| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/1/2008 10:31:15 PM | in CA, the asian american advocacy groups frown heavily on the colonial use of the word "oriental". i am sure this is debatable within the chinese american culture amongst age groups and different regions, as with other ethnic labels. before i came out to CA, in nyc many "chinese" restaurants had the word "oriental" on their neon outdoor signs. i have not yet seen that here. i am saying this, just to set this record straight, for those who may not mean to offend others. when i first came here and was working on an "undoing racism" project geared towards intitutionalized racism, including use of terminolpgy, this issue was raised by asian representatives.
here, there is thai food, chinese food from all the different regions, vietnamese food, hawaiian food, et al--all who use the stir fry method, but with different spices. i haven't been back east for a good 8 years, so i felt the need to add this to the discussion. what is interesting to me about thai food and even peruvian food, is the mix of what i had known to be spices from india and china --in with spices i knew to be mexican. eg: curry, cilantro, coconut milk, come to mind.
what is now "american food" in this area's "diners" now includes a mix of all these things. when i was little, the typical american diner was a sort of meat and potatoes place. it is interesting how these flavors are all beginning to blend. my child took my italian spices (pre-mixed) blending them in with the peruvian culture she was raised in, by her birth family. it tasted great!!! with a european american background and my own grandparents eastern european background, i never thought to mix these things. my pakistani neighbor explained to me that their food and food from india is very similar, it was just the colonial split of these countries that made me think they would be different.
i wonder if anyone else has mixed different spices into the stir fry method. i wonder how/where stir fry started. | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/2/2008 10:19:01 AM | In ref to message 28
I am used to using sirloins quite a bit here in Alberta, where I can get them for about $2.50 a cut. Two sirloins is usually enough to feed 4 people. I've seen recipes call for flank steak, which I honestly have never really worked with. I think because the sirloins are so cheap here it is almost just worth it to use them. They do taste better (I can taste teh difference) | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/2/2008 6:06:19 PM | In my experience, limited though it may be, I've never been able to taste the difference between different cuts ... in a stir fry. More tender yes, but marinating cheap cuts will "break down" the tissues . Quite quickly when cut thin and across the grain, I find. Oh, and I can throw a rock into Alberta from where I live  so I know about pricing as well.
Too bad the rancher has seen none of the price increase. The slaughter houses must be raking in a fortune. oops . Off topic.
OT: 5-spice powder, sesame oil, peanut oil (cookingincalgary;o), fresh garlic and ginger. For heat I use Sambal Oelek but any chili spice works. Frozen veg are handiest (for me). Start with simple things and go from there. I use a hand hammered carbon steel wok with very little oil, it works for me and I have an electric stove. To those nay sayers well, it gets hot enough to bubble the paint on my fridge and its 16" away. Whoops! lol Oh yeah and a cleaver i a must. Mine is a 4" x 9" one I paid $20 for 20 years ago. Holds a decent edge and I use it for everything from crushing garlic to splitting crab. The dents on the back edge are testament to the hammer used lol. That, my 8" Chefs knife, My "Miracle Blade" and a paring knife are all I use. I am a minimalist ... or cheap. | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/2/2008 6:17:16 PM | Why would you want to?
You'll only be hungry again in an hour! lol
I know that cuisine isn't authentic, but I have always been utterly
amazed at the consistency of Chinese food no matter which restaurant
or city you get it in. It's like they all learned in the same school or
something! Sometimes the buffets aren't quite as good though,
as the take out??? | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/2/2008 7:20:20 PM | | First and foremost the suggestions posted are at most American/Chinese foods cooked in our fashion and taste. Do like I do and go to where it is authentic and prepared by chefs that know what they are really doing. Just spent a month tourning and eating in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia and can assure that there is differences in food at certain locations. A good example is deep fried grasshopers but do not eat the legs because they get stuck in your teeth. Worked and lived in China and Taiwan and can assure you that eating there is a gourmet delight. Sorry, but Chinese/American food is not original and doesn't taste as good. Have fun with your experiments though. Bill | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/2/2008 7:55:07 PM | Hey Bill,
I'm sure the many people in North America of Laotian, Chinese, Cambodian, Vietnamese etc. ancestry will appreciate that they aren't cooking authentic. Where one gets it isn't that important, how well (authentic) it is prepared is. I've eaten a little in a few different countries as well and if you go to a place thats serves authentic cuisine, that's what you get. Here or there. I'll be sure to jump on a plane the next time I'm in the mood for some Hot and Sour. 
Most "Ethnic" restaurants cook to the general public with their dishes. Read that as bland, in order to be acceptable to the broadest range of peoples tastes. That is, unless they cater almost exclusively to their particular ethnicity. Did that make sense?
cookingincalgary
Conimex has a cool site online, never been there before. | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/2/2008 8:19:02 PM | | You don't have to go to Asia to find decent Asian food. The key to finding the real deal is to go where other Chinese/Asian people go. Those restaurants will typically have native language menus. The offerings on those menus are usually not found on the menus for Americans. | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/24/2008 3:18:56 PM | I used to sell high end kitchens in Asia. Most rich folk would buy TWO kitchens. One indoors with all the design and fanciness. Bulthaup or Poggenpohl cabinets and Gaggenau or Wolf burners.
AND...and Outdoor kitchen where the real cooking is done. Outdoor ventilation and a real gas burner. http://www.indiajoze.com/equipment.html
100,000 BTUs baby | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/27/2008 6:57:41 AM | | Ah so. Hot wok, cold oil, no stick. Molasses and sugar. sesame oil at end..no to cook sesame oil, only for flavor. Fresh ginger and garlic. Meat cut thin, add at end for rare and juicy, no cook long. peanut oil to cook, but vewwy little. go long way. Rice and noodle, cook before and let cool. Warm noodle or rice no good. No electric wok, not hot enough. pre cook vegetables so when wokking it no take so long. so long | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/27/2008 7:09:55 AM | Subject:
peanut oil.
everything is fried in peanut oil.
Right ~ ! and high heat ~ the peanut oil has a high temp smoke point ~ you don't want to go there ~ too hot!
It's a very quick cook ~ one to two minutes `
Have you ever seen it done? ~ you need to watch !
items cut to size to where all cooks evenly and together ~ Bam! you are done.
I love lemon chicken ! Dance | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/27/2008 9:22:01 AM | | Sorry I didn't read all the post but I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents. If most of the people are referring to western Chinese restaurants then you might consider a deep fryer. Ginger beef, Chicken balls, Sweet and Sour pork, etc... all are done in a deep fryer. I would also agree with peanut oil and depending on the dish sesame oil and not the blended kind you have to go pure sesame oil. Also in my restaurant cooking experiences I've only come across one kitchen that I managed that had a box of MSG. I swear it was probably sitting on the shelf since the 80's and never used, so I tossed it out and I've never seen it again anywhere. | |
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kemra1
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Joined: 5/12/2008
Msg: 66 | |
| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/28/2008 4:33:35 PM | Chinese food varies from location to location of where you are living in.
I have tried Authentic Chinese food from Hong Kong, China, Hawaii and even dared to try the "chinese food" in Kentucky. The tastes are sooooo different.
The ingredients differ depending on where ever you are living at. I make a really good crab rangoon and it taste nothing like the chinese buffets! I am so amazed with the varieties of "authentic chinese foods" that are available in different parts of the U.S.! | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/28/2008 4:56:41 PM | it all depends on what you are trying to make
i've seen some good recipes and some not so good ones
the ingredients should be fresh, you need a wok, high heat for most dishes
a good soy sauce ( I like ALOHA brand from Hawaii when i can get it), make sure
it is real soy sauce and not hydrolyzed vegetable protein
for other sauces I've found Lee Kum Kee brand to be pretty decent
( for oyster, or hoisin , etc)
what is it you are trying to make??? | |
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kemra1
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Joined: 5/12/2008
Msg: 68 | |
| Aloha Shoyu
Posted: 6/28/2008 9:53:43 PM | Aloha Shoyu.
You can order this online! I recently had some on my rice today.
I think the homemade teriyaki sauce or stir fry tastes better! | |
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| Aloha Shoyu
Posted: 6/29/2008 11:10:34 AM | *L*
YES!!
the Nectar of the Gods!
did you get the sample pack?
I used to be able to get the Alhoa shoyu at a nearby
Japanese Market but they said that the west coast distributor stopped........
I've been looking into ordering it
are you using their teriyaki ? or make your own from the Aloha?? | |
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kemra1
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Joined: 5/12/2008
Msg: 70 | |
| Soy Sauce
Posted: 6/29/2008 2:09:54 PM | Not to deviate off topic in all fairness to the original poster....
When cooking Chinese food, as some has mentioned (peanut oil vs. regular oil)
It all depend on one's taste buds AND the name brand of ingredient you use. I grew up on Aloha shoyu (soy sauce) and I like that interchangeably with the Kikoman brand (they have it at Sams club or costco if you have one near by).
I am not a master chef of my own ethnic food (my mom cooks way better than me!)
but I would suggest trying different types of Soy sauce as there are terrible but cheap brands that can make all the difference in the world. Same as for Oyster sauce, trying Lee Kum vs. generic cheap brands makes a significant difference (based on my taste buds). For example, when making Beef Broccoli - the name brand of soy sauce makes all the difference in the world.
Interested bystander.. Send me an email or search Aloha Shoyu - Hawaii. You can order it on line. My friend knows the owner and he told me about this. I almost did order, but I recently went home and brought some back with me. ! | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 6/30/2008 9:47:44 AM | Yeah the secret is monosodiumglutomate - mate
In powder form mostly
Helps you keep salivating and desiring food, sending chemicals to your brain telling you that you want more! - or is that just me? | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 7/2/2008 2:48:30 AM | I saw lots of things but not one of them hit the right spot lol
The secret of getting the same flavours is how to clean your wok keeping the flavours in the wok from prevous cooking over and over again. Ingrediends are indeed important too because they make the flavours in your wok time after time!
Here it's How:
1. Rinse the wok in hot water.
2. Gently lift off or scrub away food particles with a wooden scrubbler.
3. Rinse the wok (never use dish soaps in a wok!).
4. Dry the interior and exterior of the wok with paper towels or soft cloth which you keep use only for the wok.
5. To finish drying, place the wok over medium to medium-high heat.
6. Wipe the inside of the wok with a small amount of vegetable oil. This helps prevent rusting. (Note: this step may not be necessary if your wok is properly seasoned and gets a lot of use.
7. Store until ready to use again.
Tips:
1. Never scrub a carbon steel wok with an abrasive cleanser, as this can damage the seasoned surface.
2. Do not put the wok in the dishwasher.
3. If rust appears or the wok is accidentally cleaned in the dishwasher, simply re-season it, being careful to remove all the rust.
I hope this helps
zen xx | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 7/3/2008 6:43:44 AM | | Excalibur19 hit it right on the head, chinese restaurants use msg , ,commonly known as chinese salt, thats why you get the dry horrors afterwards also why it doesn't taste the same at home. Msg goes into most supermarket ready meals | |
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| How to cook chinese food like a chinese restaurant
Posted: 7/3/2008 11:48:34 AM | Let me put it another way, there is no extra MSG added to any food in any restaurant.
Modern commercial MSG is produced by fermentation[2] of starch, sugar beets, sugar cane, or molasses. About 1.5 million metric tons were sold in 2001, with 4% annual growth expected.[3] MSG is used commercially as a flavour enhancer. Although once stereotypically associated with foods in Chinese restaurants, it is now found in many common food items, particularly processed foods. [4] Examples include:
Canned soups.
Pre-prepared stocks often known as stock cubes.
Condiments such as barbecue sauce.
Frozen dinners.
Frozen seafood.
Common snack foods such as flavored potato chips and flavored tortilla chips.
Most fast food.
Instant meals such as the seasoning mixtures for instant noodles.
The popular Hispanic food additive Sazón. | |
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