Updated on September 23rd, 2024
It is no secret that I have an obsession with Chinese cuisine. The place that started it all was a local Chinese buffet here in Michigan. After frequent visits to the buffet over the years, I finally decided to take a stab at cooking my own Chinese dishes at home. The majority of the dishes were delicious and I began cooking different Chinese meals every week, but I had always wanted more variety just like the buffet. I had always wondered, āwhat if I could create a Chinese buffet at home?ā I have wanted to do this for a long time so I was very excited when I was chosen to be part of the 24,24,24 event presented by Foodbuzz.
In this article, I will explain how to create your own Chinese buffet at home. I have posted 10 different recipes which include the main course, appetizers, soups, side dishes, and a dessert. All of these items can be found at almost any Chinese buffet in the United States. The entire meal was all cooked on the same day and took me approximately 7 hours of straight cooking. Luckily I had 1 person to help me or it would have taken even longer. In the end, it was well worth it, the result was a delicious meal that my entire family enjoyed. The biggest hits of the night were the Kung Pao chicken, crab rangoons, and egg drop soup. This is great for anyone that wants to host a dinner party. Enjoy.
The Menu:
Main course-
Sesame Chicken
Orange Chicken
Kung Pao Chicken
Meat on a Stick (Chicken Skewers)
Appetizers-
Crab Rangoons
Egg Rolls
Side Dishes-
Garlic Green Beans
Fried Rice
Egg Drop Soup
Dessert-
Buffet Style Doughnuts
Orange Chicken-
Kung Pao Chicken-
Meat on a Stick (Chicken Skewers)-
Crab Rangoons-
INGREDIENTS
Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Chinese Buffet at Home
Ingredients
Sesame Chicken-
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons raw sesame seeds
- 2 green onions (sliced)
- Marinade-1 teaspoon chicken base
- Ā¼ teaspoon salt
- Ā½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ground white pepper (to taste)
- Ā¼ teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon raspberry wine (or any fruity flavored wine)
Batter- - Ā½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg (beaten)
- Ā½ cup water (or as much as needed to make the batter smooth)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- salt (to taste)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Sauce- - 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- Salt (to taste)
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
- a sprinkle of ground black pepper
Orange Chicken-
- Chicken-
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1-1/2ā cubes)
- 1 Ā½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg (beaten)
- Ā¼ teaspoon salt
- Ā¼ teaspoon pepper
- Oil (for frying)
- Orange Sauce-
- 1 Ā½ cups water
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- Ā¼ cup lemon juice
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- 2 Ā½ tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon orange zest (grated)
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- Ā½ teaspoon ginger root (minced)
- Ā½ teaspoon garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoons green onion (chopped)
- Ā¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
Kung Pao Chicken-
- 1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1ā pieces)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons green onions (chopped)
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- Ā½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Ā½ teaspoon powdered ginger
- 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts
Meat on a Stick (Chicken Skewers)-
- 1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 (10 ounce) bottle teriyaki marinade
- 1 teaspoon garlic (minced)
- 1/8 cup creamy peanut butter
- Ā½ teaspoon sesame oil
- Wooden skewers
Crab Rangoons-
- 12 ounces of cream cheese (at room temperature)
- 50 wan ton wrappers
- 1 cup imitation crab meat (or canned)
- 2 green onions (minced)
- Ā¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Ā½ teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 egg (beaten)
- oil (for frying)
Egg Rolls-
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 package egg roll wraps
- 1 bag shredded cabbage and carrot mix
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic powder
- 1 egg (beaten, for sealing)
- 2 eggs (cooked and scrambled)
- Oil (for frying)
Garlic Green Beans-
- 1lb fresh green beans (washed with strings removed, ends trimmed)
Sauce- - 1 tablespoon black bean sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 Ā½ teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon ginger (minced)
- 2 green onions (minced, white part only)
- Ā½ teaspoon chili paste
- 3 tablespoons oil (for frying)
Fried Rice-
- 5 cups cooked leftover white rice (thatās at least 1 day old)
- 1 medium onion (diced)
- 6 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 eggs (beaten)
- 1 cup frozen peas and carrots (thawed)
- Ā½ tablespoon turmeric
- Soy sauce (to serve)
- 2 tablespoons oil (for frying)
Egg Drop Soup-
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 dash white pepper
- 1 green onion (sliced)
- 2 eggs (slightly beaten)
Buffet Style Doughnuts-
- 1 (10 counts) refrigerated biscuits
- 1/3 cup sugar
- Oil (for deep frying)
Instructions
Sesame Chicken-
- Cut chicken breasts into 1ā chunks and in a glass bowl combine all of the marinade ingredients and mix well. Add the chicken and coat evenly. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Meanwhile, in a separate bowl combine all of the batter ingredients and mix thoroughly. The batter should be thick enough to coat the chicken but thin enough to flow around the pieces. Set aside.
- Using a fork or tongs remove the pieces of chicken from the marinade and dip them into the batter to coat evenly (one by one). Deep fry the chicken in batches in your deep fryer for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. (or you can fry in hot oil at about 325 degrees in your wok for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown
- In your wok combine the sauce ingredients and warm over medium heat. Bring to a boil while stirring and simmer until sauce slightly thickens.
- In the wok or in a serving dish coat chicken with the sauce and garnish with sliced scallions and sesame seeds.
Orange Chicken-
- Combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dip chicken in the egg mixture and shake in flour mixture to coat. Deep fry chicken in batches at 375 degrees in a deep fryer (or use a wok) until completely cooked.
- Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine 1 Ā½ cups water, lemon juice, orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Blend well over medium heat for a few minutes. Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger garlic, and onion. Bring to a boil.
- Combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into sauce until it thickens. Pour sauce over breaded chicken, and if desired add red pepper flakes and garnish with green onions.
Kung Pao Chicken-
- Combine the chicken and cornstarch in a small bowl and toss to coat. Heat sesame oil in a wok over medium heat, add chicken and stir fry 5-7 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Remove chicken from wok.
- Add green onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, and powdered ginger to the wok and stir fry for 15 seconds.
- Combine vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl. Mix well and add the sauce to the wok.
- Return chicken to the wok and coat with sauce. Stir in roasted peanuts. Heat thoroughly. Top with additional green onions if desired and serve over white rice.
Meat on a Stick (Chicken Skewers)-
- Cut chicken breasts into long strips. In a large bowl combine teriyaki marinade, garlic, peanut butter and sesame oil. Place chicken breasts into bowl and coat with the mixture. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
- Soak skewers in cold water. Slide each strip onto a skewer.
- Cook on a grill until chicken is fully cooked. You can also do this with a broiler.
Crab Rangoons-
- In a bowl cream the cream cheese, soy sauce, green onions, and garlic powder. Stir in the crab meat (if using imitation crab it should be chopped into pieces).
- In a separate bowl beat 1 egg. Layout a wonton wrapper so it forms a diamond shape and place 1 teaspoon of filling just below the center of each wrapper.
- Brush the opposite corners of the wonton wrapper with the egg mixture. Fold over the edges of the wrapper to form a triangle and seal tightly.
- Deep fry the rangoons in batches at 375 degrees for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.
Egg Rolls-
- Fry ground beef with salt, pepper and garlic powder until beef is completely browned (tip- add the salt, pepper and garlic powder to your taste. You want the flavor to be strong but not overpowering).
- In a large bowl combine cabbage and carrot mixture, cooked ground beef mixture, and scrambled eggs.
- Lay out an egg roll wrapper. Place 1-2 tablespoons of filling in the corner of the wrapper, but not so the filling is actually touching the corner. Fold over that corner and roll about half of the way up. Fold over the left and right corners to the middle. Using a brush or the bottom of a spoon, brush the cornstarch/water mixture on the edges of the wrapper. Finish rolling up tightly and secure to make sure there are no leaks. Repeat until all the egg roll wraps are used.
- Deep fry egg rolls in batches until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
Garlic Green Beans-
- In a small bowl combine black bean sauce, soy sauce, sugar and rice vinegar. Set aside.
- Heat your wok and add 2 tablespoons of oil. Add green beans and fry for 10 minutes or until beans have reached your desired tenderness. Remove beans from the wok.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the wok. Add garlic, ginger and green onions. Stir fry for 15 seconds. Add chili paste. Add the sauce mixture a cook for a few seconds. Return beans to the pan tossing to coat. Serve.
Fried Rice-
- Add a little bit of oil or cooking spray to a heated fry pan. Add beaten eggs and scramble until fully cooked. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Heat a wok and add oil. Add garlic, onion, and peas and carrots. Stir fry until vegetables have reached your desired tenderness. Add rice and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add turmeric and eggs. Mix well.
- Serve with soy sauce.
Egg Drop Soup-
- In a saucepan heat chicken broth, salt, and white pepper. Bring to a boil.
- Pour beaten egg in a thin stream into the broth (or drizzle with a fork). Stir with a fork until the egg forms shreds. Add green onions and serve.
Buffet Style Doughnuts-
- Heat oil to 350 degrees. Fry disquiets 2 at a time until browned on each side. Drain on paper towels.
- Pour sugar into a container. Once the doughnuts have cooled toss them lightly in the sugar 1 at a time coating both sides.
The fried rice seems really good, I could almost taste it! I’m gonna head straight to the kitchen when I get home… Oh it’s making me hungry as a bear!! HmmMMMmm..really good food! š Thanks for sharing the recipe ^^,
Everything looks delicious and authentic. And, your post was very nicely presented.
Wow, what a feast! Everything looks great!
What a great Chinese feast! Warning however-Once you start cooking your own take-out will never be good enough!!
What a fantastic spread and effort!! 7 hours of cooking!! That’s amazing…everything looks so delicious and I am totally bookmarking all of these recipes. I LOVE Chinese!!!
PS…what a great idea to do this at home!
Nice post. These recipes are quick & easy. However, let me make a couple humble suggestions.
Ground beef is a no-no in eggrolls. Use ground pork or baby shrimp.
Add a tablespoon or so of oyster sauce to the fried rice. (and maybe a little chili paste?)
More veggies in the Kung Pao! Baby corn, chopped bok choy, or perhaps some carrots.
Keep up the good work, Bobby…
Oh my gosh! I just discovered your site today, and there’s a wok in my kitchen that will get the workout it deserves this weekend!!! Everything looks so good!! I can’t wait to get crackin’.
I like these-thanks
Looks really good, you can definitely take a photo, but with just a little bit of photoshop it would be amazing… Im only saying cause i think youre ready.
so good! i made the sesame chicken the other day & it came out great. the only addition i did was adding sesame oil to the sauce itself after simmering – perfect! i also skipped the wine and chicken base in the marinade, the sauce is what makes it.
My mouth is totally watering! Love the pics.
Oh my god the sesame chicken looks YUm but can i use any oil instead of sesame oil?
Sandra – The result would not be the same because sesame oil is a strong flavor. You could probably just leave it out.
Made the seasame chicken and they were just so so yummy delicous, thankyou for one of the best sesame chicken i have ever had.
Just blogged in my place
https://mykitchentreasures.blogspot.com/2009/05/sesame-chicken.html
thank you so much
I’m never going out to eat for Chinese ever again, all of this is SOOO much better than a restaurant, and I just made 52 crab rangoon for under 10 dollars.
That’s less than 17 cents per rangoon
You can’t beat it!
Out of all the recipes i have looked for, these by far are the best. I have been looking for wok recipes and i made the sesame chicken which was so amazing that i made it a second time and also gave my friends the recipe so they can try it. Very great recipes that taste actually better than the restaurants, as well as much more cost friendly! :] Thank You
Thanks for sharing these recipes with us. I made the fried rice, garlic green beans, and black pepper chicken. YUM! Can’t wait to get started on some of your desserts. Thanks again for the easy to follow directions and pictures.
Oh my. I made the orange chicken tonight. So yummy and very close to take out. I added a kittle baking powder to the flour mixture to get a fluffier coating. Will definitely add this one into the rotation. Beats expensive take out any night. Thank you so much for sharing.
This wonderful I think it work especially well for a party!
When you make these things, how do you keep them warm while making other things? Do you use the oven?
I’m curious because I was just thinking about doing a buffet and this is perfect!
Ashley – Yes, I used the oven. It worked out well.
This is great. I can see my family and I eating this on a saturday or a sunday evening.
one of the first places my boyfriend took me when we started dating was china buffet i told him i’ll mary any man i find that could make the dounuts & he said he would marry anyone who could make the crab ragu.so i thank u sooo much for these recipes. noah was at a loss as to how he would put my ring in a dounut with out me knowing lol
Some great looking food here. I have made chinese food before and always turns out great. I see there are a few recipies that i just havent tried yet. Thanks for the recipies. Will be cooking these very soon.
great recipes! i made the orange chicken and it turned out perfect. great cornstarch ratio! thanks!
Wow, thanks! I really want to make a complete chinese dinner for my parents and brother that has the kinds of yummilicious foods that I had at a chinese buffet that is popular around where I live and this contains all of the recipes that I wanted to cook and they all have great pics and look delicious =)!
Bobby-
I know I am rather late commenting on this post, but Stumbleupon brought it up, and I couldn’t resist. What are your thoughts about keeping everything hot in crockpots before the hungry masses arrive?
Noeagle- never too late to comment. Keeping everything in crockpots would work just fine.
I used your sesame chicken recipe for my Chinese New Year party and they loved it. thanks for sharing!
and not a bit of MSG in sight
All that looks yummy, but all that cooking, I’ll just ring for a takeaway š
I tried the sesame chicken and double up the ingredients and boy its soooo good, with rice on top with your egg drop soup, bumm, chinese dinner at my house is well done, thanks for posting the good recipe…perfect!
The sesame chicken looks amazing! I am definitely going to have to try this, as like you I have an obsession with Chinese food myself. I swear most people crave burgers and fries from fast food joints and I crave almond chicken and egg rolls! Thanks for sharing the recipes, cant wait to try it out!
Looks good. A tip for those who want to make fried rice that doesn’t clump is to make it a day ahead or more ahead of time then freeze it on a sheet pan. This is the best way to quickly drive off that excess moisture without ruining the rice.
Wow! I have got to give these a try. My husband would love them!
Thanks!
What a fantastic feast, Will definitely be giving some of these a try, thought making egg rolls would be really difficult but it doesn’t appear to be too hard. Really looking forward to trying to make such a wonderful banquet.
mmmmm! Had the Kung Pao Chicken tonight and the whole family loved it! My husband thought I ordered take-out!
I used to large chicken breast and quadrupled the sauce to get the chicken evenly coated.
Thank you!
I tried the chicken skewers and they were awesome. We love Chinese and these were seasoned perfectly.
Being Chinese and grown up competent cooking Chinese dishes, I had no idea what Kung Pao Chicken, Crab Rangoons etc were until I came to the US! However, I am determined to learn how to cook these very popular foods! Thanks for posting these recipes – I will be testing them in my kitchen. š
My favorite Chinese resturant’s garlic green beans is not made with the black bean or chili sauces. It’s a clearish garlic sauce. I’ve tried to find a recipe that would turn out like that but can’t. Can anyone help??? I just love their green beans.
Carri – I have another recipe for Chinese green beans. Maybe this is what you are looking for?
https://blogchef.net/chinese-green-beans-recipe/
sorry but making chinese food at home NEVER tastes anything like what I get in a restaurant. I tried some of these recipes and so may others online that are supposed to be like the american chinese food you get at the local chinese joint and I swear there are secret ingredients the chinese are not telling us. While these recipes are good it never takes care of that craving for real chinese takeout.
im looking for a recipe,,, maybe you can help me…One of our resturaunts used to make this dish they called it Lobster roll…yet it had no lobster in it…it had a line of imitation crab or lobster down the middle of it…it looked like a giant eggroll …it was awesome…the place went out of business years ago and i have looked everywhere for the recipe…i would appreciate it if you could help me
Thank You
Wanda