Introduction
The first time I ate Chinese
food in the United Kingdom in the 1970s, it was truly quite
unappealing. Everything came in a gloopy
sauce and looked like to taste the same, because of the overuse of monosodium
glutamate, supposedly a flavour enhancer but in reality, nothing of the
kind. Then in the 1980s a new breed of
Chinese cafeteria arrived “at least it took that long to reach the provinces”
which provided lighter, tastier Chinese cooking demonstrating regional
differences. There was one drawback,
anyhow, which was that this new type of cafeteria was much more pricey than the
original low-priced ‘n tasteless ones.
Consequently, I thought how cool it would be to cook Chinese food at the
residence but I had no idea where to kick off until BBC TV came to my rescue in
the shape of Ken Hom, the USA-born chef of Cantonese parents.
Ken presented Chinese cuisine in such an easily-understandable
way, demonstrating formulas and suggesting substitute ingredients should the
originals not be accessible in your local supermarket. The book which accompanied
the series, Ken Hom’s Chinese Cookery became my bible and I still have my
duplicate, pages stained with oil drips and smears of sauce.
To help you on your road to cooking Chinese food at a residence, I’m going to briefly clarify the
simple equipment, ingredients and formulas which you require knowing so as to
you can generate some basic and tasty dishes.
I hope you enjoy the article and that it inspires you to get cooking!
Equipment
Although there are numerous implements and pieces of equipment you
can pay for, to kick off on the road to cooking your own Chinese food, you truly only require a good knife or two and a
wok. Woks come in all shapes and sizes,
they might be non-stick, flat-bottomed, they can even be electric nowadays but
I still like better my old carbon steel wok with it’s rounded bottom and one
wooden handle. This is a Pau wok. These
are promptly available in Chinese supermarkets and are much less pricey than
other varieties. There is one important
activity, though, before you will be prepared to cook with such a wok and that
is to season it. You will require to
scrub it with a cream cleaner to eliminate any residues of machine oil and dry
it carefully. Put the wok on the hob through a low heat. Rub the inside of the wok with two
tablespoons of cooking oil using a kitchen towel. permit the wok heat steadily for ten to 15
minutes then wipe the inside with more kitchen towel. The paper will come away black. keep on a coating, heating and cleaning off
until the kitchen towel comes away clean.
Your wok is now prepared to use.
After use, wash only in water without detergent and dry thoroughly
through a low heat. You could even apply
a small oil if you want. This should
prevent the wok from rusting but if it does originate rust, just scrub and
season again.
As well as the wok, you will require a wok stand, specifically if
you have an electric hob. This maintains
the wok steady if you're using it for braising or deep frying.
You will also require something to stir with – any spatula, slice
or slotted spoon will do – metal for a metal wok and plastic or wooden for a
non-stick wok.
Ingredients
Before you rush out and pay for up the whole Chinese section at
the supermarket, bear in mind that a
couple of ingredients don’t keep well if left not used. Just elect something basic from your chosencookery book and pay for the things that you require for that then you can
develop your selection as you progress by means of different dishes.
Some frequent store-cupboard ingredients that you will almost
certainly require are dark and light soy sauce, a couple of sort of cooking oil
and sesame oil, cornflour and rice wine or sherry. to get more information, see my article
Chinese Cooking - Ingredients and Equipment.
Techniques
Stir-Frying
The most well-known Chinese cooking method is stir-frying. This is where your wok comes into its own as
it’s shape and size (at least 14 inches diameter with deep sides) is ideal for
fast cooking. the key to successful
stir-frying is to have all your ingredients ready in anticipation.
Meat should be cut in keeping with the recipe but generally in
thin strips. veggies likewise but in any
event should be of similar shapes and sizes to ensure even cooking. Long thin veggies such as spring onions,
carrots or asparagus are often cut on the diagonal so as to more surface ground
is exposed for faster cooking. choice
out sauce ingredients - verify the recipe - if they are all added to the dish
at the same time, you can put them all in one little bowl. If cornflour is included, don’t forget to
give it a good stir before adding to the other food.
Once you have everything elaborated, heat your wok until it is
extremely hot then add oil and utilizing your chosen stirring perform to ensure
that the oil is evenly distributed through the surface of the wok. Before you add your ingredients. the wok
should be so hot that it is almost smoking - this will prevent the food from
being greasy. The exception to this is if you are flavouring your oil with
garlic, chilli, spring onions, ginger or salt - these will burn if the oil is
too hot.
Now add your other ingredients in the order stated in the recipe
and toss them through the surface of the wok ensuring that nothing rests in one
place for too long and moving the food from the centre of the wok to the
sides. I recommend that you wear an
apron or other protective clothing for this surgical procedure as the food
often spits because of the high temperature it is cooked at.
Deep Frying
You can utilize your wok for deep frying but be extremely careful
that it is safely balanced on its stand.
Under no factors leave it unattended.
Deep frying in a wok uses less oil than a deep fryer or saucepan but you
may find these safer and easier to use.
When deep frying, be sure that the oil is hot sufficient before
adding ingredients or the food will end up extremely greasy. Test it by dropping in a little piece of
elaborated food or a cube of bread. If
the oil bubbles up around what you decreased in then it’s hot sufficient.
Make sure that food to be deep fried is dried thoroughly on
kitchen paper or drained of its marinade before cooking otherwise it will spit.
Shallow Frying
This is the same as the Western method. Fry food on one side, then the other and
drain off any excess oil before adding sauce ingredients. A frequent frying pan is acceptable for this.
Steaming
Steaming is widely used in Chinese cookery. You can utilize a bamboo steamer in a wok, a
heat-proof plate placed on a rack in a wok or other large pan or you can
utilize a frequent European steamer.
If using a bamboo steamer or plate in a wok, evoke 2 inches of
water to a simmer. Put your rack into
the wok (if the bamboo steamer is immense enough and will sit on the sides of
the wok without being in the water, you don’t require a rack) and balance your
plate or steamer of food on it. Put the
lid on your steamer or wok and verify occasionally to see if the water requires
topping up (use water which is earlier hot).
Whichever technique you use, be sure that the food is above thewater level and isn’t getting wet.
Braising
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