Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Chinese Cooking

Have you ever wondered about making Chinese food at your own home? Not only is it possible, it can be done fairly simply! Chinese cooking is like many other things in the Chinese culture… it is based on balance. Spicy dishes will have a mild component. If it is a soft dish, it will have an ingredient offering a different texture.

Before you begin making Chinese recipes at home, you need to learn a few tricks of the trade. The first one is to always prepare your ingredients before you begin to cook. There are many Chinese recipes that cook quickly. You need to have all your ingredients prepared and ready to use at a moment’s notice. Do not mix up any of your ingredients unless the recipe specifically says to do so.

If you are going to marinade the meat, make sure it is fresh. When you cut it up into bite size pieces, cut it across the grain for tenderness. Stir fry the meat first. Remove it from the wok and then cook your vegetables. The meat will be added in before you add the sauce.

Tofu should always be allowed to drain before you use it. Dry tofu absorbs the flavors of the food it cooks with, making a tastier dish. A cleaver makes it easy to prepare your tofu, vegetables, and meats, but it is not an essential tool. A normal chef’s knife is just fine.

If you are cooking with leafy greens, wash them ahead of time so they are dry before cooking. Adding wet greens cools down your wok. When it is time to cook your vegetables, add the toughest and thickest ones first. They will take longer to cook. Broccoli, cabbage, carrots, and kohl rabi will take longer to cook than bok choy, spinach, and chard. Add the leafy vegetables last. They only need a minute or less to cook. If you are not sure what order the vegetables should be cooked in, cook them each separately, and remove them before adding the next one. At the end, return all the ingredients to the wok before adding the sauce.

If your sauce needs soy sauce, be sure to use a light soy sauce unless dark soy sauce is listed specifically in the recipe. Popular brands like Kikkoman are perfect when light soy sauce is called for. If you are using the wok for deep frying, it is easy to tell when the oil is ready. Simply stick one point of a chopstick into the oil. If the oil bubbles around the chopstick, the oil is ready. If not, the oil needs to heat longer.

There are so many delicious dishes that use the same techniques. Broccoli beef, pork and Swiss chard, and sesame chicken salad are just a few of the wonderful dishes you can make using Chinese techniques. With more practice, you will be able to start making up your own recipes.

Now that you have learned a little bit about how to cook Chinese food, you can try making some yourself. According to one cooking instructor, all you need is a hot stove and a sharp knife. Now that you can make Chinese food at home, your family will be very happy.

Need some easy chicken recipes why not try one of our grilled chicken recipes.

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