Chinese Cooking Essentials

One of my favorite dishes is fried rice.  In all my years of trying to perfect making it, I still have not reached that goal.  

It seems like maybe I have not spent enough time studying the concepts of chinese cooking.  After reading an excellent article from The Cooking Channel on Chinese Cooking Essentials, the realization hit me that I am way too under informed about ingredients used.

Click here to go to the article from The Cooking Channel.

Bacon, Egg and Shrimp Fried Rice

Anything that contains rice catches my attention, although I must admit I have never tried jasmine rice.

Shrimp Fried Rice is my favorite, and the addition of bacon sounds delicious.

The price of sesame oil has kept us from trying out a fried rice dish cooked with it and I wonder . . . does it really make that much of a difference?

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 4 ounces pancetta or bacon, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
• 4 ounces bay shrimp

• 4 ounces fresh or frozen peas (about 3/4 cup)
• 2 cups cooked jasmine rice (preferably day old)
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
• 2 scallions, chopped

DIRECTIONS

Heat a wok over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil. Add the eggs, reduce the heat a bit and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes to scramble. Remove and set aside. 

Reheat the wok and add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon peanut oil. When the oil is hot, add the pancetta, garlic and ginger, then stir quickly. Once the pancetta begins to turn brown, 1 to 2 minutes, add in the shrimp and peas and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes more. 

Add the cooked rice and stir well to break it up in the wok. Add the scrambled eggs back in, season with the light soy and toss to coat the rice. Add in the toasted sesame oil and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately garnished with chopped scallions.

Source

Honey Chicken

I love chinese take out!

Honey Chicken is one of those items that I usually

order to go with my fried rice and egg rolls.

This recipe is so quick and easy, especially if you

use the chicken tenderloins that come in a bag

frozen . . . defrost and prepare!

Now I just need to learn how to make awesome

fried rice . . . still haven't found a good recipe :(

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 ¹/2 tablespoons baking powder
• ¹/2 teaspoon salt
• ³/4 cup water
• ¹/3 cup sesame seeds
• Vegetable oil for frying
• 1 ¹/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
• ¹/2 cup honey
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¹/4 teaspoon soy sauce
• 
  

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, make a batter by combining the flour, baking powder, salt, and water; mix well.
    
2. In a large deep skillet, toast the sesame seeds over medium-high heat, until golden. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
    
3. Reduce the heat to medium, add 1/4 inch oil to the skillet, and heat the oil until hot but not smoking. Dip the chicken pieces in the batter, coating completely, then cook in batches for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until golden. Drain on a paper towel-lined platter.
    
4. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, warm the honey, garlic, and soy sauce over low heat for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Place the chicken in a large bowl and pour the warm honey sauce over it. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, and toss until the chicken is well coated. Serve immediately.

Source:  Mr. Food

Shrimp Fried Rice

The few secrets for good fried rice are to use high heat, minimal oil, and add the rice little by little so that the pan's temperature stays hot. Using leftover rice is best—the dryness facilitates frying—but if you need to cook the rice first, dinner can still be on the table in minutes. Feel free to swap the shrimp with other proteins such as chicken or tofu.
About the author: Blake Royer lives in Brooklyn and spends most of his free time cooking and writing about it at Serious Eats and on The Paupered Chef. From 9 to 5 weekdays, he works as an assistant book editor in Manhattan.

Shrimp Fried Rice

- serves 2 -

Ingredients

1 egg
2 cups cooked rice
4 scallions, sliced
1 carrot, grated
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 thumb-sized piece ginger, peeled and grated
10-12 cooked (or uncooked) shrimp, deveined and chopped
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
Juice from half a lime

Procedure

1. If cooking rice, do so first, then rinse well to cool.
2. In a wok or large nonstick skillet, heat the oil until just before it's about to smoke, then add the ginger, carrot, garlic, and three of the scallions. Stir constantly until just fragrant, only about 15-30 seconds at most.
3. Add the shrimp. If raw, stir until cooked through; if pre-cooked, move on to the next step immediately.
4. Add the rice, handful by handful, stirring constantly to fry.
5. Make a hole in the middle of the rice and crack the egg into it. Stir quickly but gently, incorporating more and more rice until the egg is well-distributed.
6. Add the soy sauce and lime juice, then season with salt and pepper (or more soy sauce). Top with the last scallion.