Sugar

Sugar has been used - sparingly - in the cooking of savoury dishes in China for a thousand years. Excessive sugar destroys the palate, but when properly employed, it helps balance the various flavours of sauces and other dishes. Chinese sugar comes in several forms: as rock or yellow lump sugar, as brown sugar slabs, and as maltose or malt sugar. I particularly like to use rock sugar which is richer and has a more subtle flavour than that of refined, granulated sugar. It also gives a good luster and glaze to braised dishes and sauces. Buy it in Chinese markets, where it is usually sold in packages. You may need to break the lumps into smaller pieces with a wooden mallet or rolling pin. If you cannot find it, you can use white sugar or raw sugar (the amber, chunky kind).