In Ziqi's videos, we have seen many delicious dishes made by her which really reveal her ingenuity and cooking techniques. Now, we want to impart to you the cooking methods that Ziqi have applied in making her delicious and very good-looking dishes. These are also the most often used methods in cooking in China, and Ziqi has made very skilled command of them, and combination with her ingenuous thoughts.
1. Stir frying
Stir frying is the best known and most frequently used cooking method. Usually a wok is used at high heat, a small amount of edible oil is added, followed by ingredients and seasonings. Stir-fried meat is typically juicy and tasty, and vegetables are tender and crispy. Before cooking, the ingredients are carefully chopped. This method of cooking is not only healthy and tasty, but uses minimal fuel, and the food can be ready very quickly. It enables foods to soak in the flavors faster and preserves tastes, textures and colors, and, not surprisingly, it is used by chefs all over the world nowadays.
Sharp cleavers and chopping knives and a good chopping board are needed for cutting, dicing, slicing, and shredding, anything from vegetables to meats. Spatulas, frying spoons and long chopsticks are a must for handling the food in the wok.
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2. Steaming
The other best-known special Chinese cooking method is steaming, which is used for dumplings, seafood and chicken, etc. The bamboo steamers used both in the kitchen and brought to the table to serve freshly steamed food are a common sight. These woven bamboo containers sit over a pot or wok of boiling water allowing the hot water vapor to pass through the base and cook the food efficiently without added oil or fat. The round bamboo boxes come in a full range of sizes from tiny hand-sized to large tubs half a meter across, and are popular overseas as well.
Although in western cuisine, meat, fish, and vegetables are often cooked by steaming, it is the wheaten steamed buns and dumplings, popular in northern China, that are really special.
3. Deep frying
In western countries, it is probably the deep fried foods that are often most popular in Chinese restaurants, and of course some deep fried foods are also served in China though not in such abundance.
Deep fried foods are submerged in hot oil, with a crisp, crunchy result. By first soaking chopped ingredients in seasoning such as ginger sauces or garlic paste, and then coating the pieces with corn starch before frying them in the hot oil, results in crisp and tender delicious food.
As well as the pot for deep frying, and abundant quantities of suitable oil, the chef needs what is known as a Chinese spider, or a slotted spoon or strainer, to successfully remove the cooked food from the hot oil.
Click here to buy chopsticks Ziqi also uses.
4. Shallow frying
Sometimes food is fried in less oil. For this kind of cooking, less oil is used and less heat is applied. The pieces of food are usually cut into slices, rubbed with seasoning, and coated with cornstarch, resulting in dishes that are tender inside and slightly burnt outside. The pieces need to be turned over half way through cooking, and so utensils such as long chopsticks, tongs, or spatula are needed to achieve that.
5. Red Stewing
This is a uniquely Chinese method of cooking. Unlike stir-frying, it takes time, as the food is cooked over low heat or a small fire for anything up to an hour or two. The chopped meats are browned, along with soy sauce, sugar, wine, and spices such as ginger and cilantro and others. Later more seasonings are added as a soup or broth is created. The meat will be tender and the sauce is usually dark red or brown, hence the name.
6. Braising
The Chinese aren’t the only people to employ braising as a cooking technique. This method is used to get larger pieces cooked to tender perfection. The ingredients and seasonings are all put together in a wok or saucepan with some water, and then simmered for up to an hour. Cornstarch is used to thicken the sauce after all the ingredients are well cooked.
7. Boiling
Boiling takes less time than braising, and results in fresh, clear tasting dishes. It is used for ingredients that are small-sized and softer than those that would be braised, such as vegetables and tofu, and they are added to water along with appropriate seasonings. The water is then boiled until the food is ready.
8. Roasting
Roasted foods are cooked with dry heat, such as in an oven or over a charcoal flame grill. Seasonings are rubbed on to the outside, which gets drier and browned as a result, while the flavors are retained and enhanced. Meat and vegetables are commonly roasted.
In western culture, roasting often involves large cuts of meat roasted in an oven. But more commonly in China you will see small pieces of meat, vegetables, and even insects, on a skewer roasted over a charcoal grill and available in marketplaces and even on the street.
Click here to buy chopsticks Ziqi also uses.