Best Way to Reheat Chinese Food

Chinese Food on a table
Image Credit: Erica Mollna w/CC License

When you say comfort food that is amazingly delicious, Chinese easily tops the list. Everyone has that one favorite dish that once they have it, it puts a super smile on their face. The mere mention of beef and broccoli, sweet-and-sour pork, orange/Kung Pao chicken, egg rolls and more are dishes that make any takeout night complete.

I am pretty sure that there have been days where you had so much Chinese food, that you had to put some in the fridge for the next day. This is good, because you get to enjoy an amazing meal two days in a row, but the question that I am pretty sure you want answered is, how do you reheat Chinese food?

There are ton of options available; it really depends on how much time you are willing to wait and type of food that you will be reheating.

Skillet/Stove

Ideally if you are one who wants to enjoy leftover Chinese like when you first had it, then you probably should try reheating it on the stovetop. This is by far the best option available, simply because you are able to reheat food evenly and quickly, without waiting a long time.

  • Heat up the skillet so that it is nice and hot.
  • Add a small amount of olive oil to the skillet.
  • If you have rice, you can reheat that first. Or you can just mix everything together and kill 2 birds with 1 stone.
  • If you want to do the meat, you can throw it in, stirring it around until it is thoroughly reheat it.
  • Take out and enjoy.

Microwave

If you look through all the articles that I have written on reheating food, you will notice that I am not a fan of the microwave. However, when it comes to Chinese food, the microwave can be a very quick way to get everything heated up properly and quickly. The only issue is that you have to be careful about what you are reheating. Fried or crispy foods do not work with the microwave, as they will more than often come out soggy after taking a spin in the microwave. If you have crispy/fried foods, it is best to do it in the oven.

  1. Scoop everything into a microwaveable bowl or plate.
  2. Cover with plastic or Saran wrap.
  3. Reheat for one to three minutes (depending on the power level of the microwave).
  4. Keep checking, to make sure that the food is heated evenly.
  5. Take out and enjoy.

The Oven

The oven is the slowest of all the methods on the list. If you are super hungry and need to eat like IMMEDIATELY, then prepare ahead of time if you are going to be using the oven, as it is going to take a couple of minutes to get everything heated properly.

  1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees Farenheit.
  2. Scrape all the leftover Chinese food into an oven safe dish.
  3. Wrap with foil.
  4. Allow the food to reheat for 15-20 minutes. You can check to ensure it is fully heated to your liking.
  5. If you have fried or crispy food, you can put it on a baking sheet and allow it to get heated up that way.
    Chinese Food on a Plate
    Guide for Reheating Chinese Food

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