Having spent some time in Thailand / Cambodia and enjoying cooking those cuisines, I'm now getting interested in cooking Chinese food. I buy ingredients from stores like Wing Yip in the UK. There seems to be quite an acceptance that ready-made commercial sauces are fine, but that feels weird to me - I'd never dream of making a Thai Tom Yum soup with a mix from a jar. Do Chinese people use these ready-made, jarred or tinned sauces? I've got a recipe for char siu which has a whole host of ingredients, and then says at the end "or use ready-made char siu sauce and marinate for an hour before roasting". To be honest, I'm not going to bother getting hold of Chinese malt syrup etc, if the ready-made stuff is just as good!
2007-01-17 22:37:14 · 12 answers · asked by stevedukenew 2 in Food & Drink ➔ Ethnic Cuisine
South East Asia: In a world increasingly fond of "instant gratification", ready-made sauces of various ethnic cooking are making inroads into more and more modern households - Chinese included. It is fast, convenient for working couples who have little time, or too tired to cook the traditional way after coming home from tedious 9-5 work.
There's no ready-made whatever that can do justice to the traditional way; even the modern clean gas fire is poor substitute for wood/charcoal fired... but no can do in my slick condo apartment right?
Ready-made stuff are really passable if you come across a good brand.
2007-01-18 00:05:09 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
As always, fresh made to your own taste will always be better than store bought, mass-reproduced processed foods and sauces.
Unfortunately though, there are at least a couple generations of "cooks" who would be lost faced with a cookbook and raw ingredients. I know grown women who turn green at the idea of actually having to touch raw meat. A notion I can't understand no matter how hard I try. And the newest batch of the "younger generation"... heading to university and out on their own for the first time, most know at least five take-away places within walking distance, yet would be hard-pressed to know how to light an oven to cook a chicken, or even an egg.
If you have the skills and appreciate the difference between packaged Thai Tom Yum soup and a canned one then for heavens-sake keep cooking from scratch, please! And more than that, pass the knowledge on; find friends who are mildly interested in food but lack skills and have them come round to play with you in the kitchen!
Cheers
2007-01-19 22:31:55 · answer #2 · answered by dworld_1999 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Fresh is always nicer as you can adjust to your preference, but not everyone is as lucky as you, to have been in the cultural cooking pot ,of having tasted the real deal! Those sauces in jars are very good for people to try something new without going to the time consuming job of buying unknown ingredients(maybe to never use again) and experiment with their taste buds. If they like what it offers, maybe they will then try from scratch. Lots of the sauces on the shelves in Australia are from Asia, and seem to be of good quality, and have great recipes attached.
2007-01-17 22:59:44 · answer #3 · answered by jaja 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Make your own - nicer and fresher!
You will not find many, if any, Chinese people buying sauces in tins or jars!
Sweet and Sour
3 tablespoons vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar (brown or white)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon plain white flour
1 tablespoon tomato puree
drop of sesame oil
To make a Hot and Sour add 1 teaspoon chili powder or chili sauce from bottle!
mix together well and warm thru in pan and pour over chicken OR if using a wok - cook meat and vegetables and add sauce to wok until hot. Pour and serve on bed of rice!
2007-01-17 22:42:58 · answer #4 · answered by jamand 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I prefer making everything fresh, seems nowdays people buy the premade stuff because it can be cheaper and less time consuming. I always use fresh that way you know you arent getting any "junk" and the taste is much better.
2007-01-18 00:15:38 · answer #5 · answered by dcforensics51 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Always better to make it yourself. Yeah, the ready made stuff might be ok, might even be good - but you can make it great by adjusting things like salt and other seasonings to bring the dish up to your own personal tastes.
2007-01-17 22:41:20 · answer #6 · answered by gixerbry 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i allways say starting from scratch is best due to the fact that you know whats going in to the food you can balcnce the flaviours to suit your tastes and leave out stuff you dont like
2007-01-17 22:41:53 · answer #7 · answered by chickenbutt 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i can always taste the different, freshly made is nicer. worth the effort
2007-01-17 22:40:15 · answer #8 · answered by rykkers 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i always use sake, cider vinegar or sherry in my chinese food
2007-01-17 22:45:07 · answer #9 · answered by lion of judah 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
niether too much grissle
2007-01-18 21:15:15 · answer #10 · answered by D T P 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋