How hard is most chinese food to cook?

Question

My g/f is a great cook, but for some reason thinks she won't be able to cook chinese food.. We like pretty typical Chinese-American chinese food- If and what makes chinese food difficult to make ? . . any expensive cookware, etcetera? Thanks in advance !! ( we like pretty typical dishes, general tso's chicken, hot braised chicken, beef and broccoli..

.. we love chinese cooks way of making chicken crispier than soggier..

Answer 1

I think the braised dishes are pretty straight forward since it's low and slow cooking.

Stir-frys are a little more difficult to get the "authentic" wok cooked flavor. The woks used in Chinese restaurants are atop high BTU burners that most home kitchen ranges can't achieve.

I would suggest buying a wok (not an electric wok, but one that works on your stove top) and use hot temperatures to cook to get the smokiness of a restaurant dish. Also, cook in smaller batches so the wok can maintains its heat.

With practice you can get decent results close to a restaurant.

Edit...
In terms of deep frying, the batter is usually just made with egg and corn starch or tapioca starch instead of a flour based batter. I think the pure starch lends to a crispier coating than a flour batter.

Answer 2

Chinese food can be easy and complicated, just like all ethnic cuisines. the simple dishes take less then 5 minutes to make while some banquet dishes can take days to prepare and hours to cook. no need for special equipment really. in the US, most house hold burners around 15,000 BTU, it can make decent pan fry dish, but never can taste like a restaurant food (30,000 BTU and up), you can also steam, stew. there is a vess variety of Chinese food; different styles and Provence's each gives unique taste and texture. in the US, Chinese food is very general, all the restaurants serve just about the same menu. Stir fry is the easiest Chinese cooking, besides everybody mentioned high heat, the ingredient cut thin or small pieces will help cook evenly, particularly with the home stove. don't overload your wok or fry pan, cook in batches if needed.

Answer 3

Asian cooking in its self is very easy. the key is to make sure that all the ingredients are ready for the wok and that they will cook quickly. hard root veggies like carrots should be par boiled. other than that its pretty much toss it in the wok let to cook, sauce it and serve.

Answer 4

They have great recipes on the net! Just google or yahoo seach Chinese recipes and that should do you or if not let me know I have a few that are great! Moo goo gai pan- won-tons etc....

Answer 5

not that hard..the ingredients are simple..go to the asian store ..sometimes walmart now are selling asian ingredients..follow the directions if u have one..most of the recipes requires stir frying.