Basic Cooking Techniques and Tips

Many people’s attitude toward Chinese cooking is the same as their relationship status on Facebook: “It’s complicated.” A lot of people are intimidated by Chinese cooking because it seems so involved. The truth is, if you have the right tools on hand and learn the basic time-honored Chinese cooking techniques (which are used over and over again in this book), it isn’t complicated at all. In fact, you can make most of these recipes with the pots and pans you have in your kitchen right now. I actually just taught a Chinese cooking class for six twelve-year-old boys, and they couldn’t believe how easy it was to make Chinese food (I heard a lot of “Oh, so that’s how you do it… cool!”). They practically jumped for joy when they got to make their own dumplings. One mother was astounded when her son ate a dumpling filled with tofu and veggies; she called later that day to report that he had made the recipe again for his whole family! No matter whether you’re steaming, deep-frying or stir-frying, you’ll be able to master everything from Orange Chicken to Steamed Cantonese Whole Fish in no time if you use this section as your guide.