Chinese Flavourings and Ingredients |
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Popular Chinese Ingredients:
Soy Sauce (also called soy bean sauce, or just plain soy):-is made from pulped soy beans. There are two kinds, the light colored one used mainly for cooking and the dark colored one for the table.
Ve-Tsin :-the basis of which is monosodium glutamate, subtly brings out the natural flavour of other ingredients, but must be used extremely sparingly. The European and American equivalent is Accent.
Oyster Sauce : -which as its name indicates is made from oysters. It has the ability to blend with and intensify the flavour of a dish. All these, along with Thick Sweet Some and Spleeny Salt : -are used undiluted.
Corn flour :-is used mainly for thickening soups and sauces and less frequently as a substitute for flour when dredging ingredients before deep frying. 1 teaspoon of corn flour mixed with 2 tablespoons of cold water makes a thin paste which is then added to the soup or sauce. Traditional Chinese Ingredients:
Star Amiseed, Chinese Pickles, Chinese Pickled Onions, Lotus Seeds: -both fresh and preserved.
Green Ginger, Bamboo Shoots, Water Chestnuts, Bean Curd: -are used as they stand and require no preliminary preparation except where specified in individual recipes. Others like the dried vegetables need soaking in water before cooking.
Dried Mushroom: -soak in the water for 1 hour, then remove stalks. In various stewed dishes, the soaking time is reduced, this is indicated in specific recipes.
Lichen: -soak for 15 minutes in hot water.
Lily Petals: -soak for 20 minutes in hot water.
Bark Gwor (White nuts): -remove shell, break open the kernel, and take out the small root inside. Soak this for 2 hours in cold water.
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