|
Bertrand Hustle posted:Is there an affordable solution for someone with an electric range to be able to wok properly at home? no, not really. the difference in flavor between a rip roaring hot wok and a just sort-of-hot wok is astounding. in fact, you're probably doing yourself a huge disservice by even trying to cook with a wok on an electric range, it just doesn't make sense. instead, get a cast iron pan the size of your largest "burner", and use that. the fact that its flat and contacting all the heat source might begin to make up for the electric bit. op - was ready to troll the heck out of this thread becuase "chinese" "food" is such a broad and elusive topic, but great OP, I learned a few things. (baking soda?) can you talk about 'sauces' (end of your post) a bit? I have many books about regional chinese foods, but I feel like this is one thing I just haven't managed a firm grasp on. I usually mix some chicken stock with some black bean, oyster, maybe a little sambal, soy, sometimes rice vinegar, cornstarch, garlic, ginger and hope for the best, but this sucks and my stir-fryish dishes usually taste way too much the same.
|
#
¿
Apr 3, 2011 19:01
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 14:08 |
|
|
Bertrand Hustle posted:I'm not talking about using the electric range, I'm talking about some sort of reasonably-priced gas stove. Preferably portable. Sorry, didn't realize. I think turkey fryers are the go-to portable wok burners. The gas is pretty reasonably priced, and you can usually pick one up for about 40-50 either online or at target or something. Pretty sound investment, they're also great for frying a bunch of stuff without stinking up your kitchen.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 3, 2011 19:51
|
|
|
Aero737 posted:Has anyone ever gotten ShanXiLaoChenCu (Shanxi aged vinegar) in the US? I see some bottles on amazon but their reviews are not so good. yeah, I bought some "aged black vinegar" a year ago because I literally have to try every single ingredient I ever see in any store ever - my bottle looks like this :  I've used it several times in stirfrys / vinegar sauces. I even made pop-sickles from it which turned out ok. it's got a really unique strong taste - I wouldn't go out of my way to find it. It's really just like shaoxing wine, but more concentrated and complex. and vinegary. shaoxing mixed with a little rice wine vinegar and sugar would be an acceptable substitute. if you add enough sugar to it, it tastes like balsamic
|
|
#
¿
Feb 27, 2013 06:27
|
|
|
Sefira posted:I've basically been working with a frying pan for most of these type of recipes because I have an electric stove. I'm thinking about getting a good electric (or otherwise portable) wok in order to do it properly. Does anyone have experience with these types of things? If so, what brand and type would you reccommend, and why? I'm looking for one that works as closely as possible to a stove wok under ideal conditions. electric woks don't work. get a $10 carbon steel wok, and a propane burner like this. http://www.rakuten.com/prod/bayou-classic-outdoor-square-propane-burner/203186922.html?listingId=303053657 high heat is really crucial to stirfrys, otherwise you just overcook/steam everything and it's a loving goopy disgusting mess.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 29, 2013 10:28
|
|
|
Arglebargle III posted:Wow, can't believe I never asked this before but something jarred my memory. How do you make the pot-sticker sauce you get in restaurants in the US? It's the sweet/sour kind. It's brown. I assume it's some combination of vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and sesame oil but I've never gotten it sweet enough and it's always too salty. In central/west China everyone just dunks their dumplings in dark vinegar which I like, but it's not what I grew up with. Must be a Cantonese/East Coast thing? I get good results by using mostly rice vinegar, and just a few splashes of soy sauce. then the sugar is easier to balance out, and it's not too salty. soy sauce loving destroys the flavor of everything else it touches if you use more than like a tablespoon. I rarely ever use more than a splash, even in marinades, just because it'd overwhelm the other components.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 30, 2013 02:41
|
|
|
does anyone know about making ho fun (those flat chewy rice noodles in char kway teow / tons of poo poo)? my gal and I tried tonight and couldn't get it right. we steamed a rice batter, but it just tasted... like uncooked flour mostly. one batch we made was almost cakey. if we did it thin enough, it was close - but not a success. tried a few different recipies / ratios.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 3, 2016 09:06
|
|
|
ShadowCatboy posted:Is there a reason you guys aren't using store bought noodles? is there a reason you don't eat in a restaurant every time you want food? I'm just trying to learn new technique and become a better cook! if I just did the easy thing every time I wanted to cook food, I would have 1/100th the breadth of cooking experience/knowledge I do today. and my tiny fraction of knowledge and competency is pretty much 0% compared to what there is to learn from people and cultures worldwide.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 7, 2016 09:04
|
|
|
Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:How does velveting supposedly make meat more tender? it doesn't, the pounding does. when you "velvet" meat, you take some cheaper cuts of beef / pork you wouldn't normally wanna chew on - like top cap or blade steaks or something, and you thin slice them against the grain and pound them out. then you marinate them in wine and starch and poo poo and par-cook them for use in your stirfry. the starch has a velvety mouthfeel, and helps hold the pounded meat together as kinda a cohesive piece - whereas if you just thin sliced and pounded some poo poo normally, it might fall apart or whatever. the starchy exterior also helps sauce coat the meat evenly, so it's like a classic way of doing poo poo. you can even deep fry the meat after you par cook it, which I guess is how the americanized chicken dishes like general tsos are done or whatever. anyways, great technique if you understand why you're using it.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 11, 2016 06:34
|
|
|
ShadowCatboy posted:Nothing wrong with that, I'm just not sure the end product is necessarily worth the trouble. I mean I get the appeal of fresh italian pasta but I dunno if homemade fresh chow fun noodles would be all that different from store-bought. To me it seems to contribute as much additional quality as hand-milling your own flour. yeah for sure. I don't know that the end product will be worth it or not either. that's sort of why I'm trying it. along with the whole 'learning for the sake of learning' bit.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 14, 2016 08:40
|
|
|
eggplant and black vinegar is an excellent combination
|
|
#
¿
Sep 22, 2016 08:13
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 14:08 |
|
|
e;fb
mindphlux fucked around with this message at 05:33 on Sep 23, 2016 |
|
#
¿
Sep 23, 2016 05:29
|
|