Chat Recipes for January 25
These are the companion recipes for my food chat on January 25, 1999. Please go back to find other chat dates and directions to the chat. You will find several recipes below, as well as on my oriental page, the November 9 chat companion, and at the archive .
Creating Chinese dishes at home really isn't as difficult as one would think. The main thing is that you need fresh ingredients, as you would any other cuisine. Always pick the best meats and vegetables to begin with, and you are already one step closer to wonderful dishes!
Some hints
- When a steamer is referred to, it means either a bamboo one you put over a pot of boiling water, or a towering aluminum one (which I have both kinds). The bamboo one should cost about $20, and is found in all kinds of stores from Wal-Mart to your local Chinese grocer. Get 2 bamboo ones (they stack on top of each other) if you have a large family so you don't make them suffer waiting for all the yummy food!
- "Light soy sauce" is referred to in many of the recipes. Light does NOT mean low salt. It means light in COLOR. If the soy sauce you are purchasing does not say "dark" or "light" on it, tilt the bottle. If it coats, it's dark, if not, it's light (a little secret I picked up from my favorite Chinese grocer). The flavors are totally different. The stuff you buy in the grocery store is closer to dark. If you want REAL soy sauce and at a bargain, track down the closest Chinese grocery store.
- White button mushrooms cannot be substituted for dried black mushrooms. The taste is totally different and inferior.
- You can use water chestnuts and bamboo shoots in a can instead of fresh.
- When fresh ginger is called for in a recipe, they are referring to gingeroot, not the powdered ginger, which is not substitutable.
- When sherry is called for in a recipe, use dry cooking sherry from your liquor store, or you can purchase it (at a higher cost) from your Chinese grocer.
- When preparing your dishes for steaming, most recipes call for green veggie leaves (use lettuce, etc). You can also use a regular oven/microwave safe eating dish, that has been oiled with sesame oil. Put the dish directly in the steamer, if it can fit. Make sure there is plenty of room for the steam to escape around the dish (use little dishes in the bamboo one, and larger dishes in the aluminum one). The lettuce will give it a little flavor and make it very easy to remove. Do NOT put the food directly on the steamer tray.
- Purchase your white pepper at a Chinese grocery store or at a health food store to save on money.
- Do not substitute onions for scallions in recipes. Scallions are far more delicate in flavor.
- Make sure the water in the pot (for the steamers) is at a full rolling boil when you start timing the cooking. Chicken and pork turn white when they are steamed, so you must be careful that you have cooked it enough.
- There is no suitable substitute for oyster sauce.
- The best kind of wok's are the hand-hammered kind. You can usually pick one up at your local Chinese grocer's, or you can "order" one, and they will get it for you the next time they get their orders from their suppliers or their next Chinatown trips. Make sure it is large enough for your family. Spend the extra $5 to get the bigger, you'll be glad you did. Sometimes you can find an "okay" one at a kitchen store. The next best place you can find a good one is at a restaurant supply store.
- If you cannot find or afford a wok, use your biggest frying pan you have. Heat the pan up until very hot, then add the oil and swirl it around in the pan, making sure even the sides are lightly coated.
- Most recipes call for peanut oil, which is a lightly colored and flavored oil. However, as it is usually cost prohibitive, you can use a good quality vegetable (not corn) oil.
Chicken and Vegetables
Chinese Beef and Tomatoes
Chinese Hot and Spicy Chicken
Egg Drop Soup
Moo Goo Gai Pan
Oriental Spicy Orange Beef
Shrimp and Lobster Sauce
Three Flavored Fried Rice
Please join me at ivillage.com for this special chat, on January 25. I look forward to seeing you there!
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