The Woks of Life is a family run food blog that shares captivating recipes dominantly rooted in their Chinese-American heritage, sure to not only make you yearn for a bowl of steaming hot congee ASAP, but also teach you the historical meaning it carries as well as how to make it.
This blog, now recognized as an online authority on Chinese cooking and boasting over 180k followers on Instagram, began in 2013 by parents Judy and Bill led by their daughters Sarah and Kaitlin after the family spent time apart from each other. With their parents temporarily relocating to Beijing, Sarah and Kaitlin realized their personal detachment from the art of actually cooking Chinese cuisine at home for themselves with their parents not there to prepare it for them. This motivated the family to start their blog which according to their website, “represents our own culinary genealogy, from the simple to complex, the traditional to the reinvented.”
I not only love their blog for the delicious recipes and gorgeous food photos, but because they’re always sure to give readers a story behind the significance of the dish they’re preparing. I don’t mean the typical “I decided to bake these cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday with her friends because…” story that you get from a lot of personal food blogs, but rather stories of why a specific dish came to be, what about these dishes define them and the meaning they carry for the person creating them.
The Woks of Life also do a great job of ensuring that you have every step covered for recipes. By this I mean that if you lack many (if not all) cooking skills like I do, you’ll still be able to follow detailed steps that will help you create something wonderful.
For instance, they offer multiple wonton recipes and within that, also offer a guide on how to fold wontons and how to make delicious sauces like chili oil that are the perfect condiment, complimenting your meal.
Most of the recipes are pretty easy to follow, and if they’re not? Well, at least you can appreciate the great food photography involved. One thing I love about their website is that there’s a “Surprise Me!” button on the top right hand side that will allow you to get a random recipe from their website. It’s a fun way to decide on what to eat for lunch or dinner!
Definitely make sure you follow along with The Woks of Life on Instagram and get inspired in the kitchen with these mouth watering recipes.