A recipe is the single best text for meeting the 把 construction in the wild, because cooking is the 把 construction: you take a thing and you do something to it until it changes. Cut the chicken, heat the oil, toss in the peanuts — every instruction grabs an object and reports what happens to it, which is exactly what 把 is for. This short recipe for 宫保鸡丁 (gōngbǎo jīdīng, Kung Pao chicken) also drills the sequence chain 先…再…然后…最后, the resultative complements that 把 forces onto every verb, and the crisp, subjectless imperatives that make instructions sound like instructions.
The recipe
材料 — Ingredients
鸡胸肉 一块
jī xiōngròu yí kuài
Chicken breast — one piece.
花生米 一把
huāshēngmǐ yì bǎ
Peanuts — a handful.
干辣椒 几个
gānlàjiāo jǐ ge
Dried chilies — a few.
葱、姜、蒜 各适量
cōng, jiāng, suàn gè shìliàng
Scallion, ginger, garlic — as much of each as you like.
酱油、醋、糖 各一勺
jiàngyóu, cù, táng gè yì sháo
Soy sauce, vinegar, sugar — one spoon each.
做法 — Method
先把鸡肉切成小丁，加一点盐和淀粉，抓匀。
xiān bǎ jīròu qiē chéng xiǎo dīng, jiā yìdiǎn yán hé diànfěn, zhuā yún
First cut the chicken into small cubes, add a little salt and starch, and mix it evenly by hand.
锅里放油，油热以后，把鸡丁放进去炒。
guō lǐ fàng yóu, yóu rè yǐhòu, bǎ jīdīng fàng jìnqù chǎo
Put oil in the wok; once the oil is hot, put the chicken cubes in and stir-fry.
鸡肉变白以后，先盛出来放在一边。
jīròu biàn bái yǐhòu, xiān chéng chūlái fàng zài yìbiān
Once the chicken turns white, scoop it out first and set it aside.
再放一点油，把干辣椒、葱、姜、蒜炒香。
zài fàng yìdiǎn yóu, bǎ gānlàjiāo, cōng, jiāng, suàn chǎo xiāng
Then add a little more oil and stir-fry the dried chilies, scallion, ginger and garlic until fragrant.
然后把鸡丁倒回锅里，加酱油、醋和糖，快速翻炒。
ránhòu bǎ jīdīng dào huí guō lǐ, jiā jiàngyóu, cù hé táng, kuàisù fānchǎo
Then pour the chicken back into the wok, add soy sauce, vinegar and sugar, and stir-fry quickly.
最后放入花生米，再炒半分钟就好了。
zuìhòu fàngrù huāshēngmǐ, zài chǎo bàn fēnzhōng jiù hǎo le
Finally add the peanuts, stir-fry another half minute, and it's done.
把菜盛到盘子里，一道香喷喷的宫保鸡丁就做好了。
bǎ cài chéng dào pánzi lǐ, yí dào xiāngpēnpēn de gōngbǎo jīdīng jiù zuò hǎo le
Scoop the dish onto a plate, and a fragrant plate of Kung Pao chicken is ready.
Grammar in this text
1. The 把 construction — handling an ingredient
Count the 把s: 把鸡肉切成…, 把鸡丁放进去…, 把干辣椒…炒香, 把鸡丁倒回…, 把菜盛到…. That density is no accident. 把 (bǎ) takes a specific, known object and moves it out in front of the verb so the sentence can focus on what you do to it: 把 + object + verb + result. Recipes are wall-to-wall 把 because every ingredient is already on the counter (definite and known) and every step disposes of it — cuts it, cooks it, plates it. That "disposal of a definite thing" is the beating heart of 把. See the 把 overview and the basic 把 pattern, and if the construction still scares you, walk through 把 / 被 without fear.
请把冰箱里的鸡蛋拿出来。
qǐng bǎ bīngxiāng lǐ de jīdàn ná chūlái
Please take the eggs out of the fridge. (informal)
2. Why the 把 verb is never bare: the resultative complement
Here is the rule learners forget: after 把, the verb cannot stand alone. You may not say ✗ 把鸡肉切 ("cut the chicken" — and then what?); Chinese demands you also say what became of it. So the verb drags a complement behind it every time: 切成小丁 ("cut into cubes"), 炒香 ("fry until fragrant"), 倒回锅里 ("pour back into the wok"), 盛到盘子里 ("scoop onto the plate"), 做好 ("make done"). The recipe is really a gallery of resultative and directional complements, each one telling you the endpoint. 成 is the specialist for transformation — "turn X into Y" — which is why it partners so often with cutting and shaping. See the resultative complement overview, how 把 pairs with resultative and directional complements, and the complement 成 'into'.
我把作业写完了才睡觉。
wǒ bǎ zuòyè xiě wán le cái shuìjiào
I didn't go to bed until I'd finished the homework. (informal)
3. 先…再…然后…最后 — the sequence chain
A recipe is a timeline, and Chinese threads it with a fixed chain of adverbs: 先 (xiān, first) → 再 (zài, then / next) → 然后 (ránhòu, after that) → 最后 (zuìhòu, finally). Two things to notice. First, 再 and 然后 are adverbs of sequence here, not repetition — 再放一点油 means "next add oil," not "add oil again." Second, each adverb sits before the verb, never at the head of the sentence like English "then." Together they let a cook narrate six steps without a single "and then… and then." See 先…然后…再 for sequencing.
你先把手洗干净，然后再帮我切菜。
nǐ xiān bǎ shǒu xǐ gānjìng, ránhòu zài bāng wǒ qiē cài
First wash your hands, then help me chop the vegetables. (informal)
4. Subjectless imperatives — who is "you"?
Read the steps again: not one of them has a subject. 先把鸡肉切成小丁, 锅里放油, 放入花生米 — there is no 你, no 您, no "you." Instruction-Chinese simply drops the subject because the reader obviously is the cook; stating 你 on every line would sound bossy and odd. This is the recipe's register signature, shared with signs and manuals, and it is a clean case of Chinese's broader comfort with subject ellipsis / pro-drop. Add 请 and you get the politer notice style (请把火关小); leave it bare and you get the brisk cookbook voice. See the imperative sentence.
加两勺盐，搅拌均匀。
jiā liǎng sháo yán, jiǎobàn jūnyún
Add two spoons of salt and stir until even. (neutral)
5. Quantities: measure words and 就好了
An ingredient list is a measure-word workout. Chinese cannot count a noun directly, so each item takes a counter fitted to its shape or serving: 一块鸡肉 (a piece of chicken), 一把花生 (a handful of peanuts), 一勺糖 (a spoon of sugar), 几个辣椒 (a few chilies), and the catch-all 各适量 ("a suitable amount of each") when precision doesn't matter. The recipe also closes with the satisfying 就好了 and 就做好了 — where 就 ("and then simply") plus the resultative 好 ("ready / done") announces completion: "…and it's done." See choosing a measure word, the number + measure word bridge, the adverb 就 and its senses, and the resultative 好 'ready / done'.
把电饭锅的开关一按，饭就好了。
bǎ diànfànguō de kāiguān yí àn, fàn jiù hǎo le
Just press the rice-cooker switch, and the rice is done. (informal)
Vocabulary
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 材料 | cáiliào | ingredients, materials |
| 做法 | zuòfǎ | method, way of making |
| 鸡胸肉 | jī xiōngròu | chicken breast |
| 花生米 | huāshēngmǐ | shelled peanuts |
| 干辣椒 | gānlàjiāo | dried chili |
| 葱 / 姜 / 蒜 | cōng / jiāng / suàn | scallion / ginger / garlic |
| 酱油 / 醋 / 糖 | jiàngyóu / cù / táng | soy sauce / vinegar / sugar |
| 切成 | qiē chéng | to cut into |
| 淀粉 | diànfěn | starch |
| 炒 | chǎo | to stir-fry |
| 盛 | chéng | to scoop / ladle out (food) |
| 翻炒 | fānchǎo | to toss and stir-fry |
| 勺 | sháo | spoon(ful) (measure word) |
| 适量 | shìliàng | a suitable amount, to taste |
| 香喷喷 | xiāngpēnpēn | fragrant, delicious-smelling |
Key Takeaways
- A recipe is naturally built from 把 sentences: take a definite ingredient and report what you do to it (把鸡肉切成小丁).
- After 把 the verb is never bare — it must carry a resultative or directional complement: 切成, 炒香, 倒回, 盛到, 做好.
- Steps run on the sequence chain 先…再…然后…最后, all placed before the verb; 再/然后 here mean "next," not "again."
- Instructions drop the subject — the reader is the cook; add 请 for the politer notice voice.
- Ingredients need measure words fitted to shape or serving (一块 / 一把 / 一勺 / 各适量), and 就好了 signs off completion.
Now practice Chinese
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Start learning Chinese→Related Topics
- The 把 Disposal ConstructionHSK 3 — 把 (bǎ) pulls a definite object in front of the verb so the sentence can say what is DONE to it and how it ends up: 我把门关了 (I closed the door), 请把书放在桌子上 (put the book on the table). There's no English equivalent — 把 means 'take this specific thing and dispose of it thus.'
- Resultative Complements 结果补语HSK 2 — A resultative complement 结果补语 welds a second verb or adjective onto the main verb to name the result it achieves — 吃完 (eat up), 听懂 (understand), 看见 (see), 洗干净 (wash clean) — negated with 没, never 不.
- 把 & 被 Without FearHSK 3 — A route that demystifies the two constructions intermediate learners avoid: 把 (disposal — what you do to a definite object) and 被 (passive — what gets done to the subject), through when 把 is required, why its verb can never stay bare, and how 把 and 被 mirror each other.