Chinese cooking....

[Proplus]

Nice to see a cooking section in here. Maybe I can give some advice and help as well.....

As in my intro thread, I'm an owner of a big Chinese restaurant in Brum. Having worked in this trade for many years, being Chinese growing up with a fantastic chef (me mum!), and doing a lot of research on foods from the Orient, I have become quite proficient in the art of Oriental cooking. Be it Pekingese, Szechan, Shanghai, Cantonese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Taiwanese....nothing too hard.

If you have any questions about any of the above, feel free to ask me, and if I don't know the answer, I'll get my head-chef (reowned in HK, but recently moved here to the UK) to answer you.

[Nick]

Now THAT is an offer I don't think any of us can turn down!

In defference to your obvious better knowledge on the Chinese front, I'll be handing any queries straight to you!

My experience fo Chinese cookery is what I've taught myself and the few brief stints I've done in local Chinese restaurants, so anyone with a better and broader knowledge than mine is welcome to give the answers... and maybe put me right where I've gone wrong too!

Welcome to the Hotpot!

[Alex]

Well now, since you offer! I was wondering how you make crispy chili beef? You know, the thin crispy shreds of beef (deep fried I think) with a really nice sweet chili sauce? Ive tried a few recipes but none of them seem to be like the real thing. The main problems I have are with getting the beef crispy enough, and making a sauce that doesn't just taste of chili and sugar. Any input?

Cheers,

Alex

[wiltonson]

Not sure if i am allowed to ask these, if not please delete but please don't ban me

how big is your restaurant?
Do you think that starting a chinese restaurant a difficult task nowadays?
Since you are doing so well in your business, what do you think are the key elements to your success?

[Proplus]

Get a piece of beef and freeze it.
After it has frozen, you can easily cut into THIN strips.
Soak the strips in water to get rid of any blood, you should get the beef strips to pink in colour.
Pat dry, and then cover with plain flour.
Making sure the oil is not too hot, fry the beef. Because the beef is thin, it will cook through easily, and as the beef and flour are quite dry, it should crisp out easily.



...as for the sauce, its up to the individual really. Off the top of my head, I do remember that one of the key ingredients to the sauce is OK sauce...its a fruity, tangy sauce similar to HP sauce.

[Alex]

Cheers, Ill give it a go!

[gill0101]

Please can someone give me the recipe for this gorgeous dish. I have hunted high and low for it.I was once told that you should coat the beef in egg white and then flour. Have tried that and it wasnt the same as going to a chinese restaurant.Please, Please help, it would make my day if I could find the exact recipe that the restaurants and takeaways use. Cheers

[menthel]

Simply, why all of the MSG? All it does for me is give me palpitations and makes me very thirsty! I only can eat chinese in places that don't use the stuff and those are hard to find. However I do love chinese food very much, especially dim-sum.

[malfunction]

How about a recipe for hot and sour soup?

In fact how about all the 'normal' stuff (sweet and sour, black bean, etc). I can get sweet and sour pretty much spot on but have trouble getting a consistent black bean sauce (ends up either too strong, too weak or too salty).

[Tobeman]

I work in a chinese restaurant I'll be damned if I know any recipes though

[Nick]

How about a recipe for hot and sour soup?

In fact how about all the 'normal' stuff (sweet and sour, black bean, etc). I can get sweet and sour pretty much spot on but have trouble getting a consistent black bean sauce (ends up either too strong, too weak or too salty).

http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.p...highlight=soup

[Nick]

Please can someone give me the recipe for this gorgeous dish. I have hunted high and low for it.I was once told that you should coat the beef in egg white and then flour. Have tried that and it wasnt the same as going to a chinese restaurant.Please, Please help, it would make my day if I could find the exact recipe that the restaurants and takeaways use. Cheers

Your wish is my command...

Crispy Beef, Chilli and Garlic Stir-Fry

Serves:4
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 10mins

Ingredients
450g piece lean beef steak such as rump, sirloin or fillet
1-3 tsp dried chilli flakes
3 large garlic cloves
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp dry sherry
1 tsp sesame oil
4 tsp corn flour
vegetable oil for deep frying
3 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp salt
To garnish:
red chillies, finely sliced

Method

Place the beef in the freezer for about 20 minutes or until it is firm to the touch.

Cut into thin slices against the grain and then finely shred the slices.

Meanwhile, mix the soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil and 3 x 15ml spoons of corn flour together and set aside.

Peel and finely slice the garlic.

Mix the remaining corn flour with 2 tbsp water.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or large frying pan and stir fry the garlic and with sufficient dried chilli flakes to taste for a few seconds until softened.

Add the sugar, salt, vinegar and the corn flour water.

Simmer for 1 minute then set aside.

Heat the oil for deep frying until very hot (225°C/425°F), and deep fry the beef in 2 batches for 30 seconds to seal the meat all over.

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain the meat on absorbent kitchen paper. Reheat the oil until it is very hot, and refry the beef for 1 minute until very crisp.

Remove the beef and drain again.

Serve the beef on a warmed platter with the chilli and garlic sauce spooned over, garnished with red chilli.

[Nick]

How about a recipe for hot and sour soup?

Even better, I dug this one out of my archive of recipes for you...

Hot and Sour Soup

Serves 6
Prep Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 30 mins

Ingredients

50g dried ****ake mushrooms
100g fresh ****ake mushrooms
100g pork loin, thinly shredded
1 tbs. corn flour
120g firm bean curd (tofu)
50g tinned bamboo shoots, rinsed
1 1/2 lt. light chicken stock
1 tsp. salt
1 tbs. rice wine or dry sherry
2 tbs. light soy sauce
1-2 tbs. black rice or malt vinegar
2 eggs, beaten
1-2 tsp. fresh ground white pepper
1 bunch spring onions, chopped

Method

Soak the dried mushrooms in boiling water for 30 minutes, then drain and remove and discard any tough stalks and shred the caps.

Remove the stalks from the fresh mushrooms and shred the caps.

Mix the pork with a pinch of salt and 1tsp of the corn flour.

Shred the bean curd or tofu thinly to the same size as the pork, do the same for the bamboo shoots.

Bring the stock to the boil in a large pan, reduce the heat to a rapid simmer, add the pork and stir well to separate it. Add the mushrooms, bean curd and bamboo shoots.

Bring back to the boil and add the salt, rice wine, soy and vinegar.

Mix the remaining corn flour with a little water and add to the soup, stirring well until thickened.

Using a whisk, gently stir in the egg to form threads in the soup.

To serve, grind the pepper into the bottom of each bowl, pour the soup on top and garnish with the spring onions.

[iranu]

Proplus - whilst out in Malaysia and Indonisia I used to love Nasi Goreng (and Mie Goreng), but never found a good recipe for it here in the uk (including the fried egg on top and pink crackers). Any ideas? Cheers.

[Proplus]

Oh jeez, thats Malaysian cuisine....the problem you face is that Malaysian cuisine isn't that popular with the British population all that much, which is why it's hard to find Malay establishment, and therefore the recipes, here.

I'll have a dig around for you....


EDIT:

Look no further than Google!!

search results

...have a look through the results and try to find a recipe that closely resembles what you are looking for.

[Moby-Dick]

If you ever happen to be in East Croydon , there is a lovely restaurent called the Malay House at the bottom of Cherry Orchard Road

The key ingrediant is Sambal - a firery hot paste that can come in a range of stengths.

( you can cheat and buy Nasi Goreng paste from Sainsburys if you want )

I last bought sambal from my local chinese hypermarket, You get a lot of dutch brands ( indonesian food is very popular there )

The egg on top is just a small omlette.