Introduction to Chinese Cooking

Ed McMahon爱德华

Slides Available as pdf

• All the slides for this course are available as a pdf file at Osher• PowerPoint versions are about 300, 500, and 2200 Mb in size

• Just email me at epmcm1@gmail.com for a copy

• Can’t include the video clips

• The material in this presentation used sources on the web, from cookbooks, personal recipe development, and other research.

To present the types, tastes, components and philosophy of Chinese cooking

To discuss the tools and techniques of Chinese cooking

To present and discuss some recipes and the details of their preparation

AimOf theCourse

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2

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Characteristics of Chinese Cooking

• An art (not a craft) based on harmony, balance (Confucianism) and health, hygiene (Taoism)

• Involves all the senses – fancy names (hearing), aromas (smell), appearance (sight), texture (touch), contrasts (taste)

• Healthy – traditionally, more vegetables than meat (but not in America)

• Typically, not single-ingredient dishes

• Sauces, meat-veggie mixtures, accents

• No “main” dishes – usually a number of dishes

• No dairy products

• Few desserts (except fruit)

Role of the Chef(s)

• Chef does the seasoning

• Confucius taught that taste comes from a blending of ingredients and condiments

• Chef does the cutting

• Only chopsticks and a spoon are necessary to dine• Use of a knife considered “poor taste”

• Says the chef did a poor job

• One chef at the stove, one chef for preparation

Balance and Contrast

Balance and Contrast

• Yin and yang

• Ginger and green onion

• Hot and cold

• Sweet and sour

• Plain and spicy

• Meat and pickle

• Fish and greens

• Taste and texture

Yin Foods Yang Foods

Bean Sprouts Bamboo

Cabbage Beef

Carrots Chicken

Crab Eggs

Cucumber Ginger

Duck Glutinous Rice

Tofu Mushrooms

Watercress Sesame Oil

Water Wine

“Hot and spicy foods facilitate the flow of chi energy through the body but must be balanced by cooling foods.”-Chan and Chan, “China. The Cookbook”

Elements, Color, Taste

Sweet

Bitter

Sour

Pungent

Salty

Food Types

• Yin foods calm, yang foods stimulate

• Food descriptors:• sweet (earth): for dry, weak, excitable types• bitter (fire): for slow, heavy, aggressive types• sour (wood): for changeable, erratic types• pungent (metal): for sluggish, lethargic, cold types• salty (water): for thin, dry, nervous types

Food as Medicine and Seasons• Sour (wood) foods, meant for springtime, impact upon the

liver and gallbladder

• Bitter (fire) foods, eaten in early summer influence the small intestine and heart

• Sweet (earth) foods, for summer's end, get rid of inertia and calm the stomach

• Aromatic (metal) foods are eaten in the fall and have power over the large intestine and lungs

• Salty (water) foods are best in winter; they help the kidneys and bladder work well

Color of Food

•Color also holds great import regarding the ingestion of food and/or medicine:

red colored organic matter affects the heart, (fire)green the liver, (wood)yellow the 'spleen,' (earth)white the lung, (metal)black the kidney, (water)

Pinyin• “How it sounds” using the Western alphabet symbols

• Unique Mandarin sounds for many letters

• One character = one syllable = initial + ending + tone

• Five tones (four plus a fifth “non-tone”)

• 1st – flat high pitch: MAYbe, microwave “ding”, zhōng

• 2nd – rising tone: What?, when?, gúo

• 3rd –lowest tone: uhh, xǐ

• 4th – dropping tone: No!, stop!, cài

• 5th – short, middle range, no tone: very short ah, ma (no tone mark)

Wǒ xǐ huān chī zhōng gúo cài!

I like to eat Chinese food!

我喜欢吃中国菜

Wǒ xǐ huān zuò zhōng gúo cài!I like to cook Chinese food!

我喜欢做中国菜

China’s Provinces

Schools of Chinese CuisineLu (Shandong) Yang (Su) Yue (Guangdong) Chuan (Sichwan)

Beijing Huaiyang Chiuchow (Chaozhou) Guizhou (Qian)

-Imperial, Aristocrat Anhui (Hui) Hakka (Kejia) Hunan (Xiang)

-Tianjin (Jin) Shanghai (Hu) Fujian (Min) Jiangxi (Gan)

Northeastern Zhejiang (Zhe) Hainan (Qiong) Shaanxi (Qin)

-Liau Henan (Yu) Hong Kong Yunnan (Dian)

Shanxi (Jin) Hubei (E) Macanese

North East South West

Eight “schools” of Chinese Cuisine

Shandong

Jiangsu

Anhui

Zhejiang

Fujian

Guangdong

Sichuan

Hunan

Salted and spicedBeijing, ConfucianShanghai, fancySoupsShaoxing wineCantoneseSpicy, numbingSpicy and sour

Five “schools” of Chinese Cuisine

Peking

Fukien

Canton

Szechwan

oHonan

Canton

• Southeast China. (Southern)

• Canton, now Guangzhou in Guangdong (Kwangtung) province.

• When the Ming Dynasty was overthrown (17th century) government officials brought their chefs south from Peking with them.

• Mild, natural flavors, elegant. Soy, ginger, wine.

• Steaming, stir-frying, roasting. Fried rice, Shark Fin Soup, Hoisin sauce, Dim Sum. Rice.

Peking or Shantung

•Northeast China. (Northern)

•Now Beijing, Shandong.

•Light, mild. Garlic, scallions, leeks and chives. Soft fried foods. Peking Duck, Velvet Chicken, spring rolls, dumplings. Wine cooked meats. Wheat, noodles, sweet potato.

Szechwan

•West China. Now Sichuan. (Western)

•Hot interior region. Spicy dishes. Belief that spices helped digestion in the hot climate.

•Hot bean paste, vinegar, many hot peppers. Preserved vegetables, dried chilli, Szechuan pepper, sesame seed oil

•Complex cuisine. Hot and Sour Soup. Mushroom dishes.

Honan (Henan)

•Central China. (Not Hunan). (Central North)

• Sweet and sour dishes (sugar and vinegar), dominant garlic flavors.

• Freshwater fish and crustaceans

• Subtle flavors mainly using ginger and Shao Xing wine. Noted also for its spiced concoctions, and rich seasonings

Fukien

•East China. (Eastern)

• Incorporates all Chinese cuisines.

•Cosmopolitan and sophisticated. Noted for seafood and for clear, light soups.

•Ginger and green onion dominate.

Steamed Rice

• 2 C. uncooked extra-long grain rice• 3 C. cold water

•Put the rice and water in a saucepan, filling it no more than one-third. Bring to a boil over high heat, uncovered, and boil until most of the water is absorbed, and small craters form in the rice from the steam bubbles (“fish eyes”), about 10 minutes. Lower the heat to the minimum possible, cover the pan and leave for about 5 more minutes. Remove from the heat and keep covered until served.

Ingredient Types

•Aromatics• Flavors the cooking oil

•Accents (garnitures)•Add flavor, texture, contrast,

interest

•Vegetables

• Sauces and Condiments

•Meat. Fish or Tofu

The Basic Aromatics

Green onions, garlic and ginger-

Fresh!

The Trinity of Chinese Cooking

Ginger root • Usually minced, sometimes finely julienned• Scrape skin off with a spoon before slicing

Green Onion (scallions)• Sliced thinly, white and green parts kept separate• White cooked as an aromatic, green as a garnish• Sometimes cut into shreds

Garlic • Usually finely minced• The finer the mince, the stronger the flavor• Burns easily and becomes bitter

Ginger

Garlic Green Onion

Red Chilies

Tangerine Peel

Other Aromatics• Dried red chilies

• Tip the ends, remove seeds, mince, wash hands • Hot bean paste• Chili paste (usually with garlic)• Fermented black beans

• Lightly rinse (optional) and coarsely chop • Dried shrimp

• Fingernail size. Finely mince• Szechwan flower pepper

• Not hot. Crush in mortar and pestle• Star anise• Five spice powder

• star anise, Szechwan pepper, fennel, cinnamon, cloves ground together

Szechwan Pepper

Dried Shrimp

Hot Bean Sauce

Dried Red Chilies

Fermented Black Beans

Chili Garlic Sauce

Star Anise

Five Spice Powder

Chili Heat • Carolina Reaper – 1,600,000 to 2,200,000 SHU

• Naga Jolokia – 800,000 to 1,000,000 SHU – Ghost Peppers

• Habanero – 200,000 to 300,000 SHU

• Bird’s Eye – 100,000 to 225,000 SHU - Thai chilies

• Tien tsin – 50,000 to 70,000 SHU - Chinese dried red peppers

• Manzano –30,000 to 50,000 SHU

• Arbol – 15,000 to 30,000 SHU

• Serrano – 8000 to 22,000 SHU

• Fresno – 2500 to 8000 SHU - red are hotter than green

• Jalapeno – 2500 to 8000 SHU - smoked is chipotle

• Poblano – 1000 to 2000 SHU - stuffing pepper for chili rellenos

• Anaheim – 1000 to 2000 SHU - green chili peppers

• Bell peppers – 0 Scoville Heat Units

Spices in Order of Impact

• Onion

• Garlic

• Allspice

• Thyme

• Cinnamon

• Cumin

• Cloves

• Bay

• Chili pepper

• Mustard

• Coriander

• Nutmeg

• Parsley

• Pepper

• Ginger

• Celery

• Lemon/lime

Hot Bean Paste

chile bean paste = chili bean paste = chili bean sauce = chilli bean sauce = bean paste with chili = hot bean paste This reddish-brown sauce is made from fermented soybeans and hot chilies. It's very hot. Regional versions include Sichuan hot bean paste = Szechuan hot bean paste, and Korea'skochu chang = kochujang.

Chili paste • chile paste = Asian chile paste = chili paste = chilli paste This is a blend of hot chili peppers, garlic, oil, and salt that's commonly used in Asian cuisine. Includes: Chinese chile (or chili) paste = Szechuan chile (or chili) paste = Sichuan chile (or chili) paste = chile paste with garlic, Korean chile paste, and Vietnamese chilepaste = tuong ot toi Vietnam = prikkaeng, which is hotter than the Chinese chile paste.

Fermented Black Beans•Dou chi is made by

fermenting and salting black soybeans. The black type soybean is most commonly used and the process turns the beans soft, and mostly dry (if the beans are allowed to dry). The flavor is sharp, pungent, and spicy in smell, with a taste that is salty and somewhat bitter and sweet.

Szechwan Flower Pepper• Sichuan pepper has a unique

aroma and flavor that is not hot or pungent like black, white or chili peppers. Instead, it has slight lemony overtones and creates a tingly numbness in the mouth that sets the stage for hot spices. They produce a strange, tingling, buzzing, numbing sensation that is something like the effect of carbonated drinks.

SICHWAN PEPPER INFO FROM WEBMDSichwan Peppercorn is also called Chinese Prickly Ash

• Chinese prickly ash is a plant. The bark and berry are used to make medicine. Be careful not to confuse Chinese prickly ash with ash, or northern or southern prickly ash.

• People take Chinese prickly ash to treat vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, water retention, parasites, snakebite, and skin diseases. They also use it as a painkiller, stimulant, and tonic.

• In foods, Chinese prickly ash is used as a spice.

Accents, Garnitures• Mushrooms (black or shitake, straw, oyster)

• Tree fungus (black and white fungi, tree ears, cloud ears, moo shu)

• Bamboo shoots

• Water chestnuts

• Cashews, peanuts

• Ground pork

• Tiger lily buds (golden needles)

• Orange peel (tangerine)

• Preserved vegetable

• Bell peppers

• Cilantro (a garnish)

Dried cloud ears

Rehydrated cloud ears

Vegetables

• Bok choy

• Napa (kind of light cabbage)

• Tofu

• Eggplant

• Broccoli

• Snow peas

• Potatoes

• Long beans

• Onions

• Tomatoes

• Peas

• Corn

• Carrots

• Celery

• Sweet potatoes

Bok Choy Napa

Snow Peas

Chinese Broccoli Tiger lily buds

Eggplant Long beans

Tofu, Bean Curd

• Tofu is made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks• Soft (silk), medium, firm and extra-firm depending on how much liquid is pressed

out

• Originated in Han dynasty China ~ 2,000 years ago

• Soy milk is produced by soaking, grinding, boiling and straining dried (or, less commonly, fresh) soybeans • Bean curd skin forms on top in this process

• Used as a wrapping or cut into noodles

• Coagulants used are calcium sulfate (gypsum), magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, or the acids glucone delta-lactone, acetic (vinegar) or citric

Meat• Pork is the most common meat

• Ground, Shredded

• Sliced thin

• Roasted (red cooked, char siu)

• Sausage (dried, not smoked) very popular; must cook

• Chicken also very common

• Duck popular, festive

• Lamb occasionally, mostly in the North

• Very little beef

• Offal commonly used

Fish and Seafood

•All types of fish, typically cooked whole• Steamed• Crispy fried fish

• Shrimp very common

•Crabs, lobsters

• Squid, octopus

•Clams, oysters, etc.

Sauces and Condiments

•Cooking • Soy sauce

• Regular, light, dark, thick, low sodium, mushroom flavored

• Tamari – Japanese, available gluten-free

• sesame oil, hot sesame oil, sesame paste, rice wine, tomato ketchup, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, plum sauce, rice vinegar, black rice vinegar, sugar, XO sauce

•Dipping sauces • Chinese mustard, plum sauce (duck sauce), soy sauce, rice

vinegar, chili paste, hoisin, and mixtures of these

Chinkiang Vinegar

Black Rice VinegarSimilar to balsamic vinegar

Hoisin Sauce• Hoisin sauce is a thick, pungent

sauce commonly used in Chinese cuisine as a glaze for meat, an addition to stir fries, or as dipping sauce. It is darkly colored in appearance and sweet and salty in taste. Although regional variants exist, hoisin sauce usually includes soy, red chilies, and garlic. Vinegar and sugar are also commonly added. The word hoisin is a Romanization of the Chinese word for seafood (海鮮, hoi seen) as pronounced in Cantonese or hǎixiān as pronounced in Mandarin.

Oyster Sauce• Oyster sauce describes a number

of sauces made by cooking oysters. The most common in modern use is a viscous dark brown condiment made from sugar, salt and water thickened with cornstarch, flavored with a little oyster essence or extract and some versions may be darkened with caramel, though high quality oyster sauce is naturally dark.

Plum Sauce• Plum sauce is a viscous, light brown sweet and sour

condiment. It is used in Chinese cuisine as a dip for deep-fried dishes, such as spring rolls, egg rolls, noodles, and deep-fried chicken balls as well as for roast duck. It is made from sweet plums or other fruit such as peach, pineapple, or apricot, along with sugar, vinegar, salt, ginger and chili peppers.

XO Sauce• Developed in the 1980s in Hong Kong for Cantonese cuisine, XO sauce

is made of roughly chopped dried seafoods, including scallops, dried fish and shrimp, and subsequently cooked with chili peppers, onions, and garlic. This dried seafood-based sauce bears similarity to the Fujianese Shacha sauce. XO stands for “Extra Old” as used for brandy, and was considered a “chic” term.

Noodles

• As rice is the dominant starch in the south, noodles are dominant in the north

• Wheat noodles – mein (miàn面 ) as in Lo Mein (tossed noodles) or Chow Mein (fried noodles)

• Rice (or mung bean starch) noodles – fun (fěn粉 ) as in Chow Ho Fun (fried wide rice noodles)

• Many shapes and sizes

• Deep fried and used as garnish, baskets, accents

Breads

• Mandarin Pancakes• Thin, strong pancakes for moo shu, Peking Duck

• Onion Pancakes• Good with duck dishes

• Bao• Slightly sweet yeast bread, stuffed with sweet or savory fillings

• Steamed• Baked

Fruits

• Canned Asian fruits are available and make an appropriate dessert• Lychee

• Loquat

• Mango

• Pineapple

• Starfruit

• Papaya

• Fresh fruits can be found in some stores

Fruits

Mangosteen

Starfruit

Dragonfruit

Lychee

Rambutan

Basic Chinese Pantry

• Peanut oil

• Soy sauce

• Rice vinegar

• Rice wine

• Sesame oil

• Hoisin sauce

• Oyster sauce

• Hot bean paste (spicy bean sauce, ma po sauce)

• Dried red chili peppers

• Dried mushrooms

• Bamboo shoots

• Water chestnuts

Next pantry items

• Dried moo shu

• Dried Tiger lily buds

• Sesame chili oil (hot sesame oil)

• Szechwan flower pepper

• Five spice powder

• Plum sauce

• Fermented black beans

Other terms and substitutions

• This site is excellent for finding other names for Asian condiments as well as for substitutions and recipes for making some sauces

• http://www.foodsubs.com/CondimntAsia.html

Egg Rolls, Wontons, Dim Sum

• Egg rolls, spring rolls – filled wrappers usually deep fried. Flour and water wrappers. 8-10” wrappers. Spring rolls sometimes wrapped in rice paper and served cold.

• Wontons – filled small wrappers. “Cloud birds”, steamed or fried or in soup

• Dim Sum – “Warm heart”. Large variety of small dumplings, balls, shao mai (purses), bao (steamed or baked sweet yeast dough), etc.

Shao mai, char siu bao, har gow

Sauces for Dim Sum

• Soy and rice vinegar (with a pinch of dry mustard, or chili paste, or sesame oil, or sesame chili oil)

•Ketchup, hoisin and sesame chili oil

•Hoisin, soy and sesame oil (and sugar)

•Chili paste, soy and sesame oil

• Soy and mustard (and garlic)

• Soy, ginger, sugar and vinegar

Thanks爱德华