Chinese Cookery - Basic Ingredients

 

 

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• Oyster Sauce - Made from boiled oysters and seasonings, this rich savory sauce is used in meat and vegetables dishes, and is one of the key ingredients in Cantonese cooking. Unless you're a purist vegetarian varieties made from mushrooms and without monosodium glutamate are better. Traditional Oyster sauce is very salty, so for healthy eating best used sparingly as a condiment rather than for cooking or marinating.
  
  
• Rice - Long grain for meals; short grain or "sticky" rice for desserts or snacks. Feel free to use scented Jasmine rice.
  
  
• Rice Vinegar - Shao hsing rice wine is low in alcohol . Made from rice, millet and yeast and aged for three to five years. It has a delicate flavour that is much less harsh than regular white vinegar. Dry sherry is a substitute.
  
  
• Soy Sauce - both light and dark. The bottles are not always clearly labeled, but you can tell by holding it up to the light - dark soy sauce is thicker and darker. Light soy sauce tastes saltier, unless you choose a low-sodium version. Made from fermented soya beans and wheat. Wheat-free soy sauce is called tamari.
  
  
• Chili Paste - Made with chilies, salt, garlic, ginger and oil. A small amount of this spicy seasoning adds heat to stir-fries, marinades and sauces.
  
  
• Oil for Deep-frying and Stir-frying - Traditionally, the Chinese use peanut oil. However, you can use a high quality vegetable oil, such as canola ("Canadian oil, low acid"). Vegetable oil is healthier; also, peanut oil goes rancid quite quickly, if you don't cook Chinese food very often, it may be best to try an alternative.
  
  
• Ground nut oil. Best in the wok because it can be heated to high temperatures; the higher the heat, the quicker food is sealed and stops absorbing oil.
  
  
• Asian Sesame Oil - Used as a flavouring in stir-fries and soups. Toasted sesame oil is a nutty-tasting oil. A little goes a long way.
  
  
• Chinkiang black rice vinegar Vinegar is widely used in Chinese cooking and this strong but smoky mellow-tasting fermented rice vinegar is a favourite. You can use balsamic vinegar instead.
  
  
• Clear rice vinegar Sweet and subtle clear vinegar made from fermented rice, relatively low in acidity. More commonly used than black rice vinegar. Cider vinegar works instead.
  
  
• Sichuan peppercorns Widely used in China, the dried reddish berries from a type of ash tree are used whole or ground to a powder. Pungent, peppery and quite citrus, they can be seriously hot. One of the components of Chinese five spice powder.

Important flavourings: Fresh root ginger, garlic, chilies, salt. Other specialist ingredients: dried Chinese mushrooms; dried baby shrimps; dried tangerine peel; dried Sichuan chilies; cinnamon stick/bark; fennel; cloves; star anise; jasmine rice.

• Chinese Dried Black Mushrooms - Cheaper brands work fine in soups and stir-fries.
  
  
• Cornstarch - Used in marinades, and as a thickener. Can substitute for tapioca starch in recipes.
  
  
• Spring Onions (Green Onions, Scallions) - Often used as as garnish, or added to stir-fries in the wok.

Where to buy: Look for Asian brands such as Wing Yip, Blue Dragon, Clearspring and Sanchi in larger supermarkets and health food stores or shop online at wingyipstore.co.uk and waiyeehong.com

With the exception of rice wine and dried black mushrooms, these ingredients can usually be found in the ethnic or international section of many supermarkets. Rice wine and dried black mushrooms are available at Chinese/Asian markets.