Pang - Chinese Unchopped - an Introduction to Chinese Cooking

AUTHENTIC
CHINESE RECIPES,
BROKEN DOWN
INTO SIMPLE
TECHNIQUES

JEREMY PANG

OF SCHOOL OF WOK

First of all, Id like to thank my wife Dee, for being my best friend and life partner and coming up with the School of Wok idea in the first place. Thanks for always humoring my crazy ideas, but mostly for sticking by me and helping me to nurture the best ones.

My dear Mum, our talents would never have developed without your relentless teaching, pushing, constant determination and endless love. And to your heavenly barbecue pork recipe, which now has the chance to sit on more coffee tables than you could ever imagine.

To my dad, for inspiring me to cook and teaching me that there is more to breakfast, lunch and dinner than just eating and that the snacks in between those meals are just as important, if not a million times more fun. And to my sisters Wendy and Jennifer, for sharing every morsel of those snacks with me since we were kids.

Nev Leaning, my business partner, for believing in me from the start, opposing me when I need to hear it, making massive decisions in business together and generally being my honorary Chinese chuckle brother.

Team School of Wok (Stefan Lind, Melissa Wong, Hannah Dryden-Jones, Ali Price, Yolanda Irais Ocon and Johnathon Campbell) for their consistent passion not just for food but also for our ever-growing success at School of Wok. You guys wok my world!

A huge thanks to Adrienne Katz Kennedy for also being a crucial member of our team, but more importantly for playing a massive part in editing all my wok waffle before the book even reached the publisher. Thanks to her persistence, beady-eyed work on the manuscript and her ability to both encourage and criticise simultaneously a unique skill to have.

To Freya Jones from The Brand New Studio for working so closely with School of Wok and I from the start and for creating such wonderful illustrations for the book.

To Borra Garson and Jan Croxon for introducing me to Quadrille and to Luisa Welch for helping to push me forward. And to everyone at Quadrille who has made this journey so enjoyable: Jane OShea, Simon Davis, Nikki Ellis, Ed Griffiths, Helen Lewis, Martin Poole, Faith Mason, Iris Bromet, Camilla Baynham, Emily Jonzen and Wilson Chung. Wow! What a team. Lets hope for more to come!

WE CHINESE HAVE A KNACK OF KEEPING OUR COOKING A SECRET. ITS ALMOST AS IF, WHEN THE CHINESE FIRST STARTED MIGRATING ACROSS THE WORLD, WE HELD A CULTURAL PACT A UNANIMOUS UNDERSTANDING THAT WE SHOULD OPEN CHINESE RESTAURANTS, PERHAPS, BUT NEVER GIVE AWAY ANY OF THE SECRETS OF CHINESE COOKING. I SUPPOSE IT MAKES SENSE. AFTER ALL, WE WOULD ONLY BE GIVING OUR RESTAURANTS COMPETITION IF WE DID SO

Although my dad was a brilliant home cook and inspired my love for food, he flatly refused to teach me his Chinese kitchen secrets. Rather, he would insist we children sat and watched while he skipped across the kitchen with cleaver, board and wok and got to work. Twenty minutes later (and far too fast for us to work out what happened) dinner would be on the table. After a few minutes of silent scoffing, he would make us guess exactly what he had put into each dish. Although wed be none the wiser as to how dinner was made, this daily palate training kept our taste buds constantly excited, and has definitely led me to where I am today.

Being British-born Chinese, Ive been lucky enough to experience and enjoy the wonders of both cultures and while my Chinese language skills are terrible, to say the least I am proud to say Ive retained this crucial part of my Chinese cultural identity, our love of eating and cooking. In 2009 I decided to share this love by starting the School of Wok and teaching people how to cook Chinese food in their own homes. Truth be told, I was a little fearful that that my ambition would be frowned upon by almost all the Chinese restaurateurs in the country. A Chinese cookery school certainly wasnt part of the unspoken arrangement our families and ancestors all seemed to have made! However, its now clear to me that the two arent mutually exclusive there are times when you want to eat at home and others when you just dont.

And besides, Chinese food really isnt as daunting to cook as it may at first seem. Like any cuisine, when examined closely and from a basic level, the patterns and techniques it follows quickly become obvious. In the last five years teaching in completely different environments and with all different types of hob, heat, woks and knives I have learnt more about Chinese cookery than ever before, and it is through these experiences that I have come to understand what I believe to be its core cooking techniques. These may take a little patience and practice to get the hang of at first (but doesnt anything in life worth learning?); however, once mastered, they will give you the confidence to create authentic Chinese dishes in any home kitchen environment.

The aim of Chinese Unchopped is to help unravel and demystify the true techniques of Chinese cooking to get you cooking and eating authentic Chinese food at home. Whether you want a simple one-wok-wonder with a bowl of rice on the side or are feeling brave enough to cook three or four dishes to create a feast to impress your friends and family, through my recipes, descriptions and instructions, I hope to be able to help you achieve a wonderful Chinese home-cooking experience.