then coat everything in the sauce. Serve it over steamed rice to catch every bit left in the bowl.
Get the Recipe: Sweet and Sour Pork
Egg Roll
Filled, wrapped, and fried until crisp, Egg Roll makes 12 pieces in about 30 minutes. The savory filling and crunchy wrappers give a homemade dinner the familiar starter people often add to a takeout order. Prepare a batch when you need something that can be divided easily across the table. Serve the rolls hot with sweet-and-sour sauce, mustard, or soy sauce, then eat them alongside soup, noodles, or fried rice.
Get the Recipe: Egg Roll
Cashew Chicken
Sweet, savory, and slightly spicy, Cashew Chicken cooks chicken breast with broccoli, red bell pepper, edamame, cashews, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and honey. The four-serving stir-fry takes 40 minutes from start to finish. Cashews add crunch while the vegetables make the chicken go further across each plate. Spoon it over jasmine rice or noodles, garnish with green onions and sesame seeds, and eat it while the vegetables are still crisp.
Get the Recipe: Cashew Chicken
Panda Express Super Greens
Using broccoli, cabbage, and kale, Panda Express Super Greens recreates the restaurant side in 20 minutes. Garlic, soy sauce, vegetable broth, and sesame oil season four servings without covering up the vegetables. The combination is useful when dinner needs something green but another paid side is not in the budget. Cook it while the main dish rests, then serve beside teriyaki chicken, orange chicken, steak, or a bowl of rice.
Get the Recipe: Panda Express Super Greens
Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
On the table in 30 minutes, Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry brings tender chicken and crisp broccoli together in a savory skillet dinner. The recipe makes four servings and needs only 10 minutes of prep before the cooking begins. Broccoli adds volume, so each serving gets plenty of food without relying only on meat. Cook a pot of rice at the same time, serve the stir-fry over it, and eat while the sauce is hot.
Get the Recipe: Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
Panda Express Black Pepper Sirloin Steak
Thinly sliced steak stretches across four servings in Panda Express Black Pepper Sirloin Steak, a 25-minute stir-fry with red and green bell peppers and onion. Soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, beef broth, brown sugar, sesame oil, and black pepper form the sauce. Cooking the beef with plenty of vegetables gives every plate a balanced scoop. Serve it over rice or alongside chow mein instead of ordering separate restaurant entrees.
Get the Recipe: Panda Express Black Pepper Sirloin Steak
Panda Express Chow Mein
Finished in 25 minutes, Panda Express Chow Mein cooks eight ounces of noodles with cabbage, celery, onion, and garlic. Soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, broth, and a little sugar give the four-serving dish its familiar restaurant-style seasoning. Cabbage and celery bulk up the noodles with affordable vegetables that hold their texture in the pan. Serve a bowl on its own or add a smaller portion of chicken, pork, or beef on top.
Get the Recipe: Panda Express Chow Mein
Shrimp Toast
Spread over bread and cooked until crisp, Shrimp Toast turns shrimp into a shareable starter in 25 minutes. The recipe makes four servings, so a modest amount can be divided across several plates instead of serving shrimp as the whole meal. Cut each toast into smaller triangles when feeding a group. Serve it hot beside wonton soup, fried rice, or stir-fried vegetables, with a dipping sauce placed in the middle of the table.
Get the Recipe: Shrimp Toast
Copycat Panda Express Teriyaki Chicken
Made with boneless chicken thighs, Copycat Panda Express Teriyaki Chicken coats the meat in a sauce of brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and cornstarch. It cooks in 25 minutes and feeds four people. Chicken thighs remain practical for this quick skillet dinner, while the sauce uses ingredients that can be kept for other meals. Slice the chicken, spoon it over rice, and serve with broccoli or cabbage to round out the plate.
Get the Recipe: Copycat Panda Express Teriyaki Chicken
Hot and Sour Soup
Simmered in chicken broth, Hot and Sour Soup uses soy sauce, white pepper, red pepper flakes, sesame oil, and chicken to create its spicy, tangy broth. The recipe takes 35 minutes and makes four servings. Soup is useful when a smaller amount of chicken needs to cover several bowls, especially with mushrooms and vegetables mixed in. Serve it as dinner with egg rolls or rice, or ladle smaller portions before a noodle dish.
Get the Recipe: Hot and Sour Soup
Kung Pao Chicken
Packed with chicken breast, red bell pepper, sugar snap peas, garlic, and ginger, Kung Pao Chicken comes together in 30 minutes. Soy sauce, vinegar, broth, sugar, and sesame oil form the sauce for four servings. Two cups of snap peas and strips of pepper spread the chicken throughout the skillet rather than leaving the dish meat-heavy. Cook it for a busy evening, then serve over plain rice with green onions on top.
Get the Recipe: Kung Pao Chicken
Beef and Broccoli
From prep to plate in 30 minutes, Beef and Broccoli turns sliced beef and broccoli into four servings of a familiar stir-fry. The quick cooking time makes it a practical alternative to ordering dinner after a long day. Broccoli fills the skillet and catches the savory sauce, helping the beef cover more than one plate. Serve it over steamed white or brown rice, then pack any remaining portion for lunch the following day.
Get the Recipe: Beef and Broccoli
Panda Express Orange Chicken
Coated in flour and cornstarch, Panda Express Orange Chicken fries bite-size chicken breast pieces before tossing them with orange juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, and garlic. The four-serving recipe is ready in 30 minutes. Making the sauce at home removes the need for a separate restaurant order and uses ingredients that keep well. Serve the chicken with rice and steamed vegetables, adding the sauce right before eating to preserve the crisp coating.
Get the Recipe: Panda Express Orange Chicken
Caramelized Fried Banana
Golden at the edges in only 10 minutes, Caramelized Fried Banana cooks bananas with brown sugar for a warm, glossy finish. The recipe makes two servings and requires five minutes of preparation followed by five minutes at the stove. It is an easy way to add dessert without purchasing specialty ingredients or a separate bakery treat. Serve the bananas over pancakes, spoon them onto ice cream, or eat them warm straight from a small bowl.
Get the Recipe: Caramelized Fried Banana
Egg Fried Rice
Ready in 25 minutes, Egg Fried Rice turns rice and eggs into four servings suitable for dinner, lunch, or a filling side. The ingredients cook quickly in a wok or deep skillet, making it especially useful when cooked rice is already in the refrigerator. Prepare it ahead, refrigerate it, or freeze a portion for another meal. Serve it alone for a simple supper or pair it with vegetables and a smaller serving of meat.
Get the Recipe: Egg Fried Rice
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Coated and fried before meeting the sauce, Sweet and Sour Chicken combines chicken breast with pineapple juice, brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. The four-serving dinner takes 35 minutes. Its bold sauce works well with inexpensive plain rice, while a small serving of vegetables can complete the meal. Cook it when a delivery craving hits, serve it as soon as the chicken is coated, and eat while the outside remains crisp.
Get the Recipe: Sweet and Sour Chicken
Wonton Soup
Simmered with ginger, garlic, shiitake mushrooms, broccolini, chicken broth, and soy sauce, Wonton Soup uses 16 frozen wontons to keep preparation manageable. The soup takes 30 minutes and makes four servings. Frozen wontons save the work of mixing and wrapping a filling from scratch while still producing a substantial bowl. Serve it with sliced green onion, add egg rolls if more food is needed, and eat it hot from the pot.
Get the Recipe: Wonton Soup