Chinese food is one of the best takeouts you can get, and it almost always has an abundance of leftovers. Fried rice, chow mein, beef and broccoli, kung Pao chicken — you name it.
You, for sure, want to enjoy those leftovers, so you just have to make sure you reheat them properly.
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Can You Reheat Chinese Food?
Sure, there are plenty of ways to mess up reheating Chinese food. You might turn the meat rubbery. You may make the rice or noodles gummy or even tough and hard. We don’t want any of that.
But the truth is you can totally reheat Chinese food.
In fact, you can reheat pretty much any food that has been refrigerated or frozen. It’s just a matter of using the right appliance and taking the right approach for your specific food.
For foods that have been breaded or fried, you’ll want to use the air fryer or the oven for best results. For foods that have been baked or grilled, you’ll want to use the oven or the grill.
For Chinese food, honestly, our best bet is probably going to be the microwave. Surprise, surprise.
But let’s run through our options just to be sure.
Should You Reheat Chinese Food?
Now, you’re likely wondering if you have to worry about food contamination. After all, who hasn’t heard horror stories about getting ill from Chinese food.
But here’s the thing: if you’re going to get ill from Chinese food, it will be the first time you eat it, straight from the restaurant. It’s unlikely you’ll get sick from leftovers that didn’t make you sick the first time you ate it.
Just be sure you store it properly and don’t let it sit in your fridge for too long. The general guidelines also advise you reheat all leftovers to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
But of course, you should always do your own research. To get you started on that research, check out this article on reheating leftovers by Healthline.
How to Reheat Chinese Food in the Oven
Reheating Chinese food in the oven is a bit problematic because you have so many dishes to put together.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place each of your food items into a large casserole dish, spaced out and in a shallow layer.
- Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil.
- Heat the leftovers for about 30 minutes and check the temperature of your food to be sure it is warmed through.
- Serve and enjoy!
How to Reheat Chinese Food in the Microwave
Perhaps the most complicated part of reheating Chinese food in the microwave is that you typically need to heat each dish separately because you don’t know how the microwave will treat each item.
- For each item, place the food in a microwave-safe bowl and cover it with a damp paper towel.
- Heat the food in the bowl on high in 30-second increments until the food is heated through.
- Repeat this process with each dish until your whole plate is prepared.
- Serve and enjoy!
How to Reheat Chinese Food in an Air Fryer
Really the only dishes that make sense for reheating Chinese food in an air fryer are the ones with individual bites, like orange chicken or teriyaki chicken.
Otherwise, you’ll need to use another appliance because rice, noodles, and the sauces and smaller items will go right through the air fryer basket.
- For those individual bites, you can heat the air fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place the items in the basket.
- Heat for about 3 minutes and check the temperature to be sure the food is warmed through.
- Serve with your other dishes and enjoy!
How to Reheat Chinese Food on a Grill
Reheating Chinese food on the grill is not impossible. It’s not practical, or simple, but it is possible!
- Heat the grill to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Wrap the Chinese food in aluminum foil and place it directly on the grill over indirect heat. Close the lid.
- Heat the Chinese food for 15-20 minutes and check to be sure the food is fully heated.
- Serve and enjoy!
How to Reheat Chinese Food in a Toaster Oven
Ah… the toaster oven. The savior of college students and new apartment dwellers the world over.
It’s like a conventional oven, but it heats hotter, faster. Quite convenient if you think about it and a definite option for reheating Chinese food.
- Preheat your toaster oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place all the Chinese food on a shallow baking sheet and cover everything with aluminum foil.
- Heat for 15-20 minutes and check the temperature.
- Serve with your favorite sauces and enjoy!
How to Reheat Chinese Food in a Pan on the Stove
Finally, reheating Chinese food on the stovetop is quick, easy, and gets you a nice crispy, juicy result.
- For virtually any Chinese food dish, heat a cast iron skillet on the stove over medium heat.
- Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of the pan.
- Place the food in the pan and stir continuously until the food is heated through, typically only a couple of minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Winner! – The Best Way to Reheat Chinese Food Is Using the Stovetop
Yes. It has to be the stovetop. It’s quick, efficient, easy, and delicious!
So, we have a winner!
Of course, you can’t really go wrong with any of these appliance, so if you’re determined to use a different one, go for it! You’ll likely still be thrilled with your leftovers.
What do you think? Do you have a favorite way to get your Chinese food back on your plate in a delicious state? Let me know in the comments. I love to hear from my readers.
