Basic Tools and Utensils

Believe it or not, I don’t have a big kitchen at home. Living in a small townhome, I have limited counter, working, and storage spaces in my kitchen (no kitchen island for sure!). So when it comes to basic tools and utensils for Chinese cooking, I use only the essentials—electronic rice cooker, wok, spatula, Chinese cleaver, bamboo steamers, etc. Living in a typical American home, with a smoke detector planted right above my kitchen, I also have a stir-fry pan that I use alongside my two woks because the intense heat from the wok sets off the smoke alarm every two days! Nonetheless, there is one thing I can’t complain about in my kitchen: I have a gas range, which is superb for Chinese stir-frying and cooking.