Garlic is one of the best additions to any dish whether it’s chinese or not. This versatile ingredient can be added at the beginning of cooking in the middle or at the end. It can also be chopped or minced finely or it can be used whole without any chopping whatsoever.Read More »A NOTE ABOUT GARLIC
One thing that a lot of people experience when cooking with a hot wok and hot oil is a fire when using gas. It’s very scary the first time you experience this but if you’re prepared you’ll be fine. Don’t be put off by turning up the heat as it makes the dish. Unlike a deep fat fryer filled with hot oil, the amount of oil in a wok is relatively low and can easily be put out. Read More »A NOTE ABOUT FIRES IN THE KITCHEN
Growing up in a restaurant kitchen – one of the rules of the wok was to use light soy sauce for cooking at the start and to splash some dark soy sauce at to finish the dish before serving to add colour. As I couldn’t read chinese and with the bottles available with no english text – I could tell which was which by doing a simple test. Simply turn the bottle upside down and back up again and the light soy will turn clear very quickly whilst the dark will stick to the glass/plastic. The brand used at the time and still the most popular amongst chinese chefs is the Pearl River Bridge superior soy sauce brand. In any of the recipes I post you can use the Pearl River Bridge light soy sauce during any marinading and cooking processes whilst finishing with the dark soy version at the end of recipes to taste. Dark soy is also the type you will find on tables for the customer to alter the taste. This is because dark soy is less salty and there is less margin to oversalt the flavour. Read More »A NOTE ABOUT SOY SAUCE
One thing that is often overlooked in cooking is the water we use. In some countries the water used in cooking is very important. Read More »A NOTE ABOUT WATER
One of the most common complaints about chinese takeaway/restaurants are the amount of grease in the dish that you get. This gives the general public the perception that chinese cooking is really unhealthy. This is all down to the wok. It simply comes down to cost cutting – a cheap commercial grade wok is a robust long lasting bit of bent carbon steel with a wooden handle. They take a battering from the metal ladles used and are pretty thick. There are 2 main types of commercial wok – one for making fried rice which is really thick and very heavy (so it can take a serious beating) and another thinner one for everything else (still a lot thicker than one you would get at home). When they are first purchased they are lined with oil and placed under high heat for up to 5 hours until the oil burns off. The silver wok turns black and is a lot more non stick than it was before. Read More »A NOTE ABOUT WOKS