Let’s pack my husband’s Chinese Lunch Box for the week together.
For my husband’s Chinese Lunch Box this week, I will be making 4 dishes in 1 hour. As always, there will be 2 carbs and 2 meat/vegetable dishes.
I decide what to make for my husband’s lunchbox normally based on two things, one, what my husband is craving for the week, and two, what is on sale at the supermarket.
This week on the menu, we will be making Chinese food since he was craving it from traveling for the past 3 weeks. On the menu for his Chinese Lunch Box will feature Orange Chicken, Egg Fried Rice, Vegetarian Chow Mein, and Mongolian Beef Stir-fry.
CHINESE LUNCH BOX MENU THIS WEEK
CHINESE LUNCH BOX#1 (Monday & Wednesday)
LUNCHBOX #2 (Tuesday & Thursday)
CHINESE LUNCHBOX DISH #1: ORANGE CHICKEN
30 minutes, makes 4 portion
Orange Chicken is one of the easiest takeout recipes to recreate at home. Combing crispy chicken with a tangy and sweet glaze, Orange Chicken is the perfect recipe to make for weeknight dinners.
PRO TIP: If you want to make a healthier version, skip the deep fry, and pan-fry the chicken instead.
Ingredients
- 5 pieces of boneless chicken thigh (cut into bite-sized pieces)
- ⅓ cup of Rice Flour
- ¼ cup of Corn Starch
- 2 tbsp of Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp of Minced Garlic
- Salt and Pepper to season
- ⅓ cup of Soda Water
- 1 Egg
Orange Chicken Glaze
- ½ cup of Orange Juice
- 2.5 tbsp of Soy Sauce
- 1.5 tbsp of minced Garlic
- 3-4 tbsp of Honey
- 1.5 tbsp of Oyster Sauce
- 1 tsp of Red Chili Flakes
- 0.5 tbsp of Grated Ginger
- Orange Zest from 1 orange
- 2 tbsp of corn Starch
- 3 tbsp of Cold Water
Recipe:
- Marinate the chicken with soy sauce, minced garlic, salt, pepper, corn starch, rice flour, soda water, and egg.
- Massage everything together; you want a thick but slightly runny consistency; add more rice flour or soda water if needed. Rest for 20 minutes.
- Mix soy sauce, minced garlic, orange juice, chili flakes, honey, oyster sauce, and grated ginger in a bowl.
- Add in oil (enough to cover the chicken) in a pan, and turn the heat to medium-high. Once the oil is hot, add in the chicken and deep fry for 6-7 minutes or until golden brown.
- Optional: remove the chicken, set aside. Turn the heat up to high, add back in the chicken, and deep fry for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the sauce mixture to a separate pan, and let it simmer on medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
- Combine 2 tbsp of corn starch with 3 tbsp of cold water. Pour in the corn starch mixture into the pan, grate in fresh orange zest, and simmer for another 30 seconds.
- Add in the crispy chicken, sesame seeds, and toss on high heat for 1 minute.
CHINESE LUNCHBOX DISH #2: EGG FRIED RICE
20 minutes, makes 4 portion
In Taiwan, the perfect Egg Fried Rice is when you can see every single grain of the rice coated in oil and sauce. Nothing is more important than to use COLD COOKED RICE for your fried rice so your egg-fried rice doesn’t become mushy.
PRO-TIP: Check out my blog post on HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT FRIED RICE HACKS!
Ingredients
- 4-5 cups of Cold Cooked Rice
- 6 chopped Green Onion (separate whites and greens)
- 5 Whole Eggs
- 1 tsp of Sugar
- Salt
- 2 tsp of White Pepper
- 5 tbsp of Oil
- 2.5 tbsp of Vegetarian Oyster Sauce
- 1.5 tbsp of Soy Sauce
- 2 cups of Frozen Vegetable
- In a bowl, whisk 5 whole eggs with 1 tsp of white pepper and season with salt.
- Turn the heat up to medium-high and add in 5 tbsp of oil. Once the oil is hot, add white parts of the green onion and your eggs.
- Let the egg sit for 30 seconds and then fry for 2-3 minutes, breaking the egg apart.
- Add in frozen vegetables, scramble for 1-2 minutes.
- Turn the heat to high, add cold-cooked rice, 1 tsp of white pepper, soy sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, and sugar. Saute together for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in green onion, sauté for another 1-2 minutes.
CHINESE LUNCHBOX DISH #3: VEGETABLE CHOW MEIN
20 minutes, makes 4 portion
Chow Mein takes less than 20 minutes to make at home, it is versatile, and you can adjust the vegetable and protein based on what you have at home.
Some other vegetables I recommend adding include snap peas, baby corn, broccoli, and bean sprouts.
Chow mein can be paired with any protein, such as chicken, pork, beef, and seafood. Marinate the protein before, pan-fry first, set it aside, and add it back in alongside the noodles.
Ingredients
- 450g of Egg Chow Mein Noodles
- ½ Carrot (sliced)
- ¼ Cabbage (sliced)
- 10 Shiitake Mushroom (sliced)
- 5 stalks of Celery (cut into thin strips)
- ½ Large Onion (sliced)
- 3 Stalks of Green Onion (2-inch pieces)
Sauce:
- 3 tbsp of Soy Sauce
- 2.5 tbsp of Vegetarian Oyster Sauce
- 1 tbsp of Sesame Oil
- 1 tbsp of Sugar
- 3 tbsp of Black Vinegar
- 1/2 tsp of Black Pepper
- Using a fork, poke holes through the pork belly; this will help the flavor soak through.
- Marinate the pork belly with oyster sauce, soy sauce, grated ginger, honey, Chinese cooking wine (optional), and five-spice powder for at least 15 minutes.
- Place the pork belly in the air fryer on the side and air fry at 380 F for 12 minutes on each side.
- Slice the pork belly into thin strips and enjoy!
CHINESE LUNCHBOX DISH #4: Mongolian Beef
35 minutes, makes 4 portion
One of my all-time favorite recipes for Chinese Lunch Box is my BETTER THAN TAKEOUT Mongolian Beef!
Tender beef coated with savory sauce, this Mongolian Beef recipe is not only delicious but super easy to make at home.
I am customizing it by adding red peppers, green beans, and mushrooms to add more vegetables, but you can also add or remove any vegetable of your choice.
Here are a few secrets to SUPER TENDER Beef every single time!
- The first one is baking soda. I got this secret from a good friend who works at a Chinese restaurant; it is honestly a game-changer. No more eating tough beef at home, and hello to juicy, tender, silky beef!
- The second tip is cutting against the grain and diagonally. Always cut against the grain and sideways to get thin slices. With this tip, it doesn’t matter what type of steak you get; it will turn out perfect every time!
- The final tip is to freeze the beef for 10 minutes before you slice it. This step will make it 100x easier to cut the meat.
Ingredient
- 1.5 pounds of Beef Steak of your choice, cut into thin slices
- 8 cloves of Garlic minced
- 3 tbsp of Chinese Cooking Wine (optional)
- 1.5 tbsp of Corn Starch
- 1 tsp of Baking Soda
- 1 Egg White
- 6 stocks of Green Onion cut into 1.5-inch pieces
- 2 tbsp of Oyster Sauce
- 3 tbsp of Soy Sauce
- 2 tbsp of Sugar
- ¼ cup of whole Dried Chilli (optional)
OPTIONAL EXTRA VEGETABLES
- 1 Onion, Sliced
- 10 mushrooms, sliced
- 2 Red Pepper, roughly cut
- 1 cup of green beans
- Marinate beef with corn starch, baking soda, egg white, and Chinese cooking wine. Season with some salt and black pepper. Set it aside for 20 minutes.
- Mix oyster sauce, soy sauce, black pepper (1 tsp – optional), and sugar in a separate bowl.
- In a pan, add in oil and turn the heat to medium-high. Once the oil is hot, add the beef and fry it for 2-3 minutes or until brown. Once the beef is brown, set aside.
- In a pan, drizzle in oil and turn the heat to medium-high.
- Statue together garlic, the white part of the green onion, onion, mushroom, and dried chili for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.
- Next, add in red pepper and green beans, and saute together for 2-3 minutes.
- Add back in the beef, drizzle on the sauce, and saute together on high heat for 1 minute.
- Finally, add in the green onion and saute together for 30 seconds.
SHOP THE INGREDIENTS ONLINE
A FEW NOTES:
- Make sure all the food has fully cooled down before putting the lid on and refrigerating
- You can leave the Chinese Lunch Box in the fridge, which will stay fresh for 4 days, or you can also freeze 2 and take them out of the freezer the night before and reheat them the next day in the microwave or steamer to enjoy.
- I find that the meat sauce helps keep the rice moist and delicious; alternatively, you can also purchase lunchboxes with dividers if you don’t like everything all mixed in one box.
- All my lunch boxes are from IKEA.
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