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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 5/30/2008 10:10:36 PM | | All of the ingredients are available at the Oriental grocery stores, the real secret is your stove can not get hot enough to stir fry successfully. An American stoves hot burner is 15 to 20 thousand btu, a wok stove is over 100,000. I have made my own wok stove out of a turkey deep fryer, they run to 150,000 btu. Good luck, homemade really is worth all the effort, Jim | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 5/30/2008 11:50:32 PM | In reference to message 25. No need to use a good quality cut of beef. Better (and cheaper) to use a tough cut. Cut it thinly across the grain and you wont know the difference. I use outside round in my stir fry's.
I'll give a quickie recipe for you that tastes good and I do all the time.
Chicken:
1 or 2 chicken breasts, cut 1/8-1/4" across the grain.
Make a marinade of a little soy sauce and a little brown sugar a little crushed garlic , a little crushed pepper and an acid, either lemon juice or vinegar (you pick the kind). Think balance and taste it as you add ingredients. Sweet, salty, savoury, hot. Put chicken in and prepare rest of ingredients.
Cut up a 1/4 or 1/2 of a white onion.
Cut top off of a bag of frozen mixed veg, again, your choice.
If you have a gas stove woohoo! If not, crank the burner to high, and put your wok on it. You are using a Wok right? When its really hot, as in a drop of water thrown in scoots and disappears, throw in some chopped onion and some chopped garlic\ginger. Immediately toss in chicken and marinade, toss about until mostly done and remove to a dish, set aside.
Add more onion\garlic\ginger and frozen veg. Add 1\4 cup or a healthy squeeze of a carton of low salt chicken broth, cover with lid.
When steam escapes around edge of wok lid, take lid off, add meat back in and toss. Drag everything up the sides of wok.
A fork full of tapioca or corn starch mixed with a little cold water should be added now into the liquid in the middle. Keep dipping your steel chinese mixing spoon in the liquid until it coats it. Immediately toss it all together and remove to bowl.
Enjoy | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 5/31/2008 1:22:58 AM | Having lived with a chinese girl who was quite into her cooking, I would say that you need to know a few important things:
1) UK takeaway food is not really chinese food.
2) The secret to rice is to use a rice cooker - once cooked, leave it on "stay warm" for at least 10 minutes to let the rice swell up.
3) Buy your sauces for cooking from a chinese wholesalers. If you make your own sauce, just add a little to the food, it doesn't take a lot.
4) If you want UK takeaway-type food, just add MSG. MSG is not the same as adding salt, but does taste salty because of the sodium content.
5) Always use the freshest veggies and meat. Many people probably think that takeaways serve poor quality produce, but generally this is about as far from the truth as you can get. Most takeaways have that high a turnover that the food hasn't been there for long.
I also went to HK and China for a good few weeks and they would generally rather do anything than serve you sweet and sour.
w_m. | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 5/31/2008 6:44:51 AM | Oyster sauce, msg (monosodium glutamate)....balance sauce with glutinous rice flour stirred in water at the end of cooking time. (thickening). salt & pepper to taste.
always marinate meat in soyasauce at least 20 minutes prior to cooking/frying/woking...when using ginger,balance with lime...don't be afraid to use garlic.
when woking,slice ingredients in similar thickness and lenght.stir in ingredients that require longest cooking time first...be systetematic..
good luck. :) | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 5/31/2008 7:25:16 AM | First always marinate your meat with a 1 tbsp. of light soy sauce, 1 tbsp of cooking sherry, some salt & pepper, 1 tsp cornstarch, and 1 tbsp. olive oil. In this order.
The above is true. I also use a small bit of Armomat or msg, unless it bothers you. I use fresh garlic grated into my stir fry sauce. It is not Chinese or Japanese, but more of a fusion of southeast Asia. Add to the above: 2 cloves grated garlic (I cover the fine side of my grater with cling wrap and I grate it over the wrap. The wrap makes all of the gratings cling and then you can just scrape that off. I also grate two tbsp of fresh ginger and sometimes I add zest of lime for a heightened taste. I also use fresh chilies if you like heat. This is a combination of Szchwan, Thai etc. Also, never cook in large batches. Cook your meat first and remove, then quickly stir fry your vegetables. (do not use over 1/2 cup of anything at a time, as it will not cook, but it will steam. Use peanut oil as it doesn't smoke so much and doesn't break down. You must use more spice than you normally would as it is in contact for a very short time.
Hope this is of some help.
best
patricia
Nova Scotia | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 5/31/2008 8:37:10 AM | If you put in onion you don't need MSG as onion juice will tenderize meats and enhance flavour. Steamed veg is what you want, not cooked. Steaming retains more nutrients in veg. Use Canola oil, it's cheaper and has (I think) a higher smoking point as well. Support your local farmer! I used to grow Canola. Not much peanuts grown in Canada.
Best bet is to buy a couple cookbooks and try a few recipes. Martin Yan has simple recipes or get some off the 'Net. A gazillion out there. I rarely go out to eat Asian locally as the flavors are pure Canadian (read bland). | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 5/31/2008 8:51:39 AM | Refined canola oil has a smoking point just under 400 F
Refined peanut oil has a smoking point just under 450 F
Peanut oil also imbues the foods cooked in it with a unique flavour. It is the oil of choice in chinese cooking.
To quote myself above, "You have to use the same ingrediants and methods of cooking. Too many times people try to adapt the dish to what they know or substitute ingrediants." | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 5/31/2008 9:04:36 AM | A secret is a super super super super hot wok.
You probably can't generate that kind of heat in your average home kitchen.
The wok is first heated to smoking and then the oil is added. All the food is cooked over high heat for a very shot period of time. Caramelization occurs very fast (Maillard Reaction) due to the high heat. Chinese Chefs will say it's the high heat known as the "breath of the wok" that imparts that secret and special flavour to the food.
And no, it's not MSG...You can find that in low end Chinese cooking or the **stardized versions of Chinese cuisine. | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 5/31/2008 9:27:52 AM | I was going to say the secret is actually in the WOK, but obviously, that has been told! :O)
And MSG is YUCK! I actually know which of my local Asian restaurants use it and which do not, because I am allergic to it and will throw up within a half hour of eating it! It is a tenderizer and a flavor enhancer...as well as extends the life of food. (Common in buffets!)
But I think the REAL secret is...CATS!  | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 5/31/2008 12:06:46 PM | Cooking is a big hobby of mine. I'm always experimenting with something. I made Pad Thai last night, which is a little more complex than this "simple" Chinese-style dish.
What many people leave out (and few people have in their cupboards), is CORN STARCH. This is a "secret" to getting the sauce "just right". Without it, sauces are typically too watery, and don't stick to the ingredients.
Try this one:
Honey-Sesame Chicken & Broccoli
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1# skinless, boneless chicken (breasts)
1/2# fresh broccoli crowns (you can use frozen, just cook longer)
2 Tbps vegetable oil
1 Tsp sesame oil (optional, but it helps)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce (low sodium works fine)
1/2 cup cool water (cornstarch will clump if water is warm!)
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp ground ginger or garlic (I like to use both)
1/4 TEASPOON ground cayenne pepper (if you like it hot!)
1 Tbsp sesame seeds (toasted)
Cut chicken into small (1") pieces/strips
Mix honey, soy sauce, water, corn starch
Heat a skillet, with the vegetable oil AND sesame oil,
on medium high (alternatively you may use cooking spray
for a "lighter" meal). Cook chicken medium-high for about
5-7 minutes until cooked (no longer pink).
Put broccoli in over chicken, pour in the sauce mixture.
Stir until sauce thickens and turns a darker brown. If sauce
appears too thick, add a small splash more water at a time to
thin it out. You don't want to make it too thin, because
there's no going back to thick without adding more cornstarch.
Reduce heat SLIGHTLY, sprinkle with the sesame seeds, then cover
and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
Serve with white rice (or Fried Rice, but for that's another recipe)
and enjoy.... 
(Oh, and it's particularly good with a nice Plum Wine)
Like most recipes, use this as a guideline... not gospel... Cooking can be fun if you let it be. Experiment a little. What's the worse that could happen? | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 5/31/2008 10:08:49 PM | my family went to China and i was very sad indeed to discover that chicken balls & awesome orangey sauce on top is not authentic Chinese cuisine LOL
The stuff they make here is basically their McDonalds, crap they wouldn't feed their dogs - just get super fresh yummy veg and then put lots of salt and fat on it and we'll like it :) Same with meat, coat it and deep fry it and put a sauce on it and boooyah | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 5/31/2008 10:11:24 PM | at cookingincalgary
You are just about about correct, refined Canola oils smoke point is about 435. I must have been thinking olive oil. Outside of a trained chef  , do you really think anyone could taste the difference? I'd think you'd need a very refined palate to do so. But I may be wrong, never did a side by side comparative test.
Most supermarkets these days have a good ethnic foods section. So the ingredients should be relatively easy to come up with | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/1/2008 12:22:30 AM | I find the "secret" ingredient to a lot of Asian dishes is fresh grated ginger and fresh minced garlic. The dried powdered stuff just doesn't taste the same. I used to avoid ginger as I really do not like the taste of raw ginger. But in a cooking class I took they made an Asian stir fry with fresh ginger and wow! What a difference.
Beyond that - oyster sauce, sesame oil (just a touch for flavor) and some sweetener (sugar or sweet wine like mirin, cream sherry, xiochang etc.) really helps. Thai dishes almost always use Fish Sauce (nam pla).
Here's another tip: If you are tasting the sauce as you're putting it together it must be "over the top" when tasted alone. In other words, it has to have all the flavors you want but they will need to be very exagerated. That's because when you mix the sauce with rest of the ingredients (and the oil they are cooked in) the flavors will get very diluted.
FWIW, I don't own a wok yet I think I make dishes that are as tasty or tastier than what you get at a restaurant. Cooks Illustrated agrees and got better results with a 12" skillet as compared to a wok. Also, FWIW, I have cooked with peanut oil and vegetable oil and I really can't tell any difference in the final food - but I don't use much oil to begin with.
I have a nice Drunken Noodles recipe on my cooking blog www.markiscooking.com - it's a Thai dish and doesn't have any ginger in it, so it breaks my first rule! But try it! | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/1/2008 12:41:57 AM | you need a REAL iron wok (properly cured like an iron pot) and not a flat bottomed look alike, teflon coated one. then there is the heat issue mentioned above. implements must also be real iron and you must do it hard and fast! sigh.... | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/1/2008 12:42:30 AM | Two thing's to keep in consideration:
- 1 - Chinese restaurants are specially equipped to prepare food at very high temperatures
- 2 - key ingredient used in Chinese restaurants is MSG (monosodium glutamate) which is the kicker.. sure it makes the food taste amazing, but also very unhealthy unless consumed in moderation. | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/1/2008 7:08:13 AM | Easy
Only need oil (usually sunflower seed oil, olive oil or peanut oil), salt, scallion, garlic, ginger, sugar,soy sauce, Sichuan pepper
Don't need soy sauce for vegetables, it's only for meat
Cannot eat too much at restaurant, too oily, salty and don't like msg
Do vegetables:
Heat oil in the wok
Add Sichuan pepper, 5-10 seconds, take it out
Add diced scallion, garlic, and ginger if you like, stir for 3-5 seconds
Add vegetable and stir
Add the salt and sugar as you like, a little sugar can be instead of MSG to make the dishes taste good, stir for 10 seconds
Done
Do meat:
Heat oil in the wok
Add Sichuan pepper, 5-10 seconds, take it out
Add diced scallion, garlic, and ginger if you like, stir for 3-5 seconds
Add meat
Add soy sauce when meat 60-70% done
Take out meat and put in the plate when 90% done
Clean the wok
Heat oil agian
Add diced scallion, garlic, and ginger if you like, stir for 3-5 seconds
Add vegetable and stir
Add the salt and sugar as you like, use a little sugar instead of MSG to make the dishes taste good, stir for 5 seconds
Add meat again, stir 10 seconds
Done
Never use powder | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/1/2008 3:58:15 PM | | The truth is most of my friends prefer home cooking than restaurant cooking. We cannot always enjoy and appreciate Chinese Restaurant food. Even the restaurant food "may" taste better; we still prefer home cooking meals for it is always healthier. Besides Chinese restaurants do not carry enough traditional dishes that we can easily make at home and they taste so so yummy! | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/1/2008 8:54:05 PM | very few restaurants around here use msg anymore!
ps i have a very old commerical stove. have to light the burners with a match and the flames can jump up if not careful. otherwise it stays way too hot, when not using it, due to the old pilots. it is so old, i cannot get it converted, but all my friends who cook , love it. i never thought about it, as i inherited it with the purchase of this house and all it's other eccentric problems and features--but probably it is way hot enough as you all describe. so, just how do you measure the heat? what is the difference between a commercial stove and a regular old stove, aside from 6 burners and the oven only going to 500 degree baking (no overhead broiler) ? note: i think it is from the 50's. we have a barbecue to the side, so old i needed to have the cover made special order! | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/1/2008 10:15:06 PM | I love what passes for oriental food, but I'm also very lazy. A friend who owned a restaurant for many years used to sell me the little bags of the mixes they used, but now, the same company has come out with packets you can find at groceries. You may have to look, but someone will have them. The name of the company is Williams Foods, Inc. in Lenexa Ks. . The name you see on the packets in stores is Sun Bird. Dang, I hope I'm not spamming.
I bought an electric wok, and everything comes out just like the junk I buy out. I know it's probably not very healthy, but sometimes it's ok. | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/1/2008 10:19:31 PM | Two things:
1) Very few "chinese" restaurants use MSG anymore. This is a view from the inside.
2) Best investment I ever made was a portable butane burner. Losts of restaurants use them and It is much better than an electric stove! | |
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