Better than buffet: How to make your Chinese taste like theirs.

You've decided to make stir fry for dinner- knowing that it simply won't taste like your favorite Chinese food restaurant's dish. Not anymore! I promise that with a few simple items and cooking techniques, you won't want take-out... well, not as often, anyway.

You need a few key items to make your Chinese taste like theirs... better, even. I suggest taking a trip you your local Asian market for the best prices and an awesome cultural experience. If an Asian market isn't near you, all of the condiments listed below can be found at your local grocery store. Note: "La Choy" is not an option! The ingredients on my Kung Pao recipe cannot be found at Safeway. You'll have to hit up the market.  They are STAPLES in most of your favorite Asian dishes. 

1. Pre-flavored vegetable oil. 

Oil that has been used, previously, to fry fish or chicken. (So, the next time you fry something, strain the bits and reserve the oil in a container for a later date)

2. Oyster sauce. 

Yes, it's fishy and salty... but... it's the main ingredient in most of the Chinese dishes you love; LoMein, Kung Pao, General Tso's, to name a few. You can find this sauce in the specialty/
international foods aisle.

3. Teriyaki sauce
4. Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar

 A sweeter, tart, pre-seasoned alternative to vinegar. I absolutely looove RWV and I often use to replace "regular" vinegars in my salad dressings, etc.

5. Sesame oil

6. Soy sauce

7. Corn starch

8. Whole, dried red pepper pods*

You can use red pepper flakes, if you want to... but pepper pods offer more flavor.Be careful, they pack quite a HOT punch!

9. Toasted sesame seeds*

*optional items that can be found in the spice aisle

Today we're going to tackle this recipe:

Garlic Sesame Chicken with Snow Peas served over Vegetable Fried Rice.

"Hot pan, cold oil- food no e'stick."

My family lived in Taiwan in the late 1960's. If there's one thing Mom learned, it was how to prepare the food... she also learned to speak Mandarin, but the food was more important! Our housekeeper, Mei Li, (not an uncommon thing for Naval officers, back then) taught Mom everything she knew about Chinese cooking and Mom taught Mei everything she knew about American cooking.

 Another influential Chinese cook, Martin Yan, helped Mom in the 1980's on Saturday mornings with his show, "Yan Can Cook." Besides his amazing handywork with a cleaver, one of his most frequent sayings was, "hot pan, cold oil- food no e'stick." Remember that saying... it comes in handy when cooking Chinese food, believe me!

Always start with your rice.

**You want to prepare the rice ahead of time and refrigerate. The rice works best when it is cold. If you have had trouble preparing rice in the past, never fear! I'm here to help! Try Mei Li's fool proof way to cook rice and don't you dare use anything thing with "minute" in front of it!

Fried rice is exactly that, fried. You have to start with cold,  pre-cooked rice and then... well... fry it.

Serves 2-4:
3 tbsps seasoned veggie oil
1/4 tsp sesame oil (use a tiny bit... too much will ruin the flavor. A little goes a long, long way)
1 clove garlic, pressed or chopped
2 cups cold, pre-cooked rice
1/2 frozen peas
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
1 egg- beaten *optional
2 tblsps - 1/4 cup soy sauce
1 or 2 handfuls of bean sprouts

Heat your wok (or largest pan you have) over med-high heat and wait a minute or two. Add your seasoned vegetable oil (hot pan, cold oil... remember?) onions, carrots, frozen peas and pressed garlic and sautee utnil onions are translucent. Reduce the heat.  Add your egg and scramble. Next, add your cooked rice and mix together. Finally, add the soy sauce and bean sprouts and sautee until everything is well incorperated. Remove from the heat, cover and set aside.

Garlic Sesame Chicken with Snow peas or green beans.
Servings: 2-4

3 Table spoons of per-flavored veg oil
1/2 tsp of Sesame oil
2 large, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tblsps corn starch
1 12oz package of pre cut/washed green beans or...
2 large handfuls of Snow Peas from the grocer's bin
1 medium red pepper, sliced
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
3/4-1 cup of garlic sauce
2- 4 Red pepper pods (depends on how spicy you want it?)
2 stems of Scallions, sliced
Sesame seeds for presentation

Chicken stirfry prep:
Chinese food is prepared in stages. Yes, it's tedious, but... it's how to get your dinner tasting like theirs.

Butterfly your chicken breasts and pound the hell out of them, (in between two pieces of wax paper) until they are nearly paper thin and flat. Slice the chicken into bite sized pieces and coat in the corn starch. FYI: Corn starch acts as a meat tenderizer and as a thickening agent for the delicious sauce that we drizzle all over our rice.

Next, in a seperate pot, boil your green beans in water for 5 minutes until the beans are a vibrant green. Shock them in a cold water bath and set aside. No prep (other than a rinse) needs to be done for the peas.

Heat your wok on high and wait a minute or two before adding your cold, pre-flavored oils (veg and sesame)- which prevents the chicken from sticking to the wok. Fry your coated chicken slices until they are completely cooked and remove them from the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and fry the green beans and celery- 5 minutes, TOPS! Avoid over cooking the vegetables- you want a crunch not a mush! Reintroduce the chicken to the wok with the scallions, red pepper pods and add the sauce:

Garlic Sauce:
1/4 cup Oyster sauce
3 tsps Rice Wine Vinegar
3 tsps Teriyaki sauce
2 tsps Soy sauce
1 tblsp Corn starch
1/4 cup Chicken stock or water
2 cloves Garlic, chopped

Toss everything in the sauce on a medium/high heat (so the sauce will thicken) and add the sliced red peppers at the very end- 2 minutes TOPS! If your sauce is too thick, add more stock. Serve immediaely over rice and sprinkle with the sesame seeds for that finished look.

Trust me, this Chinese food  is as authentic as it gets... without going out for it. You know you've prepared it correctly when you are hungry, again, in 20 minutes.

If you must go out for authentic Taiwanese/Chinese (which is the best, if you ask me) please visit Taiwan 101, in Monaca, PA (A Pittsburgh suburb). For my Baltimore area friends, visit Hunan L'Rose. Both establishments are, by far, the best Chinese retaurants I have ever, EVER had the pleasure of enjoying!

再見! (Zàijiàn)
Goodbye.