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Chinese cooking has over 2,000 years of history. Even though there are so
many schools and regional cuisines, the methods are basically the same.
There are 7 major methods. Some of
them are very similar to or the same as the western style ones. Some are very different in which I will try to explain
to you with a very easy way by relating them to the closest methods that you had heard before.
These 7 mthods are
pan-sear, stir-fry, poach/boil/blanch, deep-fry, "mun" (similar to slow cook), "tun" (close to steaming
in the oven, but not) and steam.
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1. Pan-Sear
You may or may not know that Chinese
use wok in cooking, although some of them use regular skillets like we use nowadays due to the influence of the western culture.
Pan-sear is like how we sear the food on the regular skillets, not only to lock the juice in the meat, but also to
create a crispy surface. One of the most popular dishes is the pan-seared fish and topped with a sweet and sour sauce.
Due to the shape of the wok, there is advantage and disadvantage at the same time with this cooking method.
Like
fish, the meat is thicker in the middle which is at the hottest spot of the wok. So, it creates even cooking time thoroughly.
The disadvantage is if we apply this method on other meat, such as pork, chicken, beef and so forth, it may not get
the same result as above, except the thickness of the meat is distributed like the fish.
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2. Stir-Fry
Who doesn't like Chinese stir-fry?
Due to the shape of the wok, stir-fried dish is almost like finish cooking within a snap, especially in the restaurants kitches.
The reason of its efficiency is because the shape of the wok keeps the heat inside. Can you name some of your favorite
Chinese stir-fried dishes? Like stir-fried noodles with vegetables, seafood or chicken. I believe you can name
a few of them easy from your favorite list.
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3. Poach/Boil/Blanch
This process is very common in
the western style cooking. In the west, blanching vegetables is very common. So, is the Chinese.
Poaching
meat is close to the Chinese meat boiling. But the difference is the meat is always sliced very thin and cooked less
than 2 minutes. Then, the boiled meat is always served with the dipping sauce, such as soy sauce, chili oil or the combinations
of several sauces and herbs.
A Peking style hot pot boils the thinly sliced lamb in this way. Before
anything starts, a full tray of sauces and herbs is put in front of the table (there are at least 12 different kinds for you
to choose from). Depends on your preference, you will mix all/some of these sauces and/or herbs together for dipping
later.
We also use this method of pre-cook some chunky meat. My family are crazy for chicken wings.
My mom has so many ways of cook the tasty and delicious wings. But the first step is always putting the wings into a
pot of boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Then, drain the water and rinse the wings under the running tap water for a couple
minutes before doing the rest of the cooking in another pot of sauce. This way, this will get rid of the extra fat,
dirt and maybe the frozen food taste out of the wings. Try it next time and you will be amazed how great the result
comes out.
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4. Deep-Fry
Do you always think that Chinese food is either
stir-fried or deep-fried? Is it because most of the dishes served in your restaurant, such as sweet and sour pork, General
Tso chicken and so forth, like that?
Deep-fried dishes are commonly seen during the Chinese New Year. But Chinese also take the advantage of this cooking method to fasten the cooking time and enhance the favor or texture
of certain dishes.
One of the best examples is "Yu Heung Eggplant". First, deep-fry the
eggplant for a few minutes before stir-fry it with the rest of the ingredients to quicken the cooking process and enhance
the texture of the eggplant so that it won't be "mushy".
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5. "Mun" (similar to slow cook)
This is a
very, very old Chinese cooking method. The cooking utensil is a pottery pot and cook on top of the fire, not any electric
or glass stove top. When we use the slow cooker to cook a one-pot meal, maximum cooking time is 8 hours. But definitely
it will not be more than 10 hours.
If we use this traditional Chinese cooking method, the cooking time ranges from
a few hours to a month. One traditional Chinese dish is abalone. It usually takes about 2-3 days to cook.
Another one is the pork hock in Chinese ginger sweet vinegar which takes a month of cooking.
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6. "Tun" (close to steaming in the oven, but not)
This method is usually used in cooking Chinese medicine or some dishes that always help to neutralize the "poison"
in your body. It starts with putting in all the ingredients and water into a china container with the lid on.
Fill the wok with about 1 1/2" - 2" deep of water and bring it to a boil. Put the steamer into the wok which
allows the china container to stand above the boiling water. Cover the wok and let it cook several hours.
As
more and more people became health conscious nowadays, a machine was invented about 5 years ago that you don't need to
keep your eyes on the boiling water in the wok. You can put in the china container into this machine and set the timer
to cook. When I went back to Hong Kong earlier this year (Feb 2009), I found one called "Purple Clay Steaming &
Stewing Mug". The name may sound a bit confusing. But if you understand it works like the cooking method
mentioned here, you will love it.
Some of the dishes cooked with this method, "tun", can be served as
dessert or soup which is always treated a very healthy way of cooking.
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7. Steam
This is the method that Chinese use most of the
time. Yes....I said most of the time. Traditional Chinese actually are not big on deep-fried or greasy food, but
something very light. If you think about any Chinese that came across in your life, have you ever met any of them is
overweight? Maybe not or just a few. It is all because of their light diet in steam cooking. If you are
thinking of losing weight and able to give up the crunchy and crispy topping, this may be the diet you want to follow.
An example of using this method is the Chinese steamed fish.
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