Dragon Lady Kitchen

Dragon Lady Kitchen

Family Chinese recipes, cooked the way my mother taught me.

My mother learned to cook from her own family, relying on memory, instinct, and taste rather than written recipes. Like many home cooks, she never measured — she just knew.

When I started cooking these dishes myself, I realized how easy it would be for them to disappear. Dragon Lady Kitchen began as a way for me to write them down, test them, and make sure they could be cooked again — by me, and by anyone else who grew up with similar food.

These are not restaurant versions. They’re home cooking. Some dishes are simple, some take time, and many use techniques that aren’t always explained elsewhere. I cook them the way my family always did.


Featured Recipe


Meat and Potatoes, Chinese Style

Saucy curry chicken with big chunks of potatoes, over rice.  So comforting on a rainy Seattle day.  Even though the calendar says “goodbye winter”, the Seattle weather forecast for spring always says “lots of curry chicken days ahead”! 

A Chinese recipe with potatoes?  There aren’t many.  But here’s one that fulfills my occasional need for some meat and potatoes comfort food.  It’s hearty, but light, because it uses chicken, basking in a flavorful, golden curry.   The sauce is so plentiful, it’s almost like a stew.  As a kid, I remember how the exotic aroma of curry would infuse the whole house when my mom made this.  I would smash up the softened potato chunks with my fork, and let the puddles of spicy curry gravy soak right in.  Even though there are potatoes in this dish, we always ate this with steamed white rice.  A bit of a carbo overload, I know, but remember my dad’s rice addiction?  (Never a complete meal without rice!)  Old habits die hard, so I still like this over rice.  Once you taste the sauce, you’ll understand why.

Mom used to make this dish with a homemade concoction of curry powder, coconut milk and spices.  However, she recently discovered an incredible packaged Golden Curry Sauce at the Chinese grocery that cuts the preparation time in half, without sacrificing a drop of flavor!  Go to “99 Ranch Market” (22511 Highway 99 in Edmonds, WA 98026) and stock up.  You could probably find this at Uwajimaya, too (just take the photo of the box, pictured below, with you).  Note:  the  photo on the box does not reflect how the sauce will look – it’s not brown, it’s golden (like in my photos).

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