Kelley - The Ultimate Chinese Cookbook: The Best Chinese Recipes Book Ever

The Ultimate Chinese Cookbook

The Best Chinese Recipes Book Ever

Thomas Kelley

Introduction

Chinese food is considered to be one of the most popular take-out cuisines in America today and there is no surprise why. Who can possibly resist the sight of a variety of different glistening and tasty sauces that cling to tender vegetables and succulent meat? Who can resist the pure taste of many of these amazing dishes? I know that I cant.

Have you ever found yourself craving your favorite Chinese food dish, but have just been too far from your favorite restaurant to take it out or order it to be delivered to your home? Have you ever doubted in your cooking abilities to cook up many of these delicious dishes in the comfort of your own home and feel just as satisfied as if you ordered it yourself?

When many people think of cooking Chinese food, many of them believe that the secrets to this cuisine has been locked away from the public and only seem to breathe life in the small families that own these great restaurants. That is, until now.

In this book you will learn the secret behind many of these delicious straight from me where I had the privilege to learn these trade secrets for myself. I can teach you everything from choosing the right ingredients at the supermarket, how to chop up your ingredients precisely, how to prepare each sauce beautifully and even how to use a bamboo steamer.

The one thing that many people are not aware of is where the true beauty of Chinese cuisine lies: in its simplicity. Just by selecting a few ingredients and the right flavorful spices, anybody can create the most amazing and delicious Chineses dishes in no time. The best part is that you do not have to be a professional chef or have every single Asian ingredient at your disposal to put together these dishes. All you need is the right ingredients, the right tools and the strong desire to make these dishes in order to make it possible.

So, lets not waste any more time. Lets get right into it!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter One: Some Basic Tips for Cooking Chinese Food

There are many people out there who believe that when it comes to cooking Chinese food, it is more of a science than an art form. This is not necessarily true and I am here to tell you that cooking Chinese food is actually relatively easy. In this chapter I want to give you a few helpful tips to make the most out of your Chinese cooking experience and to help you make the most delicious Chinese food you have ever tasted.

Tip #1: Keep In Mind Some Basic Chinese Cooking Principles

When making Chinese food, very the type of meat that you use as well as the vegetables that you use. This will help to give the dish an interesting variety of flavor, texture and color. In the Chinese culture it is extremely important to find that perfect balance in both life and with the food.

To make the most delicious Chinese food dishes that you can, it is always best to use fresh ingredients whenever possible. Using the freshest ingredients will bring the tastiest results.

To help save yourself some time make sure that you have everything you need before you even start cooking. This includes having all of your ingredients chopped or sliced, having all of your vegetables washed and chopped, having your meats marinated and having all of your sauces prepared ahead of time. This will save you a lot of time in the long run.

Tip #2: Some Basic Chinese Cooking Equipment That You Should Have

There are not many tools that you need to cook Chinese food. In fact you may already have all of the necessary tools and equipment on hand in your own kitchen. However, I highly recommend that you invest in purchasing a wok. You dont need to spend a ton of money on a nice one either. A pretty basic wok will do the job just fine.

Tip #3: Prepare Your Vegetables Properly

There are many different ways that you can prepare your vegetables ahead of time. When it comes to any leafy green vegetables, wash them as soon as possible before you need them in your recipe. Washing them ahead of time will give the vegetables adequate time to drain and dry so they will not be too wet when your use them.

Second, any and all vegetables that you have chopped up should be placed on a tray or cooking sheet after you have sliced them up. The reason this should be done is so that you can ensure that you are not missing anything as you add it in according to the recipe. Just make sure that you do not mix up your vegetables and keep them separated on your tray or baking sheet.

Tip #4: Stir Fry Vegetables Properly

When you are stir frying vegetables that are needed in your recipes, I highly recommend that you cook the thickest and the toughest vegetables for a much longer period of time than the leafy vegetables that you may use. Some of these tougher vegetables may include broccoli, cabbage and carrots as they need to be cooked much longer than other vegetables such as bok choy, spinach or snow peas.

Tip #5: What to Do With Tofu

There are many Chinese food recipes, in this book included, that call for the use of tofu. However, there are many different types of tofu out there and it is important for you to know which kind of tofu is best to use for your different recipes. For stir frying and deep frying dishes, I highly recommend that you use only firm or extra firm tofu. This type of tofu will keep its shape as it cooks and will not fall apart in your wok during the cooking process.

I also highly recommend that you drain your tofu before you use it. This will help the tofu to absorb all of the flavors of your dish into the tofu and make it that much tastier.

Tip #6: What to Do With Meat and Fish in Your Dish

Many Chinese food recipes that you will find will incorporate meat or fish in some form or another. Here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind when preparing these food items in your Chinese food dish:

• Always marinate the freshest meat possible and marinate it ahead of time.

• If a recipe calls for you to add cornstarch to a meat product, always add it in last. The cornstarch will act as a binder and help hold the marinade on the meat.

• When you cut meat, always cut it across the grain rather than along the grain. This will help to make the meat much tenderer even after it cooks.

• When cutting your meat into smaller pieces, try to cut them all in uniform and even size pieces. This will help to ensure that the meat cooks evenly.

• When cooking meat in your wok, make sure that the wok and the oil that you use are both very hot before adding in the meat.

• If you are preparing any stir fried meat or veggies, I always recommend that you stir fry the meat first and then remove it from your wok to set aside. Never cook it alongside your vegetables for safety reasons. Dont worry, you will have to return your meat to your wok during the final stages of the cooking process anyway.

Tip #7: What to Do When You Are Cooking With Oil

Believe it or not there are actual techniques that you can use when using oil in your cooking. For starters, if you are using oil for stir frying purposes, I highly recommend that you drizzle the oil down the sides of the wok rather than just dumping it all right down the center. This will help to coat your stir frying ingredients thoroughly in the oil all around your wok.

If you are using oil for deep frying purposes, I know how hard it can be to tell if your oil is hot enough or not. The easy to tell what the temperature is of the oil is to stick a chopstick into your wok. If the oil begins to sizzle around the chop stick, it is hot enough to add your food into it.