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Chinese Cooking Basics

Also known as Chinese Cooking 101, this list of tips is a crash course on the basics for those new to cooking Chinese food, although experienced chefs may also find it useful.

Stock your pantry with ingredients. Although many Chinese recipes have a long list of ingredients, don’t feel intimidated. Usually most of it is just sauces and seasonings with a simple “mix these things together.” That said, many ingredients do come up often, so you always want to make sure you have them on hand. The following are listed roughly in descending order of how often they’re used in dishes: cooking oil (canola oil is recommended for most stir-fry dishes due to its health benefits; olive oil is recommended if no heating is required), salt, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine (or rice wine, or dry sherry if you can’t find the first two), scallions (also known as green onions or spring onions), garlic, ginger, cornstarch, black rice vinegar, sugar, oyster sauce, sesame oil.

Use fresh, quality ingredients. For most dishes, using fresh, quality ingredients is usually half the battle. Never use canned or frozen if you can get it fresh. Pick fruits and vegetables without obvious blemishes. Generally, smaller vegetables and larger fruits are better.

Buy a good wok. There are many types of woks available today, but most chefs still use the classic carbon steel kind, and this works well for most dishes. The good news is that it also happens to be the least expensive. Traditionally round-bottom woks were used, and sometimes a support ring is placed under it (above the stove) to keep the wok steady. Modern flat-bottom woks are also a good choice. Choose a size that’s right for you based on how much food you’ll be making.

How to cut meat: Most types of meat should be sliced parallel to the muscle fibers. The only exception is beef, which should be cut perpendicular to the fibers. This is because beef muscle fibers are tougher than other meats, and is tough to chew if the fibers are too long.

Learn the Art of the Stir-fry. Keep two things in mind while stir-frying: 1. Don’t let food (especially meat) stick to the bottom of the wok. 2. Make sure the food is cooked evenly and on all sides. To start, set the heat to medium-high, pour oil into the wok, and move the wok around a bit to distribute the oil evenly across the bottom. When the oil starts to smoke slightly, start cooking.

On cooking rice: Using a rice cooker is highly recommended because it makes things significantly easier. Rinse the rice thoroughly with water at least three times (until the water becomes clear, not cloudy) before cooking. Depending on how hard or soft you want your cooked rice to be, place a corresponding amount of water into the pot along with the rice (more water results in softer rice). Generally, use 1 1/2 cups of water for every cup of rice, but you may have to experiment to find how much water is right for you.

Know your measurements. Because my website receives visitors from all over the world, I will give some simple conversions between US and Metric units in case you are having trouble with the quantities I list in my recipes:
1 cup = about 240 mL
1 ounce = about 28 grams
1 pound= about 450 grams
1 teaspoon = 5 mL
1 tablespoon = 15 mL

These are just the basics of Chinese cooking. In future articles I’ll be giving out more tips on how to cook great Chinese food.