Chinese Cooking Ingredients
--- Learn to Cook With Chinese Cooking Ingredients
A lot of the Chinese cooking ingredients may sound strange to you, but don't worry, they're not that 'weird'... With a history of over 5,000 years, Chinese cooking has many varieties of cooking ingredients. More common Chinese cooking ingredients include lettuce, eggplant, pork, beef etc... Then there are the weird and tabooed Chinese cooking ingredients like dog meat, snakes, etc...
But those 'weird' cooking ingredients are rare in Chinese cooking.
The more common but relatively unused Chinese cooking ingredients in common western household include dried fungus, Chinese mushrooms, garlic stems, flowering chives, winter melon and more.
We'll cover 3 main categories of Chinese cooking ingredients: Dried ingredients, Chinese vegetables, and Chinese spices.
l Chinese Cooking Ingredients - Dried
There are probably hundreds if not thousands of dried cooking ingredients. I can't even come close to naming them all, and for most of them, I have no idea what their English names would be. But the most two common dried Chinese cooking ingredients are dried fungus and Chinese mushrooms.
Dried fungus - these are barely
Before using, you should soak them in hot water for at least 10 to 15 minutes.
Dried Chinese Mushrooms - Chinese mushrooms come in different grades, and price is usually the best indicator. You also need to soak Chinese mushrooms in Hot water for 10 to 15 minutes until they're completely soft.
Chinese mushrooms can be almost used in any type of cooking, and it goes exceptionally well with most cooking ingredients. They do have a strong aroma, and a slight salt taste of their own. You can cook them in soups, stews, stir fries etc...
l Chinese Vegetables
There are many varieties of Chinese vegetables, which are not often used in western kitchen; however you've probably had them in Chinese restaurants or seen them in the super markets.
Chinese broccoli - This is probably the most well know Chinese vegetable. By the name of it, you'd think it's similar to a regular broccoli, but not even close. It looks different, and tastes different. Chinese broccoli has long leafs and a thick stem. Best way to cook them is to boil them and serve with oyster sauce, or stir-fry with garlic.
Chinese cabbage - Also called sui choy, this vegetable isn't like the regular cabbage either. It has light green leafs and thick, white stems. It's good for making soups, and stir-frying.
Yu Choy - This Chinese vegetable is relatively unknown and unused in the west. It has large green leaves and long green stems. Best for stir-frying with dry chilies.
Bok Choy - Bok Choy is well known around the world, and there are many types including baby bok choy, and
l Chinese Spices
Chinese cooking uses many different types of spices. Some are borrowed from other cuisine, and some are native Chinese spices.
Some of the most common Chinese spices include
5 spices powder - as the name says, it's a combination of 5 types of spices grinded up. It has a very strong aroma and taste, so use sparingly in cooking.
Ginger and Garlic are common in all types of cooking. They not only make your food taste better, but they also are very beneficial to your health. (Garlic fights cancer, lowers blood fats, ginger improves digestive health, among other functions)
