Asian "Chinese" Cooking

[Thundarstick]

Does anyone else here cook Asian dishes? I'm going to say mostly Chinese, but Philippino, or Thai, with a smattering of Indian, Japanese, Korean thrown in.

I made the trip down to Memphis to pick up ingredients yesterday as I was out of my favorite soy sauce. I've had an over abundance of eggplant coming in and tried a few new things. The first was a pork stuffed eggplant medallions deep fried. Holy smokes those where good, but a little time consuming to prep. (You could totally Americanize this one with your favorite breakfast sausage or even Italian sausage) Tonight I whipped up Mapo eggplant! (Mapo tofu without the tofu) Another fantastic dish if you like spicy! Make sure you use the Sichuan pepper corns or it just not the same.

Just wondering if I have anymore wok chefs here? The only down side to learning to cook Chinese food is you realize how bad most of the Chinese restaurants around here are!

[gbrown]

There's a Chinese dish, garlic eggplant. Don't know the exact recipe, but I've made my version a couple of times. Stir fry about 3 cups of peeled eggplant sticks, like 3 in. long by 1/2 in. by 1/2 in hot, hot oil. Make a sauce of 1/2 cup chicken stock, 1/4 cup water, 1 tblsp. cornstarch, 1 or 2 tblsp. of soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Put as much garlic-- I fine mince about 3 segments. You can use powder, about a tsp. Dump the sauce in, boil til it thickens, turn off heat, cover and let it thicken. Add any amount of heat you desire. Over indulge, be prepared to spend some time on the porcelain throne. How do I know, LOL.

[Thumbcocker]

We do our version of stir fry especially when the garden is producing. This one has venison, onions, kale, and chantarell mushrooms.

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[Winger Ed.]

Not sure if it counts or not-
I do a few of the reverse engineered dishes from some of the famous Asian restaraunts.

They're about as authentic Chinese as George Washington.

[farmbif]

ive found making a sauce for many Asian style stuff adds a whole new dimension too it
equal parts soy sauce and oyster sauce plus a little bit of fish sauce a little bit of sugar and corn starch a tiny bit of pepper paste to keep things interesting, and in some stuff a bit of rice vinegar .
ive been trying too eat healthier these days, lots of vegetables including cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, peas, onion, garlic, ginger, celery, zucchini, , with limited amount of noodles or rice. yes its true most oriental restaurants are not all that great. if your ever in Knoxville there is a super fantastic place called asian kitchen its right next to sunshine supermarket, a giant grocery store that is like taking a trip through Asia.
decades ago when I lived in dormitory all the asians would get together and make big pan full of stuff that most often included breakfast sausages chopped up and browned in pan with onions , garlic, ginger, whatever they had, then added vegetables, again whatever they had, sometimes it was just frozen carrots and peas, and sauce then stirred in a few pkgs of Rama noodles that were dunked in boiling water for maybe a minute or less. this is where I learned about the oyster and fish sauce, sugar and corn starch added to soy sauce.
I figure got to have lots of vegetables in the diet to balance out the trips to captain D's, long John silvers, Hardees and pizza places.

[MaryB]

Stir fry is a staple in my house, over rice or chowmein noodles for crunch. Marinate meat, prep all the veg, stir fry the meat in a smoking hot wok(the caramelization is a part of the flavor) then pull it and set it aside, add your veg and stir fry to your desired doneness, I like mine crisp tender, add your meat back, then your sauce liquids(plain old stock works for this, or Better than Bullion dissolved in hot water), then thicken with a little corn starch slurry.

Veg varies with what the garden is producing, or what I have in the freezer. I made a beef round steak stir fry this week with onion, garlic, green beans and carrots from the freezer(blanched then froze so already par cooked), and some canned mushroom slices I had in the pantry(I use them in gravy a lot!). Beef stock for the sauce. Marinade was the onion and garlic(remove before cooking meat, add with the veg step to cook thru), crushed red pepper, soy, rice wine vinegar, some fish sauce(couple drops, go easy on this or you can over power your dish). I usually add the marinade with the sauce to cook it, yes I know you are not supposed to reuse them, my beef supplier is very clean, I can eat a rare hamburger! Chance of bacterial contamination is low.

Served over rice with soy on the side to dip the meat slices in. Quick and easy meal, bit high in sodium if you have to watch it, I just cut back on salt the next day.

[GregLaROCHE]

Not Asian, probably Italian, but a tried and true eggplant dish. Slice eggplant longways and remove skin. Dunk in beaten eggs and then in bread crumbs. Fry. When brown, remove and put in a baking dish. Smother with tomato sauce topped with cheese. Bake for 40 minutes. This is the basic recipe, but adding your favorite herbs and spices is encouraged. Not Particularly Asian, but really good.

[gbrown]

Another Asian food I love is Pho, the traditional breakfast food of Vietnam. Pho GA is my favorite. On a cold blustery day, a big bowl of that hits "the spot." A couple of spring rolls, you got a meal. Just like chicken Ramen, with a whole lot of veggies. I've made it with Ramen, just added a small can of chicken and a lot of veggies-cabbage, carrots, onions, garlic, etc.--about whatever you want to add.

[Thundarstick]

ive found making a sauce for many Asian style stuff adds a whole new dimension too it
equal parts soy sauce and oyster sauce plus a little bit of fish sauce a little bit of sugar and corn starch a tiny bit of pepper paste to keep things interesting, and in some stuff a bit of rice vinegar .
ive been trying too eat healthier these days, lots of vegetables including cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, peas, onion, garlic, ginger, celery, zucchini, , with limited amount of noodles or rice. yes its true most oriental restaurants are not all that great. if your ever in Knoxville there is a super fantastic place called asian kitchen its right next to sunshine supermarket, a giant grocery store that is like taking a trip through Asia.
decades ago when I lived in dormitory all the asians would get together and make big pan full of stuff that most often included breakfast sausages chopped up and browned in pan with onions , garlic, ginger, whatever they had, then added vegetables, again whatever they had, sometimes it was just frozen carrots and peas, and sauce then stirred in a few pkgs of Rama noodles that were dunked in boiling water for maybe a minute or less. this is where I learned about the oyster and fish sauce, sugar and corn starch added to soy sauce.

Learning how to make different sauces is key! Using the proper ingredients together is another. You don't "have to have" a wok burner, but it sure does help, especially if your making large portions, as most indoor stoves just don't get hot enough. I got tired of losing the hair on my arms using a fish fryer, so some of the best money I ever spent was on a wok cooker, then a high end rice cooker. Anyone who wants to learn need only turn to YouTube or other sites. Things I've found out? Learn what umami means and how to achieve it! Soy Sauce isn't just soy sauce! It's like saying all BBQ sauce is the same! Fish sauce and oyster sauce as well! Rice, isn't just rice, isn't just rice, and there are a hundred different types and styles of noodles!
Here's one to try. Blanch some romaine lettuce leaves in boiling water, drain, and drizzle a little oyster sauce, toasted sesame oil, and a sprinkle of sugar over them! Yummy

[Dunross]

Lately we've been experimenting with making our own steamed dumplings. My girls really like them and they're a very social activity in filling and folding each one before steaming. They freeze well too and can be steamed straight from the freezer.

Last time I was down to Orlando my daughter and I stopped in one of the big Asian markets down there and bought a dumpling steamer. It's just a broad, shallow pot with steamer baskets that fit on top so we can cook enough for the whole family at one time. My next experiment will be steamed buns.

We've eaten stir fry for years and we love noodles.

[Handloader109]

My wife loves watching youtube cooks. And she tries a bunch lately. We all like asian food, a bit hot but not hair on fire hot. So a lot of simple rice and stirfry. All good.

[AlaskaMike]

My wife makes a pretty good Thai curry noodle soup, and I've played around with Thai fried rice some. It all came out very good. Unfortunately I don't have any recipes right at the moment. Generally it was chicken, or tofu in one curry noodle soup instance.

[farmbif]

pot stickers are good stuff with lightly steamed broccoli
again sauce adds a new dimension to it. I made some one time with soy sauce, cider vinegar, sesame oil and a touch of pepper paste

[Jim22]

Couple of things that I think help make asian food taste authentic:
Shredded coconut
Jasmine rice
Good strong chicken stock. I make it with Knorr powdereed chicken stock. Not really salty.
Most oyster sauce I have tried has been too salty
Sesame seeds and sesame oil - both for garnish at the table. Cooking them in wastes them.
The already mentioned corn starch for thickener
Cabbage
Garlic

Enjoy,
Jim

[Maven]

Sesame seeds and sesame oil - both for garnish at the table. Cooking them in wastes them.

Glad to see I'm not alone in thinking so, Jim.

[MaryB]

Sesame oil in a marinade works well and adds a sesame flavor to the food.

[Fishman]

Some fantastic insights here in this thread, much appreciated!

I've been exploring stir-frying with kim-chi, essentially Korean sourkraut. I've enjoyed it raw for years, but just started cooking with it recently. It adds a ton of that "umami" flavor and if it is a little strong you just cut it with some cabbage to tone it down. It certainly doesn't taste anything like what you would expect, at least to me.

[MaryB]

I use a lot of coleslaw mix in stir fry, has green and red cabbage and carrot shreds. Bag of it keeps a week or more in the fridge so easy to have it on hand.

[gbrown]

Some fantastic insights here in this thread, much appreciated!

I've been exploring stir-frying with kim-chi, essentially Korean sourkraut. I've enjoyed it raw for years, but just started cooking with it recently. It adds a ton of that "umami" flavor and if it is a little strong you just cut it with some cabbage to tone it down. It certainly doesn't taste anything like what you would expect, at least to me.

Kim chi-- Yes! Lot of Korean restaurants around Killeen and Austin where I spent a lot of time. Loved the food. One of my favorites was the Kim chi soup. I've made it a few times in my life, but others around here turn their nose up at it--literally. They rather frown at me whenever I want to have some.

[Thundarstick]

Try your hand at making Kimchi, it easy!