Everyone has a favorite Chinese takeout restaurant for when you have that hankering. For me, that hankering usually comes on a Sunday night when I have cooked all week and want something delicious that I didn't have to prepare.

We live over 1,600 miles from our favorite Chinese place six months out of the year, which forced me to hit my southern kitchen well armed: my wok and lots of recipes to try and challenge our Happy Garden Restaurant in Scarborough.

While practice does make perfect (or close to it anyway) my renditions of some of our favorite Chinese dishes are really good and will certainly do us just fine.

Cooking a Chinese inspired meal in your own kitchen really isn't all that mysterious or difficult. The secret is a well sharpened knife and a good wok.

I’m not wild about electric woks. I tried one a couple of times and it went into a garage sale. Give me my good hammered steel one that fits right over my gas burner and I am in business.

The other suggestion I have for you is: be sure and give yourself plenty of time to get your ingredients peeled, chopped, shredded, diced, etc. Most of this can be done hours before hand and popped in the fridge. Do keep your ingredients stored separately (I use my divided taco platter), because you'll need to add them to the wok at different times depending on how long they take to cook.

And one more "lesson learned" hint that involves making the perfect fried rice — you know, the kind that doesn't all clump together: cook your rice well in advance (even the day before) and refrigerate it. This will help the grains dry out a bit and voila — no clumping.

So, sharpen your knife, dust off your wok, pour yourself a bit of sake, and treat yourself to a Chinese meal at home.

CHINESE 5 SPICE POWDER

This fragrant spice blend is often used in Chinese cooking. You can readily purchase it, but this is an excellent homemade version. I keep a small electric coffee grinder for grinding my own spice blends, but a good old mortar and pestle and lots of elbow grease will also get the job done.

2 tsp. star anise

2 tsp. fennel seeds

2 tsp. whole black peppercorns

2 tsp. whole cloves

1 stick (2-inch) cinnamon, broken into pieces.

Grind spices until they are a fine powder. Store in an airtight container away from heat and moisture. Yield: about 1/4 cup.

QUICK AND DELICIOUS WONTON SOUP

Frozen pot stickers make this a snap to prepare.

2 cartons (32-oz. each) reduced sodium chicken stock

2 cups shredded angel hair coleslaw (available in produce section of most larger supermarkets)

1 cup shredded carrot

3 green onions, thinly sliced

1 package (24-oz.) frozen chicken pot stickers

1Tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce

Place chicken stock in a large soup pot or Dutch oven set over medium high heat. Add cole­slaw, carrot, and green onion; reduce heat to low and cook 3 minutes. Add pot stickers and simmer 7-9 minutes or until tender. Stir in soy sauce. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

HONEY GLAZED SPARERIBS

Hoisin sauce is readily available in the Asian food section of most supermarkets. It is a reddish brown sauce that is spicy-sweet, made of soybeans, garlic, chile peppers and spices.

2 lbs. pork baby-back ribs

1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp. soy sauce, divided use

3 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce

3 Tbsp. dry sherry, divided use

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. minced fresh ginger (do not substitute dried ginger)

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1/4 tsp. Chinese 5-Spice powder

2 Tbsp. honey

1 Tbsp. cider vinegar

Place ribs in a large zippy bag. Set aside.

To prepare the marinade, combine 1/4 cup of the soy sauce, the Hoisin sauce, 2 Tbsp. of the sherry, sugar, ginger, garlic, and 5-spice powder in a small bowl; mix well. Pour marinade over ribs and seal bag. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight, turning bag occasionally. Line a large baking pan with aluminum foil. Place a rack in pan and place ribs on rack, reserving marinade. Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 30 minutes. Turn ribs over; brush with reserved marinade and bake 40 minutes or until ribs are tender when pierced.

To prepare the glaze: Combine honey, vinegar, remaining 1 Tbsp. soy sauce and remaining 1 Tbsp. sherry in a small bowl; mix well. Brush 1/2 of the mixture over ribs; broil 4-6 inches from heat source for 2-3 minutes or until ribs are glazed. Turn ribs over and brush with remaining honey mixture and broil 2-3 more minutes. Yield: 4 servings.

CHINESE PORK FRIED RICE

This does have a lot of individual steps, but goes together very quickly.

2-1/2 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided use

3/4 cup finely chopped onion

3 drops reduced sodium soy sauce

3 drops sesame oil

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 cup cooked lean boneless pork, finely chopped

1/2 cup shredded carrot

1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

4 cups cold cooked rice, grains separated

1 bunch green onions, chopped

2 cups bean sprouts (fresh or canned)

2 Tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce (or more to taste)

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in wok; add chopped onions; stir-fry 6-8 minutes or until golden brown; remove from wok and set aside.

Allow wok to cool slightly. Add soy and sesame to beaten egg; set aside. Add 1/2 Tbsp. oil to wok, swirling to coat surfaces; add egg mixture. Swirl egg against sides of wok just until it sets up; when it looks puffy, flip and cook the other side for 30 seconds. Remove from wok and chop into small pieces. Set aside. Heat the remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in wok; add pork, carrots, peas, and reserved cooked onion; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add rice, green onions, and bean sprouts, tossing to mix well; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add the 2 Tbsp. light soy sauce and reserved chopped egg to rice mixture; fold in; stir-fry 1 minute. Yield: 4 servings

HOISIN SHRIMP & BROCCOLI

I use a 31-40 count size shrimp for this recipe.

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/3 cup reduced sodium chicken stock

4-1/2 tsp. reduced sodium soy sauce

4-1/2 tsp. hoisin sauce

1 tsp. sesame oil

1 Tbsp. canola oil

3 cups fresh broccoli florets

1 bunch green onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 tsp. minced fresh gingerroot (do not use dried ginger)

1 lb. uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 cups hot cooked rice

Combine cornstarch and stock in a small bowl; whisk until smooth. Stir in soy sauce, hoisin sauce and sesame oil; set aside.

Add oil to a large non-stick skillet or wok set over medium high heat. When hot, stir fry broccoli 2-3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add onions, garlic and ginger; stir-fry 2-3 minutes. Add shrimp; stir-fry 4 minutes or until they turn pink. Whisk cornstarch mixture; add to pan. Increase heat and bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes. Serve with rice, if desired. Yield: 4 servings. 

FORTUNE COOKIES

Get the kids involved in writing the fortunes. What fun!

12 round dumpling wrappers (available in produce section of most larger supermarkets)

4 Tbsp. butter, melted, divided use

1/2 cup sugar, divided use

12 small strips of paper with fortunes written on them

Working one at a time, brush a dumpling wrapper with just enough melted butter (about 1 tsp.) to coat one side of the wrapper. Sprinkle the buttered side with 2 tsp. sugar. Flip the wrapper over so the unbuttered side is facing up; tuck a fortune in center of the wrapper. Fold one side of the wrapper over the other and press lightly to seal. Push the ends of the folded wrapper toward each other to make the traditional fortune-cookie shape. Place cookie into muffin pan that has been coated with non-stick cooking spray. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are golden. Let cookies cool slightly (about 5 minutes) and using a spatula, remove from pan. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Yield: 12 cookies.