As much as I love Marketplace’s duck potstickers, I've been on a hunt to find homemade Chinese food in Durham. You can probably imagine my excitement when I first heard about Sister Liu's Kitchen, a hidden gem for dumplings, noodles, and Chinese burgers. As if that list doesn’t sound enticing enough, Sister Liu’s was one of 50 restaurants nominated by Bon Appétit magazine for America's Best New Restaurants in 2019. My roommate, Alice, and I went to get a taste of what earned Sister Liu's its recognition as Durham's best restaurant for authentic Chinese food.
Authentic Recipes with a Homey Twist
We were lucky enough to get to talk to the owner, Cui Ying Liu, who told us that while her menu seems simple, it’s most definitely not. The dumplings, noodles, and burgers that she serves all use family recipes, making them different from what you would find in China.
For example, she steams, dries, then fries the buns for her Chinese burgers, rather than just frying them as is typical for the traditional burgers (rou jia mo) from Shaanxi province in China.
She pays attention to even the smallest details, down to the fat content of the pork belly used in her burgers (fun fact: she used to use 18-20% fat, but decided to up the ratio after a Duke student told her that the extra fat was more delicious)
Sister Liu’s food is all made from scratch, so be prepared to wait 15 to 20 minutes. You’ll be glad you did, I promise. There’s a reason they sell 3,000 to 4,000 handmade dumplings each day––the time and care that Ms. Liu and her employees put into their food clearly shows in each dish. Here’s what we got to try:
Dumplings
The dumpling menu changes each day and is written on a chalkboard in the store. Alice and I went with the special option: pork spinach, and the vegan “rainbow” dumplings. Each order of dumplings comes with a choice of regular or spicy dipping sauce (we got regular). I was pleasantly surprised by the vegan dumplings -- the veggies inside had a nice crunchy texture that played well with the soft skin. The pork dumplings didn’t disappoint either. The meat in the filling was cooked well and paired nicely with the vinegar sauce.
#SpoonTip: Sister Liu’s sells frozen dumplings as well as cooked ones. They had to stop selling the frozen dumplings for a while when the exposure from Bon Appétit brought in a flood of new customers, but have recently restarted selling them by the pound.
Noodles
Having tried the noodles with a spicy beef and mushroom sauce on a previous visit, we opted to try the spinach noodles with an egg and tomato sauce. I personally preferred the egg and tomato because I found it to be light and fresh, but the beef and mushroom sauce is a great option for anyone who wants more of a kick. The noodles themselves had a springy texture that Alice and I loved.
#SpoonTip: try adding some of the dumpling sauce to your noodles if you want to add another layer of flavor with a touch of sourness.
Burgers
Even though everything we tried was on point, the burger was my personal favorite. I went with a regular beef burger, while Alice got the spicy beef. The bun was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside and was a perfect canvas to pair with the super-flavorful meat. The cilantro dispersed throughout added a bit of freshness that cut the richness of the beef. I had to remind myself to slow down––I couldn’t get enough. I’ll definitely be back to try the pork version, if I can keep myself from gravitating toward the beef.
Sister Liu’s has won my heart and has become my go-to for Chinese food in Durham. The shop might be small, but trust me, you don’t want to miss it.