Oriental Recipe?!
Oriental Recipe?
I'm trying to prepare healthy dishes at home. Among them I have been cooking stir fries. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get the flavor of the dishes I order in Oriental restaurants. Can anyone tell me the secret to that genuine Oriental flavor. I have tried oyster sauce, really good imported soy sauce, and sesame oil. If you have a good recipe...please share. I like to use chicken and lots of vegetables.
Additional Details4 days ago
thank you everyone for your answers
Answers:
4 days ago
thank you everyone for your answers
to make a good stir fry with chicken first marinade the chicken with crushed garlic n ginger with teriyaki soy sauce add some wine to it (white)and leave it for about 15-20 min,then when thats done, heat your wok up very hot,put the oil in,fry the chicken until nearly golden brown,season with salt n pepper,after that stir in the veg that u prep early on add some teriyaki sesame oil and wine,and serve,hey presto u did it.(im a chef by the way) have fun and good luck make sure your wok or frying pan is non stick.
This is not recipe but it just some cooking method that Chinese use, sometime Chinese Cook will combine two to three different method just to make one dish. Second to get the favor you want like the restaurant, the food have to cook really fast at a high temp (gas stove).
1. Sauteing
Sauteing or Stir-frying requires a small quantity of oil to be heated in a pan or wok till very hot. The ingredients are then placed in the pan and fried over medium heat till cooked, the coking being done by the heat of the oil. The ingredients are turned over, browning both sides and until the outer part is crispy. This technique preserves the original flavour of the food and ensures that there is not a great loss of nutritional elements. In order that the food may be nicely browned and crispy, attention must be paid to the degree of the heat and the quantity of oil used. The secret is to first heat the pan or wok till it is very hot and then adds in the quantity of oil required. The ingredients are then added and fried slowly over medium heat. This will prevent the food sticking to the bottom of the pan. If the heat is too great and the temperature of the oil is too high, there is a tendency for the surface of the food to be burned, while the inside is not cooked. On the other hand, if the temperature is too low, the frying will take a longer time and the food will lose its nutritional value and its original flavour.
2. Deep-frying
Deep-frying is a method in which a large quantity of oil is heated up in a pan or wok, the ingredients entered into the oil and cooked by the heat of the oil. This method of cooking can remove the water content of the ingredients and reduce the fat content thus creating a special flavour and increasing the calorie value of the food. There are many ways of deep-frying, which can briefly be classified into, slow deep-frying over low heat starting from cold oil, deep-frying over medium heat and quick deep-frying over high heat starting from heated oil. The method to be chosen depends on the ingredients and the type of dishes.
3. Spiced-stewing
Spiced-stewing necessitates first the making of a stewing sauce. Mixing the different seasonings makes the stewing sauce and condiments in water and boil till ready. The ingredients are then added to the steaming sauce and cooked until they take in the colour and flavour of the sauce. The steaming sauce should be sufficient to cover all the ingredients.
4. Roasting
Roasting is done by first preparing the ingredients, then placing them in the oven and cooking by radiant heat. Roasting can be done over an open stove or a closed oven. Roasting over an open stove is a more primitive method and requires a longer time and better technique. However the quality of the food roasted will be much better, and more delicious. Roasting in a closed oven is more modern method and can be used for roasting bigger quantities, but the flavour of food roasted in this manner will not be as good. By roasting, the fat from the food will drip out the original flavour and texture will be retained.
5. Smoking
Hanging cooked or uncooked material carries out smoking, which have been marinated in seasoning, over smoke until it takes in the flavour and the color. For making the smoke, usually saw dust, rice bran, tealeaves, sugar, liquorices, ground anise, etc. are used. These are placed over glowing charcoal and allowed to smoke. The material to be smoked is placed on a rack above the smoke until the material turns the right colour and absorbs the smoky flavour.
6. Stirring
Stirring covers two methods. In one method, sauteed, deep-fried, or scalded food is placed into soup, combined seasoning sauce or wine sediment and stirred very quickly in a pan over strong heat. Another method is to pour the soup, combined seasoning sauce or wine sediment over the sauteed, deep-fried or scalded food.
7. Scalding
Scalding means to cook by placing material into boiling water. The material is then removed and placed on a plate and covered with seasoning. In scalding vegetables the quantity of boiling water used should be at a minimum so as not to destroy the water-soluble nutritional elements.
8. Cold mixing
Cold mixing or cold plate is normally an appetizer. Usually, it consists of one ingredient or a combination of various ingredients; hence it is also called a "combination" dish. Most of the ingredients in a cold plate are served cold and thus is pre-prepared before the arrival of the guests. As an appetizer is the first dish on the table confronting the guests, it is usual that special thought be given to present an attractive dish to create a good impression.
Source(s):
Chinese Food Cooking Method
You have the main ingredients for the sauces. You may want to add some type of cooking sherry as well and don't forget the garlic and some fresh ginger, scallions too.
MSG (Mono sodium glutomate) that's the secret ingredient, but it ain't healthy.
I live in Asia but I'm a Brit so have had to learn the art of oriental cooking. I can't get it to taste Brit style because it's different to real Chinese style! It depends what you're used to. I found the sesame oil to be close, I'm surprised your don't feel it. Obviously soya sauce is good too, there's another called KICAP (where our word KETCHUP came from), it's a thick soy sauce and if you use the sweet variety, it adds a lovely flavour. I know it's availble in the UK, just ask around.
The key is to cook hot and fast and not stop stirring. Start with the oils (sesame & your usual), garlic, onion and add chicken stir until 'sealed'. Add heavier veg like broccili & Cauli (small pieces), some butter and seasoning (crumble some stock cube over it ad some sugar too). Stir stir stir over hot flame. Add soy sauce...(it should be hissing & spitting)... & nuts (i.e.cashews). Add beansprouts/other veg (not frozen though=too much water). and serve quickly.
Be careful with oyster sauce, it can be high in MSG. Try adding some plum sauce to your stir-fry. To give the flavor an oomph, try adding a table spoon of good whiskey. Also Adding fresh cilantro and anise powder are good. I think McCormick/Shilling spices have a Chinese five spice blend that you can try adding.
You have to be careful, because a lot of resturants use MSG for flavor. My mom became sensitive to MSG, and when we went to our favorite resturaunt and ordered her food w/o it, she could barely eat it, it was so tasteless
I know what you mean, I wish I knew their secrets. Give these recipes a try and see what you think
YAKISOBA (JAPANESE STYLE NOODLES WITH
SAUCE)
1-2 lbs. thinly sliced beef
4 pkg. Japanese style noodles (chow mein) with sauce
3 carrots, thinly sliced
1/2 head cabbage, chopped
2 yellow onions, sliced
2 tbsp. oil
3 tbsp. sugar
6 tbsp. oyster sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
In big frying pan, heat oil and brown meat. Add all the vegetables and stir-fry until vegetables become tender. Add oyster sauce, sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Set them aside. Cook Japanese style chow mein as directed on the package with sauce. Add vegetables and meat to the chow mein and mix them or heat. Serves 4 to 6 people.
JAPANESE CHICKEN PICK - UPS
2 1/2 lbs. chicken wings
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. soy sauce
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 scallions, diced (green and all)
Arrange chicken wings in shallow dish. Combine honey, soy sauce, and garlic. With hands or brush, smooth over chicken (all over). Refrigerate overnight. Bake at no higher than 350 degrees for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours until very bronzed and tender. At the last minute, scatter scallions over tops. Serve at once. Yummy.
Try this. Hope you'll like it.
preparation
1) marinate the chicken (with or without bones) with sea salt and a pinch of pepper for three hours
2) gravy: a) wine (preferably the Chinese wine that is brewed from rice. might be available in supermarket, but if not try the Chinese grocery)
b) venegar (the white one available in supermarket)
c) raw sugar (also available in supermarket)
d) soy sauce (might be available in supermarket, but if not try the Chinese grocery)
e) water (tap water will do)
the ratio should be 1:2:3:4:5 = a:b:c:d:e above
3) some fresh spring onion (might be available in supermarket, but if not try the Chinese grocery)
depending on the quantity of the chicken, the mix should be enough to "cover" all the chicken in the saucepan BEFORE COCKING
the saucepan to be used should be a non-stick one otherwise you may have a hard time in cleansing.
cooking
stir fry the marinated chicken with a little oil for about FIFTEEN SECONDS in a wok
place a layer of spring onion (throroughly wash away the mud and remove the root) at the bottom of a saucepan and place the stir-fried chicken on top of it
Pour the mix until it "COVERS" all the chicken
start the fire and when the mix boils, lower the fire until it simmers.
simmers until the gravy becomes sticky.
done.
If you love it, I could tell you another type of cooking method for chicken.