Chinese recipes - like from takeaways

[Deactivated] on 10/04/2014 - 19:55

When my wife & I follow (supposed) recipes for chinese, it never comes close to the taste of what we can buy from a takeaway. We have all the right ingredients and a wok burner. We know to do aromatics first. To use good quality stock. To use dark soy for marinating, light for cooking. So I think it's the recipes or amounts in them that are wrong.

We've three great successes: honey & sesame seed battered prawns, combination chicken, and sweet & sour battered pork. But the rest… yee-uck!

Has anyone been down this path before, and know where we can find recipes that turn out food just like (good, nice-tasting) takeaways? (Not those imitation recipes in magazines at supermarket checkouts.) I know there's thousands of recipes online. But we're tired of trying one after the other, only to have it taste disgusting.

Food & Grocery

Comments

  • scrimshaw on 10/04/2014 - 20:15
    +6

    Why would you want to imitate chinese take-out food? Most of them are cheap, starchy and nasty

    For foods that require sauces, you might want to check out Lee Kum Kee which is an inexpensive brand that restaurants typically use. Black bean or chilli is a good pick. Get some good quality oyster sauce, sesame oil, rice wine, light / dark soy sauce from the shops that the chinese usually frequent. E.g Sakura Supermarket in Eastwood.

    The secret to tender meat? Most restaurants use bi-carb and some voodoo magic just kidding, just slice the meat real thin, cover in cornstarch/eggwhite slurry and stir fry on high heat without overcooking the meat. You'll need a good wok and very high heat — electric stoves won't do the job for stir fries.

    Other discussion here
    http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1392165

    and check out this youtube channel (turn eng subs on)
    https://www.youtube.com/user/wantanmien

    Also many of the 'chinese food' served in Australia is westernised stuff, things like honey covered lemon chicken and prawn dishes are not typically what chinese people eat, and therefore there is no 'authentic' version of the stuff!

    • [Deactivated] on 10/04/2014 - 22:03

      I'd be happy for it to taste like the westernised stuff - to begin with anyway. Because at the moment it tastes horrible. We tried to do beef & broccoli the other day and the same thing today but using a different recipe. Both were horrible. I'm sure people that write cookbooks don't cook their own recipes.

      • nikey2k27 on 12/04/2014 - 11:03
        +1

        Fail short i did was marry a chinese guy. That work at chinese restaurant as head chef. He cook at home to is heat, fast fresh. spent lots of time learn in asia grocer try new things. he try make friends with a good Chinese cook. one other mate if do not have heat to go chicken par cooking it is best way. lots of takeaway places do it.

        • Scrooge McDuck on 15/04/2014 - 10:30
          +3

          Welcome to Australia.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/04/2014 - 11:51

          nikey's been here at least 10 years. Probably more.

      • casval on 12/04/2014 - 21:55

        My tip, try and source some old chinese cookbooks, 1970-80s. Especially ones that are bilingual chinese/english. Shows what the target audience is. Scour op shops, ebay, etc.

        Eg. Pei Mei is well known and well respected, makes awesome food. Don't be put off by offal recipes, just substitute with meat or just ignore those ones. These books give you a base on how to cook authentic chinese.

        http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Classic-Cookbook-PEI-MEI-S-CHINES…

      • anastasiastarz on 13/04/2014 - 01:36
        -7

        Try Adam Liaw's books, or Poh's Kitchen.

    • pyro love bird on 11/04/2014 - 11:55

      LKK is amazing! they also have sachets of ready made sauces which are easy and convinient to use!

      • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2014 - 13:18
        -1

        It's made in China. There arr other brands made in Hong Kong (or even Tai Wan or Singapore) that I would trust more. Jmpo.

        • pyro love bird on 11/04/2014 - 13:42

          Where do you get your products? :/ there are some that are made in China, but the ones I use are mostly made in Hong Kong. I suppose different stores carry items supplied from different areas, I know that the ones that are from China tend to be cheaper in comparision to those from places like HK.

    • navegante88 on 11/04/2014 - 14:07

      I agree. Why would you want to imitate food that isnt even that nice. Never buy chinese food that is bulk made and serves on those metal trays. Very mediocre type food.

      I encourage you to go out and eat authentic chinese food. It may be a little dearer but so much better. From there you can try and imitate something better!

    • This Guy on 12/04/2014 - 02:22

      Corn starch needs to be pre-mixed into paste with water, 1:1 ratio, before cooking.

      Also need plum sauce and sugar.

    • cannedhams on 12/04/2014 - 13:10
      +2

      No idea why people say that sweet and sour pork is not authentically Chinese. Most Chinese are eating more and more of it now they can afford it.

  • plmko on 10/04/2014 - 20:29
    +15

    Another reason why it's hard to 'imitate' a Chinese take-away/restaurant because your burner isn't even close to the temperatures reachable by the one's they use.

    • [Deactivated] on 10/04/2014 - 22:04

      Yeah I thought of that, but today we only cooked a very small amount of thin sliced beef and it was plenty of heat.

    • This Guy on 12/04/2014 - 02:25

      If you use a thick wok you can get it to heat in less than five minutes (100 degrees +), but you need to be carefull not to over heat it). If you don't add water to the dish it can be satisfactory.

  • battler on 10/04/2014 - 20:40
    +9

    add MSG ?

    • [Deactivated] on 10/04/2014 - 22:05
      +1

      We have it for the KFC we make. But how to find out how much to add is the problem.

      • bs0 on 11/04/2014 - 12:56
        +3

        It's about a pinch or two for a medium dish. Source, family owns a Chinese restaurant.

        • This Guy on 12/04/2014 - 02:26

          Depends on the restaurant and how bogan the locals are. We used neither msg or fish sauce.

        • Serapis on 14/04/2014 - 20:06
          +1

          Soy sauce has MSG / Umami, just add 1/2 - 1 tsp of that

    • davus on 11/04/2014 - 18:44
      +1

      LOTS of msg

  • airzone on 10/04/2014 - 21:16
    +19

    Chinese home cooking is so much better than the take-out… Of course I don't know anything about cooking it, that's why I have a wife.

    • Malarkey on 11/04/2014 - 09:59
      +7

      "That's why I have a wife." - Airzone 2014

    • twodollah on 11/04/2014 - 11:45
      +70

      'That's why I had a wife' - Airzone 2015

  • iampoor on 10/04/2014 - 21:49
    +3

    Give this a try: http://3hungrytummies.blogspot.com.au

    Mixture of western/eastern dishes but I can confirm that the Malaysian/Singaporean recipes are authentic and best of all the bloggers were based in Melbourne so ingredients can be found here.

    Authentic taste but do bear in mind that the heat needed for great asian cooking is quite high, 99% of household stoves cannot reach the required BTUs/heat. Your best shot is using those 3 ring burners from camping stores. Cookware is important too, thick and heavy western cookware generally doesn't fare too well, thin carbon steel wok from an asian shop or House(Everten or peters of kensington has some too), seasoned well will give a superior result every time.

    Also note that Chinese food can differ from regions even though they are called similar names which might account for different tastes, mainland Chinese food is very different from Singaporean/Malaysian Chinese food.

    • [Deactivated] on 10/04/2014 - 22:40
      +1

      Thanks I'll give that site a try.

      We do have some videos I downloaded called "Chinese Food In Minutes". It's a UK show where a lady goes into the street and cooks, then stalks people back to their home (LOL) and they repeat the process. The problem is nearly every dish is ginger, garlic, and chilli.

      We've never had the authentic meals but will probably try those too one day. For the moment we'd just love to just be able to cook what takeaways have, instead of spending $15 or more on a tiny tray.

      Things like our favourites, which are:

      Sesame prawn toast
      Long soup
      Short soup
      Mongolian lamb
      Beef in black bean sauce
      Lemon chicken
      Honey BBQ pork
      Braised beef with cashews & vegetables
      Duck in plum sauce
      Garlic beef

      And perhaps the most important one to us… We once had this "chicken and ham roll" appetiser. It was delicious, and we've never found another place that makes it. Through the middle is a long thin square chunk of ham. Around that it has chicken, spring onions, some kind of mushrooms, and I believe there's chicken skin in there too. All of this is pressed around the ham and rolled up into spring roll pastry about 6 or 7cm in diameter. Then it's fried, sliced about 2cm wide, placed onto a bed of crunchy noodles, and comes with a small tub of plum sauce to drizzle over the top. The taste of this thing is wonderful and makes your mouth water. We've seen something vaguely similar a couple of times but they were huge dried out disappointments.

      We have the wok and burner on a BBQ bottle. It does ok as long as we don't add huge amounts of food because it kills the heat. As I said we've got the combination chicken perfect (also known as things like chicken with vegetables and cashews).

      • bs0 on 11/04/2014 - 13:00

        Can I just second the comment at the to about 'westernized Chinese' food… As a Chinese person the only thing on that list I eat at home is garlic beef, and long soup which is basically noodles anyway. Good choices though, have fun cooking!

      • kwaker on 11/04/2014 - 13:43

        Yes i agree about the chicken and ham roll is the most delicious dish but rare to find.

        Very similar to stuffed chicken wings which are even rarer but better. I've only seen 2 restaurants offer them.

      • one man clan on 11/04/2014 - 14:14
        +1

        All of that is disgusting fake chinese stuff. That ham roll thing sounds terrible.

        If you're in Sydney, try eating some real Chinese - go to Eastwood or Ashfield, and pick something that's not Mongolian Lamb.

      • DarwinBoy on 12/04/2014 - 08:11
        +1

        Ham and chicken rolls are awesome. I buy them every time I go back to my home town in NSW. None in Darwin. My mum gave me a women's weekly Chinese cook book from the 80s with the recipe in it. Haven't tried it yet but I think I will very soon. Let you know how I go.

  • Ughhh on 10/04/2014 - 22:10
    +1

    Recipes don't usually tell you every bit of secret, plus there's skills from experience that's n not written down. If it was that easy, 5 star chefs wouldn't really be 5 star any more.

  • retiredfeline on 10/04/2014 - 22:14
    +1

    So what exactly do you think is missing from your dishes? Not enough umami? Texture? Seasoning? It's hard to analyse what is wrong if you can only describe it as yuck.

    • [Deactivated] on 10/04/2014 - 23:20
      +1

      Well, take the beef & broccoli we made today. Here's the recipe:

      Five-spice beef with broccoli (Chinese Cookbook - Charmaine Solomon)

      Ingredients:

      500g Beef fillet or rump
      1 clove crushed garlic
      1 tsp salt
      1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
      2 tsp cornflour
      1/2 tsp five-spice powder
      250g broccoli
      1 tsp cornflour
      2 tblsp water
      1 tblsp soy sauce
      3 tblsp peanut oil
      2 tsp sesame oil

      1. Thin slice beef removing fat.
      2. Crush garlic with salt and rub with ginger into beef.
      3. Mix 2 tsp cornflour with five-spice powder and sprinkle over beef and toss to coat evenly.
      4. Slice broccoli thinly or into small sprigs.
      5. Mix 1 tsp cornflour, water and soy sauce.
      6. Heat oils in wok. When hot add beef and fry on high, stirring constantly for 2 min or until meat changes colour.
      7. Add broccoli and fry 3 minutes stirring and tossing all the time.
      8. Add cornflour mixture and stir until it boils and thickens. Then stir well to coat beef and broccoli with sauce.
      9. Serve immediately with boiled rice or noodles.

      We left the beef sit for about 40 minutes before cooking. Added the broccoli just before the red of the beef disappeared. We didn't cook for long to keep the beef soft. The entire thing was done in no more than 4 minutes. The texture of the beef and broccoli was fine. Beef soft and broccoli crisp but not raw. The cooking worked well, because it looked just as it would from a takeaway. My wife did add dark soy sauce where I think she should have used light for cooking. It was so salty. But saltiness aside, it didn't seem to have any other flavours. Well it did I guess, but it's like none of the tastes joined. They all stayed separate. The beef tasted like it had been sliced and cooked in a pan with nothing else - in other words, none of the flavours went through the meat. (It was like pan frying a steak and pouring Kan Tong sauce on it.) Whereas takeaways make the taste go right through everything. It just tasted so inferior, fake - like something Woman's Day claims is chinese, indian, etc. but in reality never tastes anything like it, LOL.

      Sorry I know that's not much help. We often turn out great combination chicken. So I don't know why it's so difficult to get other dishes to work. I guess we'll just have to try the chilli/garlic/ginger videos for the time being. (Kids and wife don't like chilli.)

      So texture is ok. Flavours don't taste correct and they don't go through the dish like the bought food does.

      • scrimshaw on 10/04/2014 - 23:33
        +2

        Check out http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/3420/whats-the-be…

        Also how about cooking the meat and veg seperately? As seen on this video.. That would probably give the meat a bit more flavour.

        • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2014 - 09:22

          That's the way we usually do it. This beef & broccoli recipe said beef first until change of colour, then add broccoli.

      • retiredfeline on 10/04/2014 - 23:44

        Try brining the meat next time.

        http://bbq.about.com/cs/barbecuetips/a/aa112000b.htm

        Also the provenance of the meat matters. Ideally it should be fresh. Frozen then thawed meat has had ice crystals break the meat cells.

      • windale on 11/04/2014 - 08:15

        what beef did you use?
        rubbing on salt and then adding soy..no wonder it was salty, I would have just marinated in the garlic and ginger and soy for a little while, drained then coated in the cf and 5 spice.
        I question removing all the fat as fat adds flavour.
        It's also hard to make small amounts and get the right flavour development.
        I think you will find a lot of sugar gets used in asian cooking as well to help balance the flavours.
        A recipe is just a starting point, you need to tweak and adapt.
        I am sure there are some good asian cooking classes you could do through tafe or something.
        good luck

        • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2014 - 12:10

          That's why I was hoping someone had found the same problems: sifted out bad recipes and found ones that produce good food. We've been thinking about looking up a course. Thanks for reminding me.

      • sirspiff on 11/04/2014 - 12:56
        +4

        Hi realfamilyman,

        I registered to comment as I love cooking. The best method to remedy your dishes is to ask a trusted, experienced person who knows how to cook asian dishes, to taste and comment. Then adjust.

        For what it's worth, here are my comments on this particular dish.

        • disagree w/ windale re fat. stirfry beef doesn't use the fat marbling for flavour. you're on the right track.
        • you made a few comments regarding soy. here's the lowdown. light soy (tastes saltier, so use for the salty element), dark soy (slightly sweeter, use for colour). sometimes, you can use a combination of both. when using light soy, always add a small pinch of sugar (ratio: a small pinch (10-15mg?) per 1-2tbps light soy) to balance.
        • agree with other comments regarding oyster sauce. it adds umami. msg is also used in restaurants and some home cooking, but most home cooks i know prefer not to use msg.
        • here's what i would do differently:
        • salt in garlic is just to mince it fine (youtube chefs like jamie oliver to see how it's done if you're not clear), not to add too much saltiness. same reason you grate the ginger. salt also brings out additional flavours, so you can add more salt at the end to adjust. just don't add too much in the beginning. let the soy and oyster sauce work their flavours first.
        • 40mins seems fine for similar recipes. you could try piercing the beef slices with a fork, or experiment with letting it marinate for longer.
        • in the marinade, use this (cornflour, five-spice, soy+sugar, ginger, garlic, 1 tbsp OYSTER sauce, NO water)
        • follow step 6 to fry your beef, then add chicken stock (flavour+to thicken your cornflour to create a sauce), then add broccoli. if you find the broccoli gets soggy, stirfry broccoli prior to the beef, set aside, then stirfry the beef, add stock to thicken, then re-add the broccoli.
        • a drizzle of sesame oil at the end just to add some flavour. you can turn off your fire and stir for 30secs. the remaining heat is enough to warm the sesame oil.
        • doesn't seem like getting sufficient heat is a problem for you, but if it is, use the cover to quickly raise the temps up. offside is it traps steam and sometimes your dish doesn't want that, so cover for no more than 20-30 sec, then remove cover to let steam escape and move the food off the bottom of wok/pan, so water can boil off on the spots where there's no food.
        • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2014 - 14:14

          Thank you.

          I have a question about sesame oil (for yourself or others that know)…

          I've always seen sesame oil added early on in the aromatic stir-fry section of the cooking. Such as with garlic, ginger, and onion. But in the last week I've seen it mentioned about three times now, including yourself, where is sounds like you don't have to fry it after all, but can add it in later on. Is that correct? (I initially assumed sesame oil needed to be "fryed" to make the taste more acceptable, rather than just "steamed" as happens when all food is added together, along with any liquids.)

        • pyro love bird on 11/04/2014 - 14:27

          You can add it in after, seasame oil is in some of the instant noodles I eat and it's added for flavouring and doesn't really need frying, its aromatic, and when things smell good, it generally makes things taste better :)

        • windale on 11/04/2014 - 15:11

          I agree with most you say except the fat part, all good asian beef is marbled. if you use meat that has no marbling or fat it will be dry and tasteless. That's the whole idea behind wagyu and kobe beef. The fat renders down very quickly and adds flavour and texture to the dish. If the meat is all meat then you end up with more water and it tends to stew rather than fry.

          my source for this is my training as a chef (ex) and my love of cooking for the last 25+ years

        • zeomega on 12/04/2014 - 00:48
          +1

          Disagree with you on marbling for stir fry.

          Source: I'm asian and i cook almost everyday.

        • mmd on 12/04/2014 - 01:47
          +1

          You can add sesame oil at the start and/ or at the end.
          Check out food safari on SBS which gives basic stir fry and other cooking tips. http://www.sbs.com.au/foodsafari/recipe/index/id/46/n/Beef_s…

          As others have mentioned, it's really important to get authentic recipes. Check out the chinese recipes from this site
          http://rasamalaysia.com/beef-and-broccoli-recipe/2/

        • pyro love bird on 12/04/2014 - 02:35

          Perhaps it's down to taste preference? I also don't like marbled beef in stir-fry but maybe they do? :)

        • bs0 on 12/04/2014 - 17:20

          How many chinese places do you know that only use exclusive wagyu or Kobe? Majority of places use much cheaper cuts, and still as good. People dont ask what cut of meat is in a stir fry. Perhaps even more authentic as wagyu and kobe is originally Japanese, and has only migrated cross culture in the last decade or so.

        • sirspiff on 21/04/2014 - 00:22

          Sorry. I should have been clearer. The sesame oil I refer to is the toasted sesame oil (darker and stronger in flavour) generally used as a seasoning oil for its aroma. A little goes a long way in terms of flavour. It's an edible oil, so there's no real need to cook it, however sometimes you want the flavour to develop a little more (or mellow out, or interact and develop with the flavours of other ingredients), in which case you can add it in the beginning. This requires experimentation.

          Think of it like garlic. Using raw garlic gives heat and bite. Cooking it reduces that sharp bite. Roasting or cooking it even more until it becomes mash can be even tastier (to some).

        • [Deactivated] on 21/04/2014 - 23:22

          Ok. I've never seen toasted sesame oil, just plain sesame oil. It was mentioned in one of those UK video I mentioned elsewhere in this thread. I watched it again a few days ago and was wondering if they were two different things - thanks.

      • This Guy on 12/04/2014 - 01:39

        Your missing sugar.

        • pyro love bird on 12/04/2014 - 02:32

          sorry for being a grammar nazi but it's *You're

        • kwaker on 12/04/2014 - 21:29
          +3

          Your not sorry if you follow an apology with but….

        • This Guy on 13/04/2014 - 02:56
          +3

          Your right

      • This Guy on 12/04/2014 - 02:48

        Soy sauce goes around the rim of the wok, then you swirl the sauce over it.

        Fast food sit's in a bain-marie at 70+ degrees until you buy it.

        Meat would get left over night in bicarb/water slurry, spices and sauce added after 30 seconds of cooking meat.

        Try shortning instead of oil.

        That meal sounds a ton better than fast food crap.

      • cannedhams on 12/04/2014 - 17:19
        +2

        Charmaine Solomon doesn't sound very Chinese.

      • oringal on 13/04/2014 - 03:06

        More advice.

        Cook broccoli in boiling water until it doesnt taste raw.
        Use potato starch instead of cornflour
        The stir frying process goes like this.
        Pre cook everything, stir frying is just mixing the components together in high heat.
        mix a few tablespoons vegetable oil with a couple teaspoon minced garlic on high heat to flavour the oil and make the garlic more aromatic
        then add about 50mL chicken stock then add beef and vegetables (that have been pre cooked) then mix around so the stock "coats" the beef and vegetables.
        Then add starch and soy to "coat" the beef and vegetables, add more starch if you need to (shouldnt need to add more than 2 tablespoons)
        after the sauce has thickened, you can add some sesame oil for flavouring

      • Serapis on 14/04/2014 - 20:13

        All doing it wrong, don't brine beef either as it makes the protein strands stick together and you get gluey meat…

        Cover with baking soda for around 30 mins, wash it off , dry the meat then quickly run it through boiling oil. That will create the chinese restaurant meat texture

  • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2014 - 00:49
    +5

    I wonder if such meals you enjoy outside are made without sticking closely to any recipe. My experience with Asian cooking (from my Chinese Indonesian mother) is that there are no recipes with exact amounts, or they aren't adhered to at least. Everything is done by feel and by taste. Each cook will tweak things to their own preferences, too. They each have their own secrets/tricks.

    Don't know if that applies to Chinese cuisine as I'm more familiar with Indonesianised Chinese dishes and I don't eat much Westernised "Chinese" food :P

    You'd probably be surprised to find out what ingredients they use to cook the dishes, as well. They won't be the highest quality. Wrong mindset if you're going all gourmet trying to mimic their results.

    I could possibly ask my mother for any suggestions for basic ingredients, ie. brands, that are used by popular Chinese restaurants. She works as an importing manager for food supplies. Lots of stuff from across Asia, supplying lots of major and smaller restaurants across Sydney and Melbourne (from hotels to hole in the wall joints). She might be able to give an idea of what the essentials are, if you like?

    The high heat wok factor is one I'd probably agree with too. They've got skills that us non-Asians simply can't replicate lol. They work so fast too. That'd make a difference.

    Maybe offer to help out in a Chinese kitchen for a weekend lol. Though that'll probably turn you off of ever eating takeaway ever again :P

    • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2014 - 09:37

      No, we don't follow a recipe with the combination chicken, which turns out great. But at least we had an idea where to start with that. (I watched it made dozens of times, and compared many similar recipes to get the ingredients and rough amounts right.

      I just wish people that write recipe books would get someone to cook the meals as they've written them down - and then taste them. But I guess that's asking too much, LOL.

      And yes please, any suggestions from someone in the industry would be great. Just a nudge in the right direction would be enough - such as do they make their own sauces. Because we went to a large gathering once, where they purchased chinese-type sauces already pre-made. I don't think the takeaways we've been to use those, but I guess someone must be buying them, considering they were in 4L containers.

      Edit: Ooops, I see what you meant by outside now, LOL. You had me for a minute there, thinking, "How does he know we use the burner outside!?"

    • juventino on 13/04/2014 - 23:52

      I eat Indonesianed Chinese dished my whole life. Watched my mom cooks everyday once I got home from school. Yeah, there is NO recipe unlike westernised food where everything has to be measured.

      • [Deactivated] on 14/04/2014 - 01:38

        Ha, many western recipes (with measurements) never turn out either. I tried to make a bread & butter pudding recently. Followed a recipe exactly. It looked nothing like the picture, had nearly no moisture, as if all the liquid had evaporated after making the bread soggy.

        Despite trying hints and directions galore, we can't get pork rind to crackle. It just never works. We're hoping it's just the pathetic oven we use, so when it's replaced everything just starts working out.

        • pyro love bird on 14/04/2014 - 12:14

          I think my uncle dabs it with a damp cloth after scoring it and rubs lots and lots of salt on it. and the temperature has to be high to get it to crackle :)

        • [Deactivated] on 21/04/2014 - 23:30

          Yes, we've done that - and many more things.

          First we thought it might be because were buying cheaper pork. So we bought more expensive ones - still didn't work.

          One recipe online said to score the rind with shallow cuts - didn't work.

          Another said score deep - didn't work.

          Some said to only use fresh and dry meat, not thawed as it's wet - didn't work.

          We tried rock salt, cooking salt, table salt, flake salt - you guessed it - didn't work.

          I've also tried a heat gun (like a hairdryer but for stripping paint) - didn't work. Well, worked a little, but just burnt half the rind instead of crackling it.

          We've tried grilling the rind after it doesn't work in the oven. It's edible this way - just. But still classifies as "didn't work".

          Then we went to someone's house to watch them do it. They just got the pork out of the fridge, scored the rind, sprayed olive oil on it, rubbed with salt, stuck it in the oven. i.e. They didn't put much effort in at all - nothing special. And it turned out perfect.

          I'm sure it's because of our rubbish oven. But even our convection microwave can't do it. It just burns the rind before it crackles.

          So frustrating!

  • Muimuimorris on 11/04/2014 - 07:56

    Elizabeth Chong who used to be on channel 10 has dedicated her life to teaching people to cook Chinese. I went to a few of her classes. You definitely need to use your wok lid. She has lots of videos on YouTube if you can't get to one of her classes in Melbourne.

    • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2014 - 09:39
      +2

      We used the wok lid yesteday for the beef & broccoli. It looked just right. Pity the taste didn't join the party.

  • Pajexi on 11/04/2014 - 08:03

    The best ham and chicken rolls just like what you described can be found at the Golden Inn Laurieton NSW

    • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2014 - 10:40

      Thank you, I'll remember that in case we pass through there. The place where we used to order it, I think the father has died because the son has taken over cooking. His food looks the same, but doesn't taste good at all. For some reason the taste improves overnight, but who wants to order 24 hours in advance and then reheat in a microwave.

      • kwaker on 11/04/2014 - 13:51

        St Marys band club buffet used to have it. Haven't been in years

        • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2014 - 18:11
          -1

          i was told never to go to have chines in st marys…..jmcotseeya mailed it in his/her post….the bottom 2 points applied.

    • DarwinBoy on 12/04/2014 - 08:30

      Yeah. They are the best. You can go there at lunchtime and they are cheaper as well. I tried to convince visiting relatives to buy some and put them on ice and bring them up for me. No luck. Very disappointed.

  • edgar28 on 11/04/2014 - 11:07

    A lot of MSG will make it taste the same like the restaurant……… i prefer my mum and my wife's chinese food

  • bahaha on 11/04/2014 - 11:44

    Following a recipe is good but it all comes down to tasting. My mum never follows a recipe and her food always taste better than the restaurant (and she doesn't use MSG). I ask her everytime how she makes it taste so nice, she just says.. a little this.. a little that. And regarding that recipe… a lot of Chinese dishes (I used to work in a Chinese restaurant) is pretty much comprised of Oyster sauce, Sesame Oil (quite abit of it too) and soy sauce. GIve that a go with the Beef and Broccoli because the one you posted up above looks weird… (to me)

    • This Guy on 12/04/2014 - 02:50

      And plum sauce and sugar.

  • pyro love bird on 11/04/2014 - 12:02
    +1

    To be honest, I'm not sure if you'll like the "authentic" stuff, and a lot of what you're eating at your local chinese takeaway is quite westernised. I think it's a bit of an acquired taste to like the stuff that you'd get in asian households.

    On another note, I'd recommend going to a local asian grocery, and see if they've got someone willing to help you out. I work at an asian grocery and a lot of people come in and ask for help with recipes and I'm always happy to help.

    Bahaha is right, a lot of the stir-frying and stuff done is with Oyster sauce, my mom and I both think its strange that people use soy sauce. AndI wouldn't recommend using a lot of MSG, sure it might make it taste better, but its not good for you. It's already in a tonne of food we buy and consume, so cutting out whatever you can is good.

    Foodgawker.com is a great site to browse recipes, but I haven't used any for asian cooking, but if you'd like any more help, please let me know :)

    Hope you have a nice day OP

    • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2014 - 12:28

      Thanks I'll have a look later today. One I'd really love to learn is short soup. The son at the takeaway I mentioned just doesn't make it the way his father did, so I've only the memory of it for years now.

      It has to be simple because it seemed to just be a light stock with wontons and a few bits of spring onion. The liquid was nearly clear but it was delicious with so much flavour. After a couple of spoons I'd drink a little water - just so the tastebuds could experience the hit of the taste all over again. I think it had a tiny amount of oil in it, because I could see it floating on top. But it was such a small amount it could have just been from using an oily utensil.

      Gotta stop reading this thread for a while. It keeps making me hungry!

      • bs0 on 11/04/2014 - 13:10
        +1

        From what I remember, it's pretty much chicken stock, made in the restaurant.
        Best bits are the boney carcasses for more flavor :)
        Then boil the wontons in the soup (more flavor) add a little salt to taste. Serve with scallion on top. The oil is from the chicken I believe, though we try to skim that off the stock before hand.

        • pyro love bird on 11/04/2014 - 13:47
          +1

          Absolutely, we make it by boiling a chicken carcass, adding salt, sugar to taste (sugar is used to balance out the salt), "oil" is from the fat off the carcass. We use whatever flesh is on the carcass and add it to the soup, some chopped spring onions (or in pieces, I quite like them in pieces as it adds a nice sweetness). When we're lazy we buy the ready made wontons, but mostly make them ourselves with pork mince, fish sauce, salt, sugar, shitake mushrooms, spring onion and eggs. We also add some seasoned minced pork (or chicken!) to the pot of soup.

          It's lovely!

  • moocher on 11/04/2014 - 12:46
    +2

    recipes for chinese

    It's important to get authentic recipes. Kylie Kwong's cookbooks aren't a bad place to start, she explains the basics, pantry staples and it's easy for Australians from a non-chinese background to follow.

    To use good quality stock.

    Very important: Western stocks are very different from chinese stock, don't use them interchangeably. You can get chinese chicken stock powder from an asian grocery store such as the Lee Kum Kee one. It's fine for stir fries and even when you just want a bowl of noodles.

    If you like wonton soup, Lee Kum Kee also makes wonton soup powder.

    As for BBQ pork, use LKK char siu sauce, it's easy and really good. The only extra ingredient you need is honey at the end. Instructions on jar. ('Char siu' is BBQ pork)

    N.B: Am Malaysian chinese, learned to cook chinese from mum, married to caucasian husband who had the same problem - cooking from 'Australian Womens Weekly chinese'. Can vouch for Kylie Kwong recipes and stories

    If you want a recipe for chicken in black bean sauce (you can substitute with beef), PM me.

    • pyro love bird on 11/04/2014 - 13:48

      You can also make a mad char siu with the Lobo brand dry mix :)

    • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2014 - 13:58

      We made the Soy Sauce Chicken (pg 78) from her "Simple Chinese Cooking" book. It worked well.

      She says to keep the stock and add more of the same ingredients to bring it back to the same level. But it's pretty dark and rich. Surely it would get so strong after adding a couple of times, that it would be overpowering. (Guess we're going to find out, as we saved the liquid in the freezer.)

      Wonton soup powder!? LOL. No wonder we're struggling to imitate the food if they don't "make it" from scratch either.

  • ramshead on 11/04/2014 - 12:46

    My old Chinese cookbook suggested marinating the sliced meat ,say 500gms, in a combination of (approx) 1/2 teaspoon bi-carb ;3/4 teaspoon cornflour and 3/4 teaspoon sugar; 3-4 tabspoon lukewarm water. I've certainly found that marinating overnight in the frig tenderizes even the toughest cuts.

    • pyro love bird on 11/04/2014 - 13:49
      +1

      You could also beat it to tenderize it a bit ;)

  • sirspiff on 11/04/2014 - 13:09
    +1

    Just a comment about brands of sauces. It's all relative to personal taste. Asian families who use a particular brand will usually swear by it. You'd be amazed at brand loyalty (vis a vis taste) in some asian families - they use the same brand for generations.

    Re soy (light and dark), my preference is for Amoy as opposed to LKK. I've used both and currently have LKK premium (dark) soy as I had a friend who was leaving the country and gave me her leftover. Waste not, want not. I'll switch back to Amoy when I'm done using this.

    I prefer Amoy for the reason that it gives me better flavour for what I want. To me, it's not as heavy on the flavours, which means I can adjust it with additional salt, to my liking. With LKK, I seldom use salt and there's a certain richness and flavour in their soy I don't particularly enjoy. It tastes a bit "artificial" to me.

    For a cheat to stock, I use Massell (those cubes in a stick, blue(chicken), red(beef)..the larger box for veg) most of the time. I think there're one of those that don't use msg in their stock. Anyway, it's a family-generation hand-me-down. Unless i'm cooking meals where real/organic matters, then I make my own stock from scratch.

    • bs0 on 11/04/2014 - 13:12
      +4

      As a real Asian, I go for whats cheapest. Just kidding, Amoy and lkk are both good. Trial and error though

      • ufohunter on 11/04/2014 - 13:31

        Ha ha ha. Me too. A real Asian and a real Ozbargainer.

  • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2014 - 13:22

    Reminds me of an Aussie guy in Hong Kong who complained that the Chinese food wad much nicer back home. For me, Hong Kong is the best place in the world for Chinese food. Each to their own.

  • kwaker on 11/04/2014 - 13:33

    Usually commercially marketed foods are different to domestically marketed sauces. They do this on purpose and I think its the main reason for this.

    In shops they have to label ingredients so the hold back on msg oil sugar salt and other preservatives/chemicals - in restaurants you wouldn't usually see the package.

  • Archi on 11/04/2014 - 14:12
    +2

    befriend a real Asian family and maybe they can show you how to prepare home style Asian cuisine rather than mimicking westernised chinese food that no real chinese person ever eats.

    and you can show them how to cook western food. a sort of exchange really

    good luck

    • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2014 - 14:41

      Funny you should say that. We know a few chinese-indonesian folks.

      In one case the husband cooks in a chinese takeaway. (The food there is quite bad.) Even so, we've asked him many times to teach us how to cook just one dish so I could see if there are things we're missing. But somehow he always manages to answer without giving any answers. In the end we gave up asking.

      The others we know are where someone of Asian descent has married a european-Australian. (e.g. Wealthy family sends child to uni in Australia, gets married and remains here.) They say things like, they had a servant back home, so never learned to cook themselves. Or only grandmother did the cooking. Or they've forgotten how because they changed to cooking western food after marriage.

      Imagine switching from Asian cuisine to meat & 3 veg!? I don't understand that at all, LOL!

      The ones that do still cook, all add a small amount of food to their chilli. They even pour chilli on KFC.

      • scrimshaw on 11/04/2014 - 15:32

        Indo folks like their stuff spicy, and tend to prefer spicy foods over foods that are just plain salty.

      • oringal on 13/04/2014 - 02:47

        try going between 2-4 pm weekdays, thats when most restaurants are doing prep :P

      • frinik on 15/04/2014 - 17:22

        Go to a takeaway store you like…order what you want to learn to cook … ask if you can watch it getting cooked if you flick them some extra moola… :D

  • Archi on 11/04/2014 - 15:36

    one thing restaurants do that nobody does at home

    is that they precook the meat in hot oil (flash frying if you will) before stir frying with other vegetables or sides that are always pre cook or blanched

    take aways have a massive amount of MSG, Sugar, Salt, and Oil.

    where are you located? Sydney?

    • bs0 on 12/04/2014 - 17:28

      I second that^
      Flash frying is a matter of efficiency - its quick and easy which is essential in a restaurant. Not very healthy though, as the same oil may be used repetively throughout the day. It changes from clear golden to dark brown with sediment at the bottom. But it does keep the meat'juicy' in the sense that it doesn't have to be cooked in the wok for very long

  • Mad-Season on 11/04/2014 - 16:34

    To get that crispy skin on crispy skin chicken (or duck) it's the last step. After the meat is cooked, use a sieve to hold the chicken and use a ladle to keep pouring hot oil over it until it crisps up nicely.

    • cobba on 26/04/2014 - 07:54

      To get a crispy skin on a duck, its skin needs to be dried prior to cooking. That means hanging the for 12+ hours in a cool drafty area

  • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2014 - 18:13

    wife has a cracker recipe for wanton soup… really the only soup ill have as im not a fan of liquid dinners butt the wantons are to die for.

  • kimmylala on 11/04/2014 - 20:46

    I know a website with really good and authentic Korean recipes http://www.maangchi.com/recipes

  • NamandSpam on 11/04/2014 - 20:51

    realfamilyman, from personal experience and other sources, you should never ever eat at a fast food chinese joint ever. You have no idea what happens behind the scenes back of house. So be so very wary! My friend whom works in a chinese joint witnessed the chef tossing a piece of chicken into the fryer when it was already dropped on the f***** floor! NASTY DIRTY HORRID SHIT! So dont go to cheap asian restaurants (fast food that is).

    Oh by the way, when cooking two elements of a dish or more - say, beef and brocolli, cook them separately. Tender soft beef, massage in cornflour flour and water and a miniscule of soy/oyster sauce for light seasoning - something the like. However, still needs seasoning when the dish comes as a whole.

    Remember high heated wok and stove does the job great. Goodluck

    Source - food - my - life

    • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2014 - 21:04
      +2

      I'd never eat Chinese in Ashfield. Have you seen the number of restaurants listed on the NSW Food Authority website under the registry of penalty notices? lol it's eatery after eatery in Ashfield, and often the same place has multiple offences over time.

      All takeaway or restaurants freak me out a little though, not just Chinese food. You never know what goes on in the kitchen - food dropped, spoiled food, bug infestations, cooks not washing their hands (or ingredients)… my skin crawls at the thought lol

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