Can you Cook Chinese

“Thicken”, or “Thickening” is a very common technique used in both Chinese restaurants and household kitchens. It is very easy to prepare, but if not used properly, can really mess up the presentation. Below is a brief description of “Thickening”. You can learn more about other Chinese cooking techniques in the Techniques section of our website.

Technique: Thicken

Thicken, or thickening, refers to the use of cornstarch as a part of the process of preparing a Chinese dish. Cornstarch is a very commonly used condiment in Chinese cooking. When used properly, it can really make your presentation stand out. Below are two important pointers:

1. Follow the recipe as given 

   Too much cornstarch can make the dish too pasty. Too little would make it too thin. After cooking a particular dish the first time, you can use the original recipe as a guide to increase or decrease the amount of cornstarch to add to your dish to your liking the next time (even though we are confident that you’ll love the recipes we have on our website :).

    

2. Watch the timing and stir appropriately 

   Do not add cornstarch (and water) until the dish is cooked. You must also stir gently and quickly once it is added to the dish, as it tends lump up if not stirred immediately.

Pretty simple, right? Now, you can check out our recipes section and find a recipe to practice it on (wink).

Feeling peckish and can’t be bothered with the regular meal preparation that is time-consuming and asks for a whole lot of steps? Then you are in luck with putting together a healthy and fast meal with basic cooking tips using the Chinese Cooking Method, ideal for those unannounced hunger-pangs that can quickly be appeased without compromising on granting taste-buds their due and simple to follow. Most Chinese recipes require one or more of a combination of methods like stir-frying, steam-cooking, boiling or sauteing besides other styles adapted over the years!

The most commonly used Chinese cooking methods of all times though is frying, which may include deep, shallow, stir or slippery frying while popular Chinese food items include noodles, fried-rice, chicken pieces and shrimp dishes. Sometimes, Chinese cooking methods extend to dicing chicken and veggies into small bits and stir-frying them to serve with noodles or a rice dish.

Sauteing, also known as shallow cooking, is another popular Chinese cooking method that requires a thin oil layer to cover the food which uses minimal grease and cuts down on much of the calories that creep in with other cooking methods. To ensure all the food items being cooked in this manner are not under-done, the veggies or meat is sliced thinly to enable faster, even cooking. When a light-brown color is achieved, then the spices and seasonings are added in to complete the process of sauteing.

Chinese cooking methods are usually very healthy ways of cutting back on calories and excess oil and thus Stewing food (first sauteing thinly sliced or diced veggies or meat, then pouring a sauce over it and cooking it over slow fire) is yet another popular cooking style adapted for world cuisine from Chinese cooking methods. The stir-frying ensures the food items are cooked superficially but raw inside so nutrients are retained and once gravy is poured over it, the simmer-and-cook method works well to give a good taste with a zesty tang to the dish.

Slow cooking over low flame and boiling are other smart and healthy ways of preparing food that are borrowed from the various Chinese cooking methods many chefs follow. Boiling calls for large pots with hot water used to cook vegetables, rice or noodles and meat; it can also incorporate the use of sauces to lend a savory taste to the ingredients while they cook. Simmer-cooking involves cooking in water or sauce for a long time and low heat is required and since it does away with the need for oil, this is among the best dietary helpers agree experts as no extra calories get a chance to creep in.

So, taking to Chinese Cooking Methods not only ensures quick meal time options but healthy ones too that are suitable for one and all!

Chinese cuisine has gradually developed and spread across various places in the US because of across-the-board usage of Chinese cooking equipment that have facilitated the setting of high cooking standards. The equipment is the utensils or tools that are normally used to make various kinds of Chinese dishes. Certified Chinese chefs extensively use seven important utensils to prepare dishes effortlessly in restaurants. These tools are the cleaver, wide-blade spatula, long wooden chopsticks, Chinese Wok, frying strainer, ladle/scoop, and bamboo steamer. We will now study these Chinese cooking equipment carefully.

Amongst the utensils used is the Wok, which plays a central role in the preparation of most of the Chinese food. Carbon steel and cast iron are the materials used in the Wok. Although they occur in various sizes, a majority of people favor the standard sized Wok of 14 inches. This utensil is quite sizeable and broad and can easily hold duck, fish, and chicken together with the extra ingredients. Generally, the wok includes a lid to ensure that the heat and flavor do not escape. Woks with wooden handles are preferred more since they are bad conductors of heat unlike metal grips.

The cleaver is primarily used for chopping in Chinese cooking and is relatively low-priced when compared to stainless steel. Skilled cooks widely use cleavers of carbon steel. These tools are available in different shapes and weights. The third tool used in Chinese cooking is the frying strainer and this is intended for deep-frying various ingredients. The finest strainers are those that are made of wire mesh. Frying strainers fitted with extended bamboo handles are the ideal tools since heat is not conducted through them.

The fourth key tool used in Chinese cooking is the broad-blade Spatula. It has a long grip that makes sure a safe distance is maintained from the heat. The Spatula is designed for scooping and stir frying food. The scoop serves a twofold function of taking out the food from the wok. The wooden chopsticks are mainly used for stirring the food in the wok. These chopsticks are crafted from wood of the finest quality, and hence do not become hot to the touch.

The Bamboo Steamer has a cover and it is to be inserted into the iron wok. It can be used either individually or by mounting collectively. Made of bamboo, the steamer can easily be cleaned by washing with water. Many of the utensils used in Chinese cooking are of multi-use and are a piece of good fortune for food buffs fond of cooking delectable Chinese dishes.

Think of Chinese cooking methods and you can’t help but imagine putting in a dash of Chinese cooking sauces, which work to balance the flavors in a meal and to bring out the best taste in each ingredient as they release the nutrients and act as a flavoring agent too!

Thus Chinese cooking sauces are an integral part of Chinese cooking and one of the main ingredients of this Oriental culture’s culinary delights, even though most chefs following the American-style of cooking Chinese food first cook up the vegetables and then use various Chinese sauces as an add-on (garnishing and innovating on the existing Chinese recipes). Some of the popular Chinese dishes that make extensive use of Chinese cooking sauces are fried rice, Manchurian and noodles, working to perk their taste and add distinctiveness to the meal.

The Americans refer to the Chinese sauces as dipping sauces since they typically use it as a base to prepare pork and chicken dishes; what began as a sweet and sour sauce used to flavor fish recipes around the world was converted into a ketchup when it came to America and thus we have the now-famous American-Chinese dishes that give a sweet and sour taste, especially Chicken dishes! America regards Chinese dipping sauce, chili-oil based sauces and those with sweet-sour flavorings to be as vital as the oyster sauce and garlic variety and so these do well in most Chinese meals prepared in this continent besides atypical in putting together fried rice and noodle preparations.

Pot stickers and spring rolls are some popular dishes that make extensive use of Chinese dipping sauce’s and at times, these can be served as a flavoring along side other dishes. In the Chinese cooking sauces using Chili oil (obtained from chili peppers), the purpose is to fire-up the dish of stir-fried veggies, rice or meat and bring out the nutrient value, so even a few drops do the trick!

Thus, we find that the use of Chinese cooking sauces extends to daily fare preparation to fancy cooking and even world cuisine since different sauces have distinct properties that can be used to jazz up dishes, lending them a sweet, to sweet-sour or hot element since the essential ingredients are sugar and wedding vinegar, but once tomato sauce has been added to the sweet and sour sauce, you can lick your lips for the most delicious dishes imaginable that can be made with this combo!

Last and most importantly, Chinese cooking sauces are so vital to the concept of easy, quick and authentic flavoring that can be provided for many dishes because they are so simple to use. For example, hot mustard dip tastes great with starters such as spring rolls and egg rolls and garlic sauce (a mix of oyster sauce and finely chopped garlic) is a grand accompaniment for meals too. Mix and match is a theme that works well to build your knowledge of making flavorful dishes with seasonings originating in China but a global taste to the Chinese cooking sauces.

For those interested in learning more about Chinese cooking, the Chinese cooking blog is the perfect place to start. A blog is a journal posted online for other people to view. Many of these are popping up all over the internet for thousands of different purposes. Sometimes people can join at no cost and post their own favorite Chinese recipes, or a talented chef runs the blog and posts his own tips and tricks for Chinese cooking, sometimes everyday.

While many people may be familiar with Chinese food from their local restaurant, few actually try to debunk the mystery behind it and try it for themselves. Chinese food, with a little knowledge and a few tips, isn’t as hard as it may seem. The most important thing when cooking Chinese is finding the freshest ingredients available, and be brave! Just because you didn’t grow up eating some of the exotic ingredients doesn’t mean they don’t taste great! Trying your hand at Chinese cooking can be a great way to learn more about the culture and traditions of this centuries old culture.

Another great thing about the Chinese cooking blog is that many of the members will post videos of them cooking the different recipes. This can be the equivalent of your own personal chef in-home! Some blogs also have special videos devoted to finding and using certain popular Chinese ingredients, or certain techniques used by Chinese chefs.

Common ingredients of Chinese cooking are a good blend of carbohydrates such as rice or noodles, and vegetables like capsicum, beans, or cabbage. Chinese cooking also incorporates a lot of protein like chicken, fish and lamb. There are also many tools in the Chinese kitchen that may be unfamiliar to you; the wok is probably the most widely used tool and can be found at any kitchen supply store.

Because there are so many Chinese cooking blogs out there, sampling a few of them is a good idea. You will undoubtedly find your favorite one, whether it is because of the plethora of videos available, or the daily recipes offered. There will also be different levels of Chinese cooking; some will focus on traditional Chinese cooking done in the typical Chinese home, while others may focus on Chinese fusion cuisine done by top chefs throughout China and the world. Whichever you find your preference is, always have an open mind and look forward to learning a whole new way to cook and entertain!

The variety of Chinese food dishes and Chinese food recipes available today is wider than in any previous decade. One can easily find Chinese food recipes for Chop Suey, which is not an authentic Chinese dish, along side of Hunan Beef. It is interesting to note that what many refer to as Chow Mein noodles is really a simpler crunchy version of the real thing.

In centuries past when the Chinese still used forks and knives is when the foundation for modern day Chinese cooking was formed. This is back when the cutting techniques and delicate flavors came together to form healthy hearty meals.

This is also when the three primary Chinese cooking techniques were formed.

The first Chinese cooking technique is stewing. Stewing can be either red or clear and is the simplest of the three methods. In clear stewing the clear liquid is brought to a boil and then allowed to simmer until the food is just tender. In red stewing a small amount of sugar and soy sauce is added which gives the stewed food a reddish tinge.

The second Chinese cooking technique is steaming. Steaming can be either wet or dry. The Chinese have used steaming as a primary cooking method for over 3000 years. Before ovens were common place steaming was a preferred method which allowed for moist flavorful food that retained most of its nutrients.

Frying is the third of the traditional Chinese cooking techniques. Frying can be either deep frying in oil or sautéing. When deep frying the food is submersed in hot oil and allowed to cook until it floats. In sautéing the meat, vegetables and garnishes are cooked quickly over high heat in a small amount of fat.

Chinese cuisine has always been a worldwide favorite. No wonder Chinese cooking schools are in great demand. If a Chinese cooking school is what you are looking for, then you have plenty of choices. You can find them in most of the major cities. A simple search on the Internet could do the work for you.

You can even check out your city’s Parks and Recreation Department. This department offers many evening or weekend courses, particularly during spring and fall. There are also many local colleges or trade schools that can help you cook up a Chinese diet. Catering companies, professional Chinese cooking schools or cookbook stores also offer courses. A non-professional can choose from a host of weekend or evening classes on Chinese cooking. A local food publication can also give you a fair idea about finding the right Chinese cooking school. One can also find do-it-yourself Chinese recipes in these books, too.

While a lengthier course gives you plenty of time to learn and fine-tune your skills, a short duration course is ideally suited for someone to pick up a few tips. They are also suitable for individuals with tight schedules and cannot commit to many sessions in a week.

Chinese cooking is an ancient form of cooking. This being the case, it is always better if you were to try it hands on. Just in case you don’t feel comfortable doing so, you can try buying a Chinese cooking video and try out the delicacies.

With Chinese cooking being a traditional affair, one can find that most of the Chinese cooking schools offer a very homely atmosphere. The classes are usually small. A good Chinese cooking school would also encourage you to ask questions and have a closer look at what the instructor is preparing.