Wok this way. The Chinese food thread.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > Wok this way. The Chinese food thread.

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Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Magna Kaser posted:

likely not

I feel you.

# ? Mar 14, 2019 14:46

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# ? Apr 19, 2024 08:36

Grand Fromage: Jan 30, 2006; L-l-look at you bar-bartender, a-a pa-pathetic creature of meat and bone, un-underestimating my l-l-liver's ability to metab-meTABolize t-toxins. How can you p-poison a perfect, immortal alcohOLIC?

Magna Kaser posted:

I'm very happy to announce that after trying for 4 years to replicate the dry fried beans a nice old retired sichuan chef who was also my landlord showed me how to cook once and told me the recipe for, I have finally made one batch that's like 95% correct and I cannot get over how happy this makes me.

if you're interested it's simple but hard to do right (or maybe I am bad):

1. cut the beans up, get oil very hot in a wok, fry the beans till the skins get sort of crispy and browned. this takes a deceptively long time and you need to stir a lot so as to not burn them.

2. remove the beans, more oil in wok, add some ground pork along with green onions, ginger, garlic, chili peppers and sichuan peppercorn (more than you feel comfortable adding). once the pork browns a little add some light soy sauce (生抽, not like, low sodium stuff) and shaoxing wine and mix it all up. I added maybe 2 tbsp of the soy sauce and maybe half that of the shaoxing but in true Chinese cooking fashion I was just throwing what seemed to be a reasonable amount into the wok without measuring anything.

3. once the pork is browned and it smells super good throw the beans back in, and add either sichuan pickled vegetables (芽菜）or the cantonese olive stuff? （橄榄菜） I like the olives myself.

4. mix it all up for a bit

e: 5. add some lao gan ma cuz why not

6. it's done

I still can't get the bean texture right but I got the flavor down.

For me the thing that took it over the top and made it just like Chengdu was using the right pickles. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N7T7M4X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 These dudes. Once I got a bag of this it went from good to spot on perfect.

# ? Mar 14, 2019 22:57

TychoCelchuuu: Jan 2, 2012; This space for Rent.

I used to buy those at 99 Ranch for like, 30 cents or something. Good times! Haven't seen them for sale here in India yet

# ? Mar 15, 2019 02:25

Ailumao: Nov 4, 2004

Grand Fromage posted:

I still can't get the bean texture right but I got the flavor down.

For me the thing that took it over the top and made it just like Chengdu was using the right pickles. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N7T7M4X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 These dudes. Once I got a bag of this it went from good to spot on perfect.

wok, oil, as high as my (chinese) burner goes.

threw the beans in, tossed them in the oil, then let it sit for a bit to get that white discoloration on the beans, then stirred pretty normally. Also i kept the heat up and kept at it for a while.

# ? Mar 15, 2019 04:41

pim01: Oct 22, 2002

Made some xinjiang lamb skewers just now - ate a ton of them when I lived in Singapore, and our fave hole-in-the-wall proper Chinese restaurant here in Edinburgh does them really well, but somehow I'd never made them myself before.

Very simple to do and awesomely tasty as I could keep the lamb a lot more pink than you'd normally get - quite close to the ones I ate in the uighur bits of chengdu!

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# ? Mar 16, 2019 21:15

Grand Fromage: Jan 30, 2006; L-l-look at you bar-bartender, a-a pa-pathetic creature of meat and bone, un-underestimating my l-l-liver's ability to metab-meTABolize t-toxins. How can you p-poison a perfect, immortal alcohOLIC?

What spices/amounts did you use for the spice mix?

# ? Mar 17, 2019 22:39

pim01: Oct 22, 2002

Manly cumin and (szechuan) chili flakes, as that's the key ones you see at hawkers. They often have a bowl of both sitting to dip the skewers in.

I've also added a bit of coriander seeds and some white pepper, as that's what one of the guys i went to often in Singapore did.

Basically:
Tablespoon whole cumin
Tablespoon chili flakes
Couple teaspoons coriander seeds
Teaspoon white pepper
Pinch of coarse sea salt

Grind in a spice grinder

Use 2/3rds of the mixture together with a couple tablespoons of shaoxing wine to marinade your lamb (shoulder, I used 600 grams for 10 or so skewers).

Grill skewers (ideally not too long, leaving the lamb a little pink is much nicer), then coat with the remaining mix.

Based on a mixture of chatting to hawkers and poking about online

# ? Mar 20, 2019 09:22

Grand Fromage: Jan 30, 2006; L-l-look at you bar-bartender, a-a pa-pathetic creature of meat and bone, un-underestimating my l-l-liver's ability to metab-meTABolize t-toxins. How can you p-poison a perfect, immortal alcohOLIC?

Yeah, I could always taste the cumin, chili powder, salt, and MSG in them but wasn't sure if that was everything. The packages of shaokao spice mix I'd pick up at corner stores didn't taste like the real thing I got on the street.

# ? Mar 20, 2019 21:29

DJ Dizzy: Feb 11, 2009; Real men don't use bolters.

For making rice suitable for eating with chopsticks, should I rinse it first?

# ? Mar 23, 2019 17:45

totalnewbie: Nov 13, 2005; I was born and raised in China, lived in Japan, and now hold a US passport.

I am wrong in every way, all the damn time.

Ask me about my tattoos.

I've never found a way to make rice not work with chopsticks. What, exactly, are you after?

# ? Mar 23, 2019 23:53

Waci: May 30, 2011; A boy and his dog.

totalnewbie posted:

I've never found a way to make rice not work with chopsticks. What, exactly, are you after?

This, but yes you should still be rinsing your rice regardless of what you eat it with unless you're making something like risotto where you might want as much of the starch as possible.

# ? Mar 23, 2019 23:58

Laocius: Jul 6, 2013

If your rice is hard to eat with chopsticks, it's because of how you cook it, not whether you rinse it. Try pre-soaking it and then steaming it with an equal amount of water.

# ? Mar 24, 2019 00:36

DJ Dizzy: Feb 11, 2009; Real men don't use bolters.

Soaking and steaming for how long?

# ? Mar 26, 2019 02:28

totalnewbie: Nov 13, 2005; I was born and raised in China, lived in Japan, and now hold a US passport.

I am wrong in every way, all the damn time.

Ask me about my tattoos.

According to, apparently, a lot of people, I'm a heathen because I neither rinse nor soak my rice at all. Just fill with water and throw it in the rice cooker.

But they might tell you to soak for an hour, bring it to a boil, and steam for another hour.

# ? Mar 26, 2019 02:48

fart simpson: Jul 2, 2005; DEATH TO AMERICA

Washing your rice takes like 2 minutes dude

# ? Mar 26, 2019 03:04

Laocius: Jul 6, 2013

DJ Dizzy posted:

Soaking and steaming for how long?

Soak for 15-20 minutes (or longer, it doesn't hurt anything), then steam for 10 or so.

# ? Mar 26, 2019 03:14

DJ Dizzy: Feb 11, 2009; Real men don't use bolters.

Aight, will try that!

(Or I may just give in and buy a damned ricecooker/slowcooker already. :negative:

)

# ? Mar 26, 2019 03:16

totalnewbie: Nov 13, 2005; I was born and raised in China, lived in Japan, and now hold a US passport.

I am wrong in every way, all the damn time.

Ask me about my tattoos.

fart simpson posted:

Washing your rice takes like 2 minutes dude

I like the starchiness

# ? Mar 26, 2019 03:33

fart simpson: Jul 2, 2005; DEATH TO AMERICA

totalnewbie posted:

I like the starchiness

Turn on your monitor.

# ? Mar 26, 2019 08:48

Grand Fromage: Jan 30, 2006; L-l-look at you bar-bartender, a-a pa-pathetic creature of meat and bone, un-underestimating my l-l-liver's ability to metab-meTABolize t-toxins. How can you p-poison a perfect, immortal alcohOLIC?

DJ Dizzy posted:

Aight, will try that!

(Or I may just give in and buy a damned ricecooker/slowcooker already. )

Rice cooker is a good purchase if you're going to eat rice more than like once a month. Even the lovely $20 one I picked up makes good rice consistently. Frees up a stove spot, you don't have to give it any thought. Literally everyone in East Asia has a rice cooker so it's not like you're being authentic and hardcore only doing it on the stove.

# ? Mar 26, 2019 11:35

fart simpson: Jul 2, 2005; DEATH TO AMERICA

Grand Fromage posted:

Rice cooker is a good purchase if you're going to eat rice more than like once a month. Even the lovely $20 one I picked up makes good rice consistently. Frees up a stove spot, you don't have to give it any thought. Literally everyone in East Asia has a rice cooker so it's not like you're being authentic and hardcore only doing it on the stove.

caberham doesn�t have a rice cooker

# ? Mar 26, 2019 11:57

vanity slug: Jul 20, 2010

fart simpson posted:

caberham doesn�t have a rice cooker

sous vide rice cookin

# ? Mar 26, 2019 12:20

fart simpson: Jul 2, 2005; DEATH TO AMERICA

Jeoh posted:

sous vide rice cookin

he�ll yeah

# ? Mar 26, 2019 12:24

Ailumao: Nov 4, 2004

Grand Fromage posted:

Rice cooker is a good purchase if you're going to eat rice more than like once a month. Even the lovely $20 one I picked up makes good rice consistently. Frees up a stove spot, you don't have to give it any thought. Literally everyone in East Asia has a rice cooker so it's not like you're being authentic and hardcore only doing it on the stove.

Many of my Chinese friends and coworkers have no idea how to make rice without a rice cooker.

# ? Mar 26, 2019 17:36

Bald Stalin: Jul 11, 2004; Our posts

wow, that's pretty sad. like "how do I make instant ramen noodles without the instructions on the package?!" sad.

# ? Mar 26, 2019 17:42

Jhet: Jun 3, 2013

It�s not really that different from most Americans who drink coffee not knowing how to do it without a drip machine. You can make coffee on a stove (and many other ways), but a drip machine is easy and doesn�t make terrible coffee by itself. Whether or not it makes good coffee is something entirely different.

It�s just a convenience of modern life.

# ? Mar 26, 2019 18:38

Grand Fromage: Jan 30, 2006; L-l-look at you bar-bartender, a-a pa-pathetic creature of meat and bone, un-underestimating my l-l-liver's ability to metab-meTABolize t-toxins. How can you p-poison a perfect, immortal alcohOLIC?

fart simpson posted:

caberham doesn�t have a rice cooker

Caberham definitely has an employee who hulls and makes the rice by hand which he calls the rice cooker.

# ? Mar 26, 2019 21:51

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

fart simpson posted:

caberham doesn�t have a rice cooker

but you went to his wedding, didn't you?

# ? Mar 27, 2019 00:33

large hands: Jan 24, 2006

I sold my tiger rice cooker after I got an instant pot. It takes a little experimentation but once I got it dialed in I actually preferred the pressure cooker rice.

# ? Mar 27, 2019 02:02

DJ Dizzy: Feb 11, 2009; Real men don't use bolters.

Ranter posted:

wow, that's pretty sad. like "how do I make instant ramen noodles without the instructions on the package?!" sad.

To be fair, rice is a little more complicated than instant ramen noodles, in terms of getting ratios and cooking time right.

# ? Mar 27, 2019 10:54

Millow: Apr 30, 2006; some say he's a rude dude with a crude 'tude

large hands posted:

I sold my tiger rice cooker after I got an instant pot. It takes a little experimentation but once I got it dialed in I actually preferred the pressure cooker rice.

What's your method (especially for short-grain calrose rice)? I won't ever get rid of my Zojirushi but I'm curious to see the difference.

# ? Mar 27, 2019 15:52

Rocko Bonaparte: Mar 12, 2002; Every day is Friday!

I am about to slide in one of those high-temperature burners into my outdoor kitchen and I am trying to hunt for woks. I am thinking one giant stainless steel one for deep frying and steaming; I don't want to fear for it if I leave it out to cool off a bunch of oil. Then I suppose a carbon steel one for tossing things around. Is this a sane combo?

# ? Mar 28, 2019 08:16

TychoCelchuuu: Jan 2, 2012; This space for Rent.

I don't understand why you'd need a stainless steel one. When you say "leave out" do you mean like, leave it out for a week in the rain?

# ? Mar 28, 2019 15:02

Jhet: Jun 3, 2013

Just go with carbon steel and get an oil container with a strainer on top to deal with your oil problem. Then you only need one wok and have your oil clean(ish) and out of the way.

# ? Mar 28, 2019 15:32

Rocko Bonaparte: Mar 12, 2002; Every day is Friday!

TychoCelchuuu posted:

I don't understand why you'd need a stainless steel one. When you say "leave out" do you mean like, leave it out for a week in the rain?

I mean, like, given my luck... yes?

Jhet posted:

Just go with carbon steel and get an oil container with a strainer on top to deal with your oil problem. Then you only need one wok and have your oil clean(ish) and out of the way.

How well would carbon steel work out if I left it out overnight in the dew?

# ? Mar 28, 2019 17:33

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Rocko Bonaparte posted:

How well would carbon steel work out if I left it out overnight in the dew?

It depends what phase the moon is in, have you researched this at all??

# ? Mar 28, 2019 17:37

Rocko Bonaparte: Mar 12, 2002; Every day is Friday!

Stringent posted:

It depends what phase the moon is in, have you researched this at all??

I have a wood fired oven and do some cast iron in it too, and the rust will find any little way to weasel in even if I've left it out of any precipitation. So yes I have some experience. I have one carbon fiber wok that pretty much rusts as soon as I finish with it so anything I might leave outside overnight a few times is bound to start loving up. If the goal is to use it enough to form some patina that can take that, then I guess that's fine.

# ? Mar 28, 2019 17:47

Flash Gordon Ramsay: Sep 28, 2004; Grimey Drawer

Rocko Bonaparte posted:

I have a wood fired oven and do some cast iron in it too, and the rust will find any little way to weasel in even if I've left it out of any precipitation. So yes I have some experience. I have one carbon fiber wok that pretty much rusts as soon as I finish with it so anything I might leave outside overnight a few times is bound to start loving up. If the goal is to use it enough to form some patina that can take that, then I guess that's fine.

A carbon fiber wok? Woah.

# ? Mar 28, 2019 17:50

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Rocko Bonaparte posted:

I have a wood fired oven and do some cast iron in it too, and the rust will find any little way to weasel in even if I've left it out of any precipitation. So yes I have some experience. I have one carbon fiber wok that pretty much rusts as soon as I finish with it so anything I might leave outside overnight a few times is bound to start loving up. If the goal is to use it enough to form some patina that can take that, then I guess that's fine.

I got so distracted by your avatar I couldn't read your post, I'm sorry.

# ? Mar 28, 2019 18:04

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# ? Apr 19, 2024 08:36

Rocko Bonaparte: Mar 12, 2002; Every day is Friday!

Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:

A carbon fiber wok? Woah.

Sorry. Carbon steel.

# ? Mar 28, 2019 18:32

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > Wok this way. The Chinese food thread.

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