Asian "Chinese" Cooking

[gwpercle]

I was excited when my oldest nephew married a nice Vietnamese girl , I like Asian food , like to cook but no one in my family on either mom's or dad's side cook Asian ... I tried a few recipes that were total flops ... I need a real cook to show me the ropes .
So I sit down with her , notebook in hand to jot down recipes and cooking tips ... all excited ...
While I'm rattling on how I was interested in and looking forward to her showing me some real Asian home cooking ... She stops me and politely says "I'm sorry but I don't Cook " ... how can you not cook , everybody cooks ...Anyway I'm asking her about cooking trying to figure out what the problem is ... she say's my mom would shoo me out the kitchen ... so I never learned to cook .
Later her mom takes me aside and tells me ..."the girl can't boil water without messing it up ...it's better for her to just stay out of the kitchen !" I had to laugh ...that was funny ... Okay I see , I guess some people just don't have the Knack for cooking ... I don't have the knack for math or music !
Still don't cook any Asian dishes ... the wife does a passable Fried Rice !
Gary

[Traffer]

I have experimented with making some "home made" Asian dishes.
This is what I have found:
Essential ingredients...
Ginger (doesn't need much but many dishes need ginger)
Sesame oil (roasted...and again doesn't need much as this also is a very powerful flavor)
Onions
Garlic (not all dishes use garlic but it is very widely used in Asian dishes.
Sugar ...used as a SPICE, it does not take much to alter the taste.
Vinegar...better vinegar = better taste. I wouldn't use balsamic in Asian food. Use some more delicate.
Corn starch...Mix cornstarch and water to thicken a stir fry. Add in small increments.
A basic mix of spices to get the Asian taste is ...
Start with oil in the pan...add minced garlic... a bit of minced or grated ginger...sautee..do not overcook...
Put in your meet. cook for a while
Add vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, other vegatables. and cook.
When you get a lot of liquid in there (from the vegetables) turn up the heat and add the corn starch/water to thicken.
THIS IS ALL FROM A FAILING MEMORY. I MAY HAVE MISSED SOME ESSENTIAL THINGS BUT THIS MAY HELP YOU GET IN THE MINDSET OF ASIAN FOOD.
P.S. I like Vietnamese food. Pho is amazing. I can't make it but I seem to remember a spice called "5 spice" that they sell in Asian stores.
Bon Appetit.
PPS...Oh yeah FISH SAUCE...
Real fish sauce smells exactly like rotten fish. But it TASTES AMAZING. You can dilute it with water and sugar yada yada...It is essential in Vietnamese cooking.
Don't let the smell scare you. It is one of the best tasting sauces in the world. The Ancient Romans were addicted to it and called it GARUM. It is catching on again in our society.

[gbrown]

Cooking Asian food is not hard, in MHO. A little oil in the pan, about 1/4 cup, hot fire, toss the meat in and cook it rare. Look at your veggies, cook from the ones that require longer cooking time to shortest to retain the al dente--slightly chewy/crunchy? Have your sauce already mixed up. Mine is corn starch, sesame oil, garlic powder, soy sauce, and chicken broth. After cooking hard veggies (celery, carrots, etc) about half way, I add the others (bean sprouts, onions, zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, whatever you like). Once you add the sauce, add the meat, and then bring to a boil, let go for 1 minute, to activate cornstarch, then turn off heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Of course, all mine is served over rice. A little rice wine is good, as is a fish sauce. Depends on the tastes of your guests.

[Wayne Smith]

Couple of things, I use five spice routinely in stir fry - and sesame oil. Can't use the seeds (diverticulitis) but can the oil. I make liquors and one of those typically is added to the sauce - and adds a fruit flavor. For the veggies - after you have cooked the meat and set it aside, start with carrots, then onion/garlic being careful not to overcook the garlic. Peppers then and whatever else soft I have in the refrigerator. Celery is basically all water - it gets tossed in last because it really doesn't cook, it just gets heated up and retains it's crunch.
I will typically throw in a handful of cashews with the onion/garlic.

[mzlldr]

I subscribe to 3 Asian cooking websites ------------ Marion's Kitchen.com (Thai), The Omnivores Cookbook ( authentic Chinese),and Recipe Tin Eats ( Chinese, Japanese and occasionaly Indian) . Another couple of sites I frequently visit are Palin's Kitchen and Cooking with Lau . I believe that all of the above are available in the USA. A word of caution , if you decide to make Marion's Chilli Paste ,then use it sparingly until you become accustomed to it . We love chili and i normakky put 4 heaped teaspoons of a U.S. made Sambal Oelik in my stirfries , but much,much less of Marion's home-made chilli paste ______ if you make it as per her recipe, you will quickly discover why . I also use a ready-made sauce on my beef and/or chicken stirfries,it's called Ready Sauce ,Mongolian Lamb by Lee Kum Kee and I use all of the sachet contents at once in the dish . You might also like to make her home-made chili oil . Hope that the above is of some help to you.
MZZLDR in AUSTRALIA .

[Dunross]

Made Chicken Lo Mein last night. It came out OK. Everyone had seconds anyway, but there's a couple of things I'm going to do differently the next time. I don't have a gas stove and I'm not going to cook out on the porch when the power is not out, so figuring out how to make acceptable stir-fry with a flat bottomed wok on an electric stove requires some adaptation.

Using the fine shredded cabbage they sell for making coleslaw works pretty good when making the filling for dumplings. Steam it a bit first to soften, squeeze out as much water as you can when it cools, then mix with the meat and whatnot to make the filling. In a stir-fry it tastes OK, but doesn't do much for the color so I'll go back to bok choy for that.

[gbrown]

Made Chicken Lo Mein last night. It came out OK. Everyone had seconds anyway, but there's a couple of things I'm going to do differently the next time. I don't have a gas stove and I'm not going to cook out on the porch when the power is not out, s

Go to a local sporting goods store and look for a single burner butane stove that uses the canisters that look like a spray paint can. You can use it on a table or fire safe counter top. I've used one at my old lease, and camping. About $30.00 + the canisters. And, hold one handle to steady your Wok with a silicon glove/mitt.

[Thundarstick]

I subscribe to 3 Asian cooking websites ------------ Marion's Kitchen.com (Thai), The Omnivores Cookbook ( authentic Chinese),and Recipe Tin Eats ( Chinese, Japanese and occasionaly Indian) . Another couple of sites I frequently visit are Palin's Kitchen and Cooking with Lau . I believe that all of the above are available in the USA. A word of caution , if you decide to make Marion's Chilli Paste ,then use it sparingly until you become accustomed to it . We love chili and i normakky put 4 heaped teaspoons of a U.S. made Sambal Oelik in my stirfries , but much,much less of Marion's home-made chilli paste ______ if you make it as per her recipe, you will quickly discover why . I also use a ready-made sauce on my beef and/or chicken stirfries,it's called Ready Sauce ,Mongolian Lamb by Lee Kum Kee and I use all of the sachet contents at once in the dish . You might also like to make her home-made chili oil . Hope that the above is of some help to you.
MZZLDR in AUSTRALIA .

Made with Lau is one of my favorites, along with Chinese cooking Demystified, but I check into several others on a regular basis. I have to be careful with the pepper heat, as I live with a couple of tinder mouths. Yesterday I made Pancit Bihon (Philippino) a fantastic dish for large groups, and a wok isn't nessary. Do you use the Sichuan pepper (prickly ash) in any of your dishes?

[T-Bird]

I do some asian dishes. Have frequented those sites mzlldr mentioned. Made the Chinese hot and sour soup off The Omnivore's Cookbook. It was easy and wonderful. Put a little more chinkiang vinegar than it called for but it was way better than the hot and sour soups available in restaurants here. I also love (and make) Pho. My asian cooking has been aided tremendously over the last couple years by the fact that finally we have an Asian market here that I can actually get the "real" stuff and not have to use subs. I also grow thai basil in my yard. It ain't the same as italian basil, not even close.

[mzlldr]

yes,I use Szechuan peppercorns when I make Marion's chili paste , and wow is it HOT! if you're interested , I can email the recipe.
MZLLDR

[Dunross]

Do you use the Sichuan pepper (prickly ash) in any of your dishes?

I've been experimenting with it. I bought several brands of Szechuan peppercorns at an Asian grocery, but those proved to be worthless. I next bought a couple of bottles of Szechuan pepper oil and those were the real deal.

I've been eating Szechuan dishes since I discovered them in my late teens, but when I started reading about cooking them I learned about Szechuan peppers (prickly ash) which aren't peppers at all. From all of the descriptions I've read they don't produce a hot taste, but rather a numbing sensation. Never experienced anything like that in any restaurant I've eaten in! Once I discovered I could buy the stuff for myself I started experimenting. The bottle of oil I bought (I got a red and a green type) very much does produce the numbing sensation. Mix it into my homemade chili oil and it's really good! No one else in the family really cares for it, but I like it.

[Jim22]

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.

That is a great idea. I keep frozen mixed vegetables in the freezer to add to asian, italian, and american food. Gotta thry the slaw mix too.

Jim

[MaryB]

Birds Eye makes a decent Asian Stir Fry mixed veg. Comes with 2 packets of over sweet sauce(Americanized Asian...) that I rarely use, give them to a friend who likes the sweet sauces.

[Thundarstick]

I've been experimenting with it. I bought several brands of Szechuan peppercorns at an Asian grocery, but those proved to be worthless. I next bought a couple of bottles of Szechuan pepper oil and those were the real deal.

I've been eating Szechuan dishes since I discovered them in my late teens, but when I started reading about cooking them I learned about Szechuan peppers (prickly ash) which aren't peppers at all. From all of the descriptions I've read they don't produce a hot taste, but rather a numbing sensation. Never experienced anything like that in any restaurant I've eaten in! Once I discovered I could buy the stuff for myself I started experimenting. The bottle of oil I bought (I got a red and a green type) very much does produce the numbing sensation. Mix it into my homemade chili oil and it's really good! No one else in the family really cares for it, but I like it.

I buy the szechuan pepper corns, roast them in a skillet, then into a spice grinder with salt, a dab of MSG, and sugar! Just dipping your finger for a taste will get you the tongue tingling effect! It's a great sprinkle on fried foods especially. I love the taste! It's my understanding it couldn't be imported until sometime in the 90s. I saw daddy Lau make a steamed pork patty with a pickled mustard greens, green onion, and water chestnuts. I'll be trying that one in the next few days!

[jim147]

I have a 14" wok and a big burner on the gas range. It has an inner and outer burner. Heat is your friend when doing most of these meals. I have a friend with an electric range that doesn't get hot enough. He bought one of the large burner heavy duty propane units and does it in his garage now.

[Pigboat]

Slight thread drift. If you've never shopped at the Great China Food Market on Summer Ave., it's worth a stop next time you're in town.

[Thundarstick]

I usually hit the International Farmers Market in Cordova, but I'll be sure to check this one out next time as well.