CHINESE FOOD

Try to vary the meat and vegetables in a dish, so that there is an interesting variety of flavors, textures, and colors. Prepare everything before you start cooking: meat, vegetables, and sauces.

Wash green, leafy vegetables ahead of time. This gives them more time to drain so they will not be too wet when you stir-fry.

While it’s nice to own one, you don’t need a cleaver to cook Chinese food.

Place all the cut vegetables on a tray or cooking sheet. That way, you won’t forget anything. Just be careful not to mix them up, as cooking times will vary among vegetables.

Drain tofu before using, as this allows it to absorb the other flavors in the dish.

Marinate fresh meat.

Always cut beef across the grain.

Cut the meat into uniform pieces so that it will cook more evenly. If you’re not using a recipe, a general rule is to cut everything into bite-sized pieces.

When adding oil for stir-frying, drizzle the oil down the sides of the wok.

When deep-frying, to tell if the oil is hot enough, simply stick a chopstick in the wok. When the oil sizzles all around it, you can begin adding the food.

Don’t use dark soy sauce unless the recipe specifically calls for it. When a recipe simply says to add soy or soya sauce, use light soy sauce or one of the Japanese brands such as Kikkoman.

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Cooking Tips

According to one of Hong Kong’s leading food writers and connoisseurs, Willie Mark, Hong Kong is “the uncontested capital of Chinese gastronomy.” Few visitors who have sampled its vast culinary riches would disagree with Willie. Hong Kong’s outstanding chefs in all the four major schools of Chinese cuisine (Canton, Peking, Sichuan and Shanghai) have redefined classic recipes and cooking techniques.

The question that nags lovers of Chinese food is: “Can I create some of these tasty, savory dishes at home?” The answer is: “Very easily, with a little practice.” Once a Western kitchen has been stocked with a few key ingredients, a few basic utensils and an apprentice cook’s enthusiasm, it can produce a multi-course meal for half-a-dozen guests at 30 minutes’ notice ? the true test of a competent Chinese housewife!

Simplicity is best

The goal is to create the correct balance of flavors and textures in each platter, and throughout the whole meal. Practice definitely makes for Chinese culinary perfection. Start out simply, one course at a time, using any of the better-known Chinese cookery books designed for non-Chinese readers. Just remember that most Chinese dishes, with the exception of Imperial Banquet specialties, are meant to be simple.

All home-style dishes were meant to be quickly whipped up in a wok ?a large, saucer-shaped, metallic cooking pot. Most standard a la carte restaurant dishes are also speedy, simple affairs. That is partly because freshness and natural tastes are considered fundamental to Chinese cooking. The short cooking time also reflects the fact that few diners outside the Imperial Court had time to sit around and wait for cooks to concoct elaborate culinary conceits.

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Ah, the joys of cooking dinner during the week.

You’ve finally arrived home, having battled rush hour traffic to transport the children to and from various sports and music classes. You’re tense and exhausted, but instead of resting, you dash madly about the kitchen, trying to get dinner on the table.

At times like these, eating Chinese food may be the last thing on your mind (unless this involves nothing more demanding than driving to the local take-out for an order of Almond Chicken and Spring Rolls). When your challenge is to put a meal in front of the family in twenty minutes, the thought of peeling ginger, mixing sauces, and marinating meat can seem overwhelming. Speed, not quality, is what counts at these times.

However, culinary masterpieces featuring twenty ingredients aside, it is possible to prepare Chinese dishes on a tight schedule. The actual act of stir-frying takes only five to ten minutes – it’s preparing the ingredients that can be so time consuming. Here are a few tips to help you prepare quick and easy meals with an Oriental flavor:

Store peeled ginger

Ginger is one of the key ingredients in Chinese cooking. Peeling ginger takes time, but you can peel it ahead of time and store in the refrigerator. Place in a jar, cover with sherry, and seal – as the flavor of the ginger fades you have the sherry taste to compensate.

Better yet, why peel the ginger at all? Simply cut off a slice and stir-fry until aromatic.

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Recipe directions often say to cook a food until “done.” What is “done?”

While we worry about a food being done enough for safety, we also should be concerned about a food being too done for quality. You can assure 100 percent safety if food is overcooked until it tastes and looks like cardboard, a piece of shoe leather or a hockey puck — no one will eat it!

Doneness Tests – Here are some tests and temperatures to help you know when a food is “done.” Remember: “Doneness” helps ensure quality as well as safety. See accompanying chart for a summary of temperatures based on recommendations from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The best way to determine a safe temperature has been reached is by using a thermometer.

1. Cakes, Bars – Insert a clean toothpick near the center. It should come out perfectly clean. Cakes and bars will start to shrink from the sides of the pan. If pressed with a finger, they should spring back into shape. Very rich cakes and chocolate cakes (including brownies) may dent slightly upon touching and still be done.

2. Combination Dishes – Cook casseroles and other combination dishes to 160 F the first time. When reheating or when cooking casseroles containing previously cooked foods, cook to 165 F. At this temperature, the food will be hot and steamy throughout. Use a food thermometer to take the guesswork out of whether your food has reached this safe temperature. Thoroughly cook meat and poultry BEFORE combining it with other ingredients in casseroles.

3. Cookies – In general, bake cookies until they are lightly browned. If pressed with a finger, they should spring back into shape. Help assure uniform doneness by baking cookies of similar shape and size on the cookie sheet.

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ONION appreciated both as a vegetable and as a condiment in Chinese food, in addition to having many medicinal properties. With a characteristic of strong flavor and odor, the onion is made up of numerous concentric layers of fleshy, juicy whitish leaves, which are covered by several outer layers of paper-thin skin. Spanish onions are among the mildest, while white onions are mild and sweet, and red onions are the sweetest. Certain varieties known as scallions, green onions, or spring onions are often sold fresh in bunches.

Select onions that are firm, heavy for their size with dry, papery skins that show no signs of spotting or moistness Avoid onions with sign of sprouting or mold and soft spots. Onions stored in a well-ventilated cool, dry place will keep for up to two months. Once cut, wrap the onion tightly, refrigerate and use within four days

Avoid preparing onions too far in advance, since they tend to lose their juice when cut, and it is absorbed by countertops and wooden cutting surfaces.

1) Peel the onion.

2) Cut off the end of the onion end with the small roots sticking out.

3) Cut (from top to the root) the onion in half from and place one of the halves with the flat side down.

4) Holding your knife parallel to the cutting surface, make a few horizontal cuts toward the root end without cutting all the way through. The distance between each horizontal cut is determined by the size of the dice desired.

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