Sniper-T
12-08-2011, 10:20 PM
I am an accomplished cook, and some friends on another board asked me to post some tips... after I did a deer and mushroom stirfry over the fire. I thought I'd post it here too, if anyone is interested...
Oh... I mean the style of food... not the people
here is a collection of things that I use/like. wont nec. be the same for everyone... nor will a chinaman necessarily endorse my work. lol
Rather than reguritate a bunch of recipes, or have to type out a bunch of stuff from my head... check out this site:
Chinese Food Recipes - Chinese Recipes - Cooking Chinese Cuisine (http://www.chinesefood-recipes.com/)
It's my favorite for recipes of the ilk.
Other things... when you're shopping, pause in the 'asian' section/aisle. that stuff is there for a reason.
And... asian grocery stores are there for a reason too... THAT IS WHERE ASIAN PEOPLE SHOP!!! for authentic ingredients... go there!
if it looks good... buy it. The one I shop at, doesn't have any english on most of the labels... and no one that works there speaks english. At this point, I'll go to that recipe site, and find out what I bought, and how to cook it.
Finally...
My favourite line of cook books, has several out on asian cooking:
Company's Coming - Canada's Most Popular Cookbooks & Recipes (http://www.companyscoming.com/)
incidentally... there is one tittled "dinners of the world" that is by far my favourite one. I have honestly made everything in there... multiple times, and many variations of them.
Methodology:
Obviously... we start with the...
Stirfry: and oddly enough, it is one of the most commonly screwed up methods of cooking. As a western society, we tend to toss stuff in a frypan and let it sizzle away... flip it over and do the same. Obviously this is different than an actual 'stirfry'.
from ehow:
1 Invest in a nonstick or carbon-steel wok (you need to season a carbon-steel wok). While you can stir-fry in any old skillet, the wok's depth and sloping sides (it's cooler there, so you can move ingredients away from the hot bottom to the sides) are ideal.
2 Prepare everything you need before you begin to stir-fry. Cut all your vegetables and meats and prepare your sauce. Stir-frying is fast; you won't really have time to chop the broccoli while the onion is cooking.
3 Make sure that your vegetables and meats are all cut approximately the same size - bite size, as a matter of fact. Stir-frying uses high heat, so pieces must be small enough to cook through without burning.
4 Learn the different cooking times of meats and vegetables. You'll need to stagger additions to the stir-fry according to how long they take to cook. (For example, you'd add onions first, and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, then add broccoli florets and stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes, then add red bell pepper and stir-fry for 2 more minutes.)
5 If you've got a wok full, stir-fry the meat completely first, then add it back in at the end. (This works well for a large assemblage of ingredients, because you ensure the meat cooks fully but not too much.)
6 Heat the pan first, then add oil. When the oil is hot, add aromatics, such as ginger and garlic, and stir-fry for a few seconds, or until you smell them.
7 Start adding your other ingredients, according to their approximate cooking times. When the food is about two-thirds done, add your sauce. If the food will take more than a few minutes more to cook, cover and steam until done. If it will take less time, continue to stir-fry.
8 Practice the basic technique of lifting under the food in the wok with a spatula or other flat utensil and moving it to the side.
it is really that simple. there is a debate about what type of oil to use, peanut vs sesame vs olive. Personally I just use whatever I have handy. The trick is... to STIR!!! constantly (if your wok has a single handle it is easier to flip, or do both).
remember... the frying process is just to cook the food... it is the addition of the sauce and the steam process that infuses the flavours.
Deep Frying: My least favourite, and most seldom done method. Personally, I don't understand the appeal of taking a perfectly succulent piece of chicken or shrimp smothering it in batter, and then infusing it with oil, before eating it. but to each their own.
A simple batter recipe:
•3/4 c. flour
•2 cloves garlic, minced
•1 egg, beaten
•1/2 tsp. ginger
•5/8 tsp. salt
•3/4 tsp. pepper
1. Combine flour, garlic, egg, ginger, salt and pepper in bowl; mix well.
it should have a gummy consistency like snot. Dredge your selection and drop immediately into HOT oil. bubbling but not smoking. toss around a little so they don't stick to the bottom or each other, then remove and drain on paper towels.
My weakness when it comes to batter is TEMPURA... which, of course, is Japanese and not chinese, but since it is my thread, I am adding it anyways!
This is my favourite recipe... and an easy one:
Japanese Tempura Batter Recipe
By following the recipe carefully, you will be able to create a batter that will be delicious. Two important tips should be kept in mind:
Make sure the water is very cold; add one or two ice cubes.
A few lumps in the batter are fine. A sticky or doughy batter will make heavy and soggy tempura.
Once the batter is ready, dip your sliced vegetables into it, coat each one, and fry them until crisp in a pan of hot oil. Placing cold batter into hot oil is what makes for fluffy and tasty tempura.
When serving tempura, you want it to be hot. Usually the fried pieces are served on white, lacy doilies or white parchment. Presentation is important, especially at Japanese restaurants.
Ingredients
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup corn flour
1/2 cup icy cold water
1 tablespoon of sake, Japanese rice wine
Instructions
Make the batter right before you plan to fry the shrimp.
Beat the egg and add the cold water, beating until the mixture is light.
Add the sake.
Mix the flour and the corn flour together.
Sift the flours into the egg mixture.
Stir it all together but do not over mix.
Dip shrimp or vegetables into the batter. Shake off any excess.
With a long pair of wooden chopsticks, add several pieces at a time to the hot oil.
Fry 3 to 5 minutes or until golden brown. Turn the pieces once as they fry.
Drain on paper towels.
* There are several boxed batter mixes that you can buy... some are ok... most really are just ok. I've never found an exceptional one... yet!
Steaming: The healthiest choice... If you have a large electric steamer, you can do an entire meal in it, and just need to 'sauce' it up prior to serving. kinda cheating, but good for the time depraved.
I have this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2R-KeSFrJk
Which is great for doing multiple things at once...
I also have one like this: http://www.todaysconcept.com/food-steamers.html
I also have a bunch of these: Bamboo Steamer Set, Bamboo Steamers, Mini Bamboo Steamers (http://www.asianideas.com/bamboosteamers2.html)
They are all interchangeable... meaning they will do the same thing... Steam food. some are just easier than others.
Really quite a simple process... put in your food. Fill up the water reservoir, turn it on. Remove when done.
Since different things take different lengths of time, an easy way to cheat, is to use a recipe card, and create your own cheat sheet. ie. Broccoli - 13 minutes; bok choy - 9 minutes... etc. when you're done cleanup, toss the card into the cooker, for next time.
keep adding the new things that you try.
Once you take it out of the cooker, I will either put it in a serving bowl, and toss with a sauce, or if it is just the wife and I ... serve on a plate and add sauce to plate. save some dishes! lol
Rice: Rice is Rice... at least to me. Sure I have several different types (white, brown, jasmine, basmati, red, black, short, long, etc), and I rotate through them to keep things different... but in the end... it's still just something to soak up the yummy sauces with. IMO. (a billion Chinese people just cringed at that thought - rofl)
Follow the cooking instructions and you're good to go. And yes, minute rice is acceptable too (there is that cringe again)
To shake things up... throw a handful of frozen veggies in the pot when you start.
or add bullion to the water...
or add anything else instead of water (orange juice, tomato or clam juice, etc.
Oh... I mean the style of food... not the people
here is a collection of things that I use/like. wont nec. be the same for everyone... nor will a chinaman necessarily endorse my work. lol
Rather than reguritate a bunch of recipes, or have to type out a bunch of stuff from my head... check out this site:
Chinese Food Recipes - Chinese Recipes - Cooking Chinese Cuisine (http://www.chinesefood-recipes.com/)
It's my favorite for recipes of the ilk.
Other things... when you're shopping, pause in the 'asian' section/aisle. that stuff is there for a reason.
And... asian grocery stores are there for a reason too... THAT IS WHERE ASIAN PEOPLE SHOP!!! for authentic ingredients... go there!
if it looks good... buy it. The one I shop at, doesn't have any english on most of the labels... and no one that works there speaks english. At this point, I'll go to that recipe site, and find out what I bought, and how to cook it.
Finally...
My favourite line of cook books, has several out on asian cooking:
Company's Coming - Canada's Most Popular Cookbooks & Recipes (http://www.companyscoming.com/)
incidentally... there is one tittled "dinners of the world" that is by far my favourite one. I have honestly made everything in there... multiple times, and many variations of them.
Methodology:
Obviously... we start with the...
Stirfry: and oddly enough, it is one of the most commonly screwed up methods of cooking. As a western society, we tend to toss stuff in a frypan and let it sizzle away... flip it over and do the same. Obviously this is different than an actual 'stirfry'.
from ehow:
1 Invest in a nonstick or carbon-steel wok (you need to season a carbon-steel wok). While you can stir-fry in any old skillet, the wok's depth and sloping sides (it's cooler there, so you can move ingredients away from the hot bottom to the sides) are ideal.
2 Prepare everything you need before you begin to stir-fry. Cut all your vegetables and meats and prepare your sauce. Stir-frying is fast; you won't really have time to chop the broccoli while the onion is cooking.
3 Make sure that your vegetables and meats are all cut approximately the same size - bite size, as a matter of fact. Stir-frying uses high heat, so pieces must be small enough to cook through without burning.
4 Learn the different cooking times of meats and vegetables. You'll need to stagger additions to the stir-fry according to how long they take to cook. (For example, you'd add onions first, and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, then add broccoli florets and stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes, then add red bell pepper and stir-fry for 2 more minutes.)
5 If you've got a wok full, stir-fry the meat completely first, then add it back in at the end. (This works well for a large assemblage of ingredients, because you ensure the meat cooks fully but not too much.)
6 Heat the pan first, then add oil. When the oil is hot, add aromatics, such as ginger and garlic, and stir-fry for a few seconds, or until you smell them.
7 Start adding your other ingredients, according to their approximate cooking times. When the food is about two-thirds done, add your sauce. If the food will take more than a few minutes more to cook, cover and steam until done. If it will take less time, continue to stir-fry.
8 Practice the basic technique of lifting under the food in the wok with a spatula or other flat utensil and moving it to the side.
it is really that simple. there is a debate about what type of oil to use, peanut vs sesame vs olive. Personally I just use whatever I have handy. The trick is... to STIR!!! constantly (if your wok has a single handle it is easier to flip, or do both).
remember... the frying process is just to cook the food... it is the addition of the sauce and the steam process that infuses the flavours.
Deep Frying: My least favourite, and most seldom done method. Personally, I don't understand the appeal of taking a perfectly succulent piece of chicken or shrimp smothering it in batter, and then infusing it with oil, before eating it. but to each their own.
A simple batter recipe:
•3/4 c. flour
•2 cloves garlic, minced
•1 egg, beaten
•1/2 tsp. ginger
•5/8 tsp. salt
•3/4 tsp. pepper
1. Combine flour, garlic, egg, ginger, salt and pepper in bowl; mix well.
it should have a gummy consistency like snot. Dredge your selection and drop immediately into HOT oil. bubbling but not smoking. toss around a little so they don't stick to the bottom or each other, then remove and drain on paper towels.
My weakness when it comes to batter is TEMPURA... which, of course, is Japanese and not chinese, but since it is my thread, I am adding it anyways!
This is my favourite recipe... and an easy one:
Japanese Tempura Batter Recipe
By following the recipe carefully, you will be able to create a batter that will be delicious. Two important tips should be kept in mind:
Make sure the water is very cold; add one or two ice cubes.
A few lumps in the batter are fine. A sticky or doughy batter will make heavy and soggy tempura.
Once the batter is ready, dip your sliced vegetables into it, coat each one, and fry them until crisp in a pan of hot oil. Placing cold batter into hot oil is what makes for fluffy and tasty tempura.
When serving tempura, you want it to be hot. Usually the fried pieces are served on white, lacy doilies or white parchment. Presentation is important, especially at Japanese restaurants.
Ingredients
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup corn flour
1/2 cup icy cold water
1 tablespoon of sake, Japanese rice wine
Instructions
Make the batter right before you plan to fry the shrimp.
Beat the egg and add the cold water, beating until the mixture is light.
Add the sake.
Mix the flour and the corn flour together.
Sift the flours into the egg mixture.
Stir it all together but do not over mix.
Dip shrimp or vegetables into the batter. Shake off any excess.
With a long pair of wooden chopsticks, add several pieces at a time to the hot oil.
Fry 3 to 5 minutes or until golden brown. Turn the pieces once as they fry.
Drain on paper towels.
* There are several boxed batter mixes that you can buy... some are ok... most really are just ok. I've never found an exceptional one... yet!
Steaming: The healthiest choice... If you have a large electric steamer, you can do an entire meal in it, and just need to 'sauce' it up prior to serving. kinda cheating, but good for the time depraved.
I have this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2R-KeSFrJk
Which is great for doing multiple things at once...
I also have one like this: http://www.todaysconcept.com/food-steamers.html
I also have a bunch of these: Bamboo Steamer Set, Bamboo Steamers, Mini Bamboo Steamers (http://www.asianideas.com/bamboosteamers2.html)
They are all interchangeable... meaning they will do the same thing... Steam food. some are just easier than others.
Really quite a simple process... put in your food. Fill up the water reservoir, turn it on. Remove when done.
Since different things take different lengths of time, an easy way to cheat, is to use a recipe card, and create your own cheat sheet. ie. Broccoli - 13 minutes; bok choy - 9 minutes... etc. when you're done cleanup, toss the card into the cooker, for next time.
keep adding the new things that you try.
Once you take it out of the cooker, I will either put it in a serving bowl, and toss with a sauce, or if it is just the wife and I ... serve on a plate and add sauce to plate. save some dishes! lol
Rice: Rice is Rice... at least to me. Sure I have several different types (white, brown, jasmine, basmati, red, black, short, long, etc), and I rotate through them to keep things different... but in the end... it's still just something to soak up the yummy sauces with. IMO. (a billion Chinese people just cringed at that thought - rofl)
Follow the cooking instructions and you're good to go. And yes, minute rice is acceptable too (there is that cringe again)
To shake things up... throw a handful of frozen veggies in the pot when you start.
or add bullion to the water...
or add anything else instead of water (orange juice, tomato or clam juice, etc.