Did you know that there are 48 countries in Asia? Each one brings vibrant and unique cultures to the table, and that includes culinary delights too!

Whether you’re Asian or of a different ethnic background, everyone around the world can agree that Asian dishes are a treat to have on any occasion. So if you’re having guests over soon, then you might be considering making Asian food to serve them.

No clue where to start? Not to worry. In this article, we’ll show you 6 simple Asian dishes you can make for your next dinner party.

1. Egg Fried Rice

Let’s start off with Chinese food that practically everyone’s familiar with! It’s very easy to put together and you can even customize it to your family’s and/or guests’ tastes.

All you’ll need is some rice, eggs, onion, green onions, and vegetable oil for frying. Now, if you have some old leftover rice, this is the best to use since it’s not as moist as freshly cooked rice. But if you freshly cook some, leave the lid off afterward so it can dry out a bit.

Heat the oil and cook the onion, then put in the rice. Toast the rice, which takes a few minutes to do.

Now scoot the rice to the side, scramble the eggs, and pour into the pan. You’ll then mix it up with everything else to scramble it further.

At this point, you can add some other ingredients if you’d like, like cut-up spam, shredded chicken, corn, peas, etc.

Once the dish is finished, you can garnish it with green onions to serve!

2. Beef and Broccoli

Beef and broccoli is a popular dish on many Asian dining establishments’ menus. What’s great about it is you can easily recreate it at home!

Just get some flank steak, cut it into small pieces, and toss with some cornstarch and water. Cook the pieces in a pan until they’re done, then remove them from the pan.

You’ll then want to stirfry your broccoli florets and some sliced onions. Once the veggies are tender (around 4 minutes), put the beef back. Add a sauce of soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and cornstarch and let the dish come to a boil. 

Once the sauces thickens, you can serve the dish on a bed of rice or noodles.

3. Xiao Long Bao

For those of you who are fans of Chinese dining, you’re probably familiar with this dish, especially if you go to dim sum frequently.

Xiao long bao are also known as soup dumplings. You carefully wrap some meat and seasonings inside a thin dough skin by pleating it neatly. Then, you put them in a steamer for about 10 minutes until the filling is cooked through.

Typically, the filling consists of ground pork, sesame oil, soy sauce, shaoxing wine, ginger, and white pepper. 

Of course, making xiao long bao takes a bit of time, as well as skill. If you don’t want to bother with that step, you can always buy premade dumplings from places like The XCJ. This makes it super-easy to entertain since all you have to do is throw the xiao long bao into a steamer and take them out after 10 minutes!

Many people like to eat xiao long bao with soy sauce, ginger, and some white vinegar as a dipping sauce. But you can also enjoy them on their own. There are also other dipping sauces enjoyed, such as Chinese black vinegar.

4. Dan Dan Noodles

If you like spicy food, then you’ll love this dish! Dan dan noodles come from Sichuan, China, and is a very easy dish to make. All you need are the staple sauces in any Asian pantry, ground pork, white noodles, bok choi, and some green onions as garnish.

Cook the ground pork topping with hoisin sauce, soy sauce, cooking wine, and 5 spice powder. You can then keep this on the side to add later.

To make the dan dan noodle sauce, you’ll need sesame paste, chili paste, soy sauce, garlic, sugar, 5 spice powder, Sichuan pepper powder, chili oil, and some chicken broth. Make sure the chicken broth is hot so the sesame paste blends easier. Split the sauce into each bowl.

Cook the noodles until they’re done and put them in the bowls. Top with the pork topping, steamed bok choi, and green onions as garnish.

5. Wonton Soup

Wontons are another type of Asian dumpling, but they’re often eaten in a clear and light broth. It’s perfect as a small meal on a colder day! Or you can serve this soup as an appetizer.

Just like with xiao long bao, you can prepare wontons yourself by getting some wonton wrappers, ground pork, and some seasonings like rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and ginger. Otherwise, it’s pretty common to find premade wontons at Asian supermarkets.

To prepare the broth, all you’ll need is chicken broth, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and green onions as garnish. Bring everything to a boil, put the wontons in for 10 minutes, garnish with green onions, and it’s ready to serve!

6. Korean Fried Chicken

Korean fried chicken has the nickname of “candy chicken,” so if you have a sweet tooth, you’ll want to try this!

Get yourself some chicken wings and let it marinate in a mixture of garlic, ginger, rice wine, salt, and pepper for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the sauce. Combine soy sauce, rice wine (or mirin), apple cider vinegar, gochujang, honey, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger. Simmer this mixture until it thickens.

Now, coat the chicken wings in cornstarch and fry them in a pan. Then, coat them with the sauce and serve!

Try Making These Asian Dishes for Your Next Party

Now you have a great list of Asian dishes to make the next time you have a dinner party. If that’s not anytime soon, then try them out and make them for your family instead. It’ll be a great way to have a test run of these dishes and we’re sure that your loved ones won’t complain either!

If you want to learn more about Asian cuisine, then make sure you browse our other blog posts now!