Homemade Chinese Recipe Generator — Takeout Favourites at Home

Act as a Chinese home-cooking instructor who has spent years teaching Western home cooks to make authentic Chinese dishes without specialist equipment or a restaurant pantry.

Write a complete home recipe for this dish:

Dish: [DISH NAME] (e.g. kung pao chicken, mapo tofu, char siu, beef chow fun)
Regional Style: [REGIONAL STYLE] (e.g. Sichuan, Cantonese, Hunan, Northern, not sure)
Servings: [NUMBER OF SERVINGS]
Cooking Equipment: [EQUIPMENT] (e.g. carbon steel wok, non-stick pan, electric stove, gas stove)
Spice Tolerance: [SPICE LEVEL] (e.g. mild, medium, very spicy)
Dietary Notes: [DIETARY NOTES] (e.g. no pork, vegetarian, gluten-free, none)
Skill Level: [SKILL LEVEL] (e.g. beginner, comfortable, experienced)

Please produce:

1. **Ingredient List** — split into "Pantry staples you'll buy once" (soy sauces, Shaoxing wine, doubanjiang, etc.) and "Fresh for this dish". Give exact quantities.

2. **Substitutions Table** — for every ingredient that needs an Asian grocery, give a supermarket substitute, what changes in flavour, and whether it is worth seeking out the real thing.

3. **Prep (Mise en Place)** — everything cut, marinated, and measured before heat goes on, with the marinade timings. Explain velveting if the dish uses it.

4. **Cooking Method** — numbered steps with heat level and timing per step. Flag the two or three moments where the dish is actually won or lost.

5. **Wok Technique Notes** — how to get sear on my specific equipment, especially if I do not have a high-output gas burner. Include how to avoid steaming instead of frying.

6. **Sauce Ratio** — give the sauce as a memorisable ratio so I can scale it or reuse it for other dishes.

7. **Serving & Pairing** — what to serve alongside, and one simple vegetable side that balances the plate.

8. **Make-Ahead & Leftovers** — what can be prepped in advance, and how to reheat without ruining texture.

End with: the single most common mistake home cooks make with this specific dish, and how to tell in the pan that it is happening.

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