Is Cook With Me in Chinese: Hot & Sour Shredded Potatoes | Comprehensible Input (HSK1-3) good for learning Chinese?

Yes, as a beginner with a few hundred words. Tingting's cooking video is learner-made comprehensible input labelled HSK 1 to 3, and because you can see each step of the hot and sour potatoes, meaning comes from what is on screen.

Level

Beginner

Format

YouTube

Why it works for learners

Cooking suits this level well: verbs like cut, wash and fry match visible actions, and the ingredients are right there as the words are spoken. The channel, Tingting Comprehensible Chinese, makes videos for learners, so the language is chosen to be followed, unlike a native cooking show. You come away with kitchen and food vocabulary you can use the next time you make a meal or read a menu.

What makes it hard

The label runs up to HSK 3, so complete beginners will not catch everything. Cooking terms for cuts and seasoning are specific and may be new even if your general vocabulary is decent. Watching the food can also distract you from listening.

How to use it

Watch once just following the recipe. Watch again and pause to repeat each cooking verb aloud. Then cook the dish, or mime it, and describe each step in Chinese with the same words. That final step is what makes them stick.

More for Chinese learners: our Chinese guides.