Chinese Cooking 101 – Prepare a “Proper” Chinese Dinner

Hi everyone, welcome to Souped Up Recipes.
I'm Mandy.  Today I'm going to show you how to make 
a three-course Chinese dinner meal, which   includes a chicken pepper stir-fry, a meatball 
soup, and a bean sprout side dish. Just to give   you an idea of what Chinese people eat for dinner 
on a regular day. I'll talk about the culture and   explain why this is the way. Once you understand 
that, you can apply this style to other recipes.   Also, there are lots of time-saving tips in this 
video, so you can manage a multi-dish dinner as   quickly as possible. A basic Chinese dinner meal 
usually comes with a meat main dish, a soup, and a   vegetable side dish. Of course, the standard can 
change depending on the servings. If it's a big   event such as a wedding there usually will be 12 
to 18 dishes on each table, but if you're cooking   for yourself, you can minimize it to one recipe. 
Let's get started by prepping our chicken breast.   Sometimes, when you get home from work.

You'll 
find that you forgot to defrost your meat. What   you can do to this rock-hard frozen chicken breast 
is to pop it in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds   on each side, depending on the size of your 
meat. Give it a flip and do the other side. I'm just using the regular setting on my 
microwave, nothing special. This will not   cook the chicken breast. It will still be 
frozen, but it is not rock-hard anymore.   You should be able to slice it into slabs. 
It feels like cutting potatoes, so easy,   but you do need to hold the chicken tightly 
because semi-frozen meat is quite slippery.   The chicken slices are stiff at this moment but 
don't worry. All you need to do is to spread them   out on a plate, and they will turn soft within 
10 minutes. While waiting, we can cook the rice.   Rinse 2 cups of rice under running water. 
Just a couple of times to get rid of the dust.   No need to rub the grains until the water becomes 
clear. Add two cups plus a third cup of water.   You can measure it if you want to 
be accurate.

I always eyeball it.   At this point, you can transfer everything into 
a rice cooker which is much easier, but I don't   have one. So I will cook it over the stove. Turn 
the heat to high and bring this to a boil. Don't   go away because it only takes a few minutes if you 
are using a gas stove. Switch the heat to low and   continue to cook for 15 minutes. It is best to set 
a timer to make sure you turn off the heat on time   so you don't burn the rice accidentally. 
Alright, let's wash all our vegetables. These are pea leaves, great for making soups. 
Just rinse them with running water to get rid   of any sand or dust.

If you don't have it. You 
can use spinach or other green leafy vegetables.   Rinse the bean sprout as well, and be gentle 
because they are very delicate. By the way,   you don't need to remove the bean sprout 
root as they are edible. Drain it completely, Wash the scallions, chilies, and ginger. By now, the chicken slices 
should be nice and soft.   They're not stiff anymore. Transfer them into 
a mixing bowl so you can add the seasonings.  1/3 tsp of salt,
1/2 tbsp of cornstarch,  and 1 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine.
Mix well and set it aside. Next, we're going to make a stir-fry sauce.
You will need 1.5 tbsp of soy sauce,  1.5 tbsp of oyster sauce,
2 tsp of dark soy sauce,  2 tsp of Chinese black vinegar,  1/2 tsp of white pepper,
1 tsp of sugar,  2 tsp of cornstarch,
1/2 cup of stock or water.  Any stock will work depending on what you 
have on hand. I should mention that the   sauce is going to be a little bit salty. So it 
goes perfectly with white rice. If you're not   going to serve it with white rice.

You will have 
to cut down the soy sauce amount a little bit.  Set it aside.
Let's season the ground pork.  1.5 tbsp of soy sauce,
1 tbsp of oyster sauce,  1 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine,
1 tsp of 5 spice powder,  1 tbsp of cornstarch,
1 tsp of garlic powder. Mix until all the flavor is well combined. Add 1/4 cup of chicken stock in batches.  You can also use water. Stir this in one 
direction until all the liquid is well absorbed. Set it aside.  Next, we'll prepare the aromatics and vegetables.
Garlic and ginger are used in all three dishes.   So, it is smart to prepare them 
all at once. Finally, dice them. Equally, divide them into three recipes. For the bean sprout, I like to cut open a few red 
dried chilies, which give it a nice smoky flavor. Two scallions, finely dice the white part. Put it into the ground pork. 
Thinly julienne the green part. Reserve it for the bean sprout salad.   Get a pair of tongs to mix the ginger and the 
garlic into the marinated chicken.

Once these   aromatic bits attach to the chicken. They 
won't get burned easily while stir-frying. Mix the garlic, ginger, and the white part of 
the scallions into the ground pork as well.   For the green chili and the red chili, you just 
simply slice them. They are a little bit spicy.   If you don't eat spicy food. You can use bell 
pepper instead. Alright, we have everything. Let's   start cooking. To save time, I'm going to turn the 
heat to medium and heat up a pot of chicken stock.   Other stock will also work, such as 
beef, vegetable, or even just water.

Meanwhile, we will make the chicken stir 
fry. Turn the heat to high and heat your   wok until smoking hot. Add some cooking 
oil and swirl it around to coat the bottom.  Add the marinated chicken, Spread it out. Let it sear on one side. Then stir for a couple of minutes 
or until it changes color. Push the chicken to the side and add the chilies. I like to use the chicken to cover the 
chilies for a minute. So they cook faster. Continue to stir until it reaches your desired 
doneness.

I like my chilies to be a little bit   crunchy. So I think that looks good. I only 
stirred it for like a couple of minutes.   Pour in the sauce and let everything 
mingle together a little bit.   Most Chinese recipes are easy. Once 
you've prepared all the ingredients.   You can cook everything within 10 minutes. 
Take it out and your first dish is done. By now, the chicken broth should be 
hot, but not boiling that is perfect.   Switch the heat to low we'll 
start forming the meatballs.   Grab a handful of the meat and squeeze to form it 
into a meatball. Dip your spoon in cold water to   prevent sticking. Scoop the meatball and carefully 
drop it into the water. By the way, do not add the   meatballs to boiling water. Otherwise, the 
bubbling activity will break down the shape. Once you are done, skim off the scum.   Keep the heat at medium-low, and simmer the 
meatballs for 5 minutes.

Do not boil them or   else the texture becomes tough. During this 
time, we can make the bean sprout side dish.  Turn the heat to high and heat the wok until 
smoking hot. Add a drizzle of cooking oil.   Swirl it around, and toss in the minced 
garlic, ginger, and red dried chilies,   along with the well-drained bean sprout.
Stir this for a couple of minutes.   Make sure you keep the heat on high. So your bean 
sprouts will stay nice and crunchy after cooking. Once they are a bit welted, add 
the green part of the scallion,   salt, Sichuan peppercorn powder, and a couple 
tbsp of Lao Gan Ma for a fermented touch.   Add a drizzle of Chinese black vinegar, and 
keep stirring until everything is well combined. Take it out. Let's get back to the soup. Just toss in the 
pea leaves. It only needs 20 seconds to blanch. Add some salt and white pepper to 
taste, drizzle in some sesame oil,   and the soup is done.

So, this is 
what locals will eat for dinner, 一荤(yihun),一素(yisu),一汤(yitang), which means a meat, a vegetable, and soup. 
Not super fancy, but definitely standard for   a four-member family. Just like salt and pepper 
are essential at the western dinner table,   we put chili sauce and crunchy pickles to 
balance the meal. Let's check the rice,   in China, no dinner can be completed without 
white rice. It is not difficult to make   at all just follow my instructions and 
remember to turn off the heat on time.   You will get some really fluffy rice; the 
bottom would not burn at all, so perfect. The chicken stir fry is our meat main dish for 
today. I know it comes with some chilies China was   very behind for quite a long time. Not every 
family could afford to meat back to them,   so we would cook it with a lot of 
vegetables to balance the cost.   That settled the style of Chinese cuisine. 
Even though now we can afford what we want,   we still keep the habit which is 
why when you order Chinese takeout,   it always comes with lots of greens. 
Chinese soup is usually thin inconsistently,   and the flavor is subtle and very different 
compared to the western savory kinds of soup.   In my family, we like to drink a little bit 
of soup before and after dinner.

We believe   the soup will fill up some space in your 
belly so you don't stuff yourself 100%.   The soup is also comfortable, which will smooth 
out your stomach and help with digestion. The bean sprout salad is not really necessary 
today because the chicken and the soup contain   some vegetables already. Of course, 
if your main dish is all meat, such as   roasted chicken, and barbecue pork, then a 
vegetable side dish will be necessary. For those   of you who are looking for dessert, there is none. 
We consider chocolate, ice cream, and brownies   as snacks, you only eat them once in a while and 
it is not going to be after dinner.

Our dietary   structure already decided that we don't have 
an extra appetite after a big meal like this.   Fruit is the most common after-dinner treat 
because it is light, refreshing and very healthy.   FYI, the fortune cookie you get from the 
takeout restaurants does not exist in China. Alright.
I hope you give this a try soon. As always,   the printable recipe will be on my website
soupeduprecipes.com Thank you for watching.
This video is sponsored by  Souped Up Recipes Wok
This is the wok that I'm selling,   and I am proud to recommend it to you. As I 
have been using it on my channel for years.   It is lightweight and responds to 
heat changes quickly and evenly. It   can also sustain super high temperature 
without damage, perfect for wok cooking.   If you like Chinese food and you want to 
learn how to make it at home better than   takeout. You definitely need one of these as it 
is the most basic cookware in Chinese cuisine.  The link is in the description 
go check it out again.  Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next time.
Bye..

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