Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
Yes, it tastes horrid
Used appropriately in a recipe, it has no taste of its own. I've never eaten it straight up so can't comment there.
Yes, it tastes horrid
Yes, it tastes horrid
To each, his own. Or whatever the expression is.Yes, it tastes horrid
MSG ?
Used appropriately in a recipe, it has no taste of its own. I've never eaten it straight up so can't comment there.
After having an experience watching Chinese chefs doing their thing up close and personal, one thing is that they use a lot more oil than you'd be led to believe. Lots more.
Horrible as it may sound to some, if you are tolerant of MSG (and you probably are if you feel fine after a restaurant meal), I agree it is one of the answers. I buy Maggi seasononing (yes, a form of MSG) when I'm going to stir fry beef or pork, and sprinkle it liberally with the seasoning after cutting, and let it sit in the fridge for an hour or so. Then I put in a little cornstarch, toss, heat the oil, and go to town. I only stir-fry for the two of us, and neither have reactions to MSG (and it isn't like we eat it every day).
The biggest trick to stir frying is, to me, mis en place. Make sure all of your ingredients are cut, soaked (dried Asian mushrooms) and ready to go before you turn on a burner.
For those complaining about lack of heat, please see this SeriousEats article: The Food Lab: The Wok Mon Converts Your Home Burner Into a Wok Range. For Real. | Serious Eats
And check out this video also posted by Kenji Lopez-Alt of SeriousEats: The Wokmon in action (beef stir fry) - YouTube
And on Instagram: Instagram
Exciting times for woking enthusiasts!
one more thing you could try is "velveting" your meat.
here is a link that explains it: How to Velvet Chicken for Stir-Frying
it really does make the meat (especially chicken) taste so much juicier.
when i velvet, i like to use: egg white, corn starch, sherry, soy sauce, salt
DAMN!!!! I want one!!!
But the crowd funding campaign says it's "sold out". Also, the goal is 200k?!?!?! I don't think that's going to happen... How sad. I really wanted one too. Anyone have any ideas about how to achieve that same effect?
Try sesame oil dribbled at the end of your dish. Or, in some cases, try using oyster sauce.
After having an experience watching Chinese chefs doing their thing up close and personal, one thing is that they use a lot more oil than you'd be led to believe. Lots more.
Horrible as it may sound to some, if you are tolerant of MSG (and you probably are if you feel fine after a restaurant meal), I agree it is one of the answers. I buy Maggi seasononing (yes, a form of MSG) when I'm going to stir fry beef or pork, and sprinkle it liberally with the seasoning after cutting, and let it sit in the fridge for an hour or so. Then I put in a little cornstarch, toss, heat the oil, and go to town. I only stir-fry for the two of us, and neither have reactions to MSG (and it isn't like we eat it every day).
The biggest trick to stir frying is, to me, mis en place. Make sure all of your ingredients are cut, soaked (dried Asian mushrooms) and ready to go before you turn on a burner.
It always makes me smile sardonically when I read a cookery article that airily states that a stir fry is a quick meal for 6 only taking 10 minutes. to cook. Probably but that's not counting the three and a half hours spent cutting and choppingprecisely. OK so 3 1/2 hours is an exaggeration but you get know what I mean.I agree, the main factor for me is prep, prep, prep. Oh, and prep. Everything needs to be prepped and ready to go when you start cooking.
I only use carbon steel woks.
I also use MSG, but you only need very small amounts, quarter of a teaspoon usually.
I never try and emulate restaurants, most Chinese cooking in the Western world is actually altered for western palates.
The one thing which is important for effective stir-frying is to use a wok stove with high output. Below is the excerpt from an article I wrote for beef stir-fry:
The Correct Way to Stir-fry- Step by Step
1. Heat up the oil on low heat. Flavor the oil with your choice of aromatic ingredients, such as ginger and spring onion.
2. Push the ginger and spring onion to the edge of the wok and set the heat to the hottest grade.
3. Once the oil is piping hot, add the meat, quickly stir and toss.
4. Use the wok shovel to arrange the beef in a single layer and let it sears for a while.
5. Turn the heat up, But its's already as hot as it will get! add the stir fry sauce and vegetables such as spring onion and ginger. Quickly stir-fry for twenty seconds.
6. Adjust the flame to medium heat. Add the cornstarch slurry to the food and stir-fry until the cornstarch is cooked and has thickened.
Cast iron wok is effective to generate wok-hei, the breath of wok which is the signature aroma in the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant. Begin with low heat and culminate with high heat at the end of the stir-frying process will give you the flavor you look for.
Hope this helps