F2F Class Notes 27th September (Eddie)
Why does your attempt at home-cooked Chinese always taste different from takeout? Let’s start with the fact that Chinese restaurants cook with commercial gas stoves that are far hotter (*) than home burners, about 10 times the thermal output. Chances are you’re also not adding MSG powder to your dishes, which—while it won’t cause headaches—means your Chinese food won’t have its idiosyncratic savoriness.
But there’s one other major element likely missing from your at-home Chinese cooking, and it’s one that would most closely replicate the food you enjoy from cardboard cartons. Ever notice how much of Chinese takeout is held together by a semi-viscous, glossy brown gravy? It’s found in broccoli beef, chow mein noodles, anything kung pao’d or General Tso’d. It is the essential secret: the all-purpose stir-fry sauce.
“This is the Chinese mother sauce,†says Martin Yan, America’s most-recognizable ambassador to Chinese food and host of public television’s Yan Can Cook.
attempt at
E.g.
His attempt at becoming rich and famous ended in failure.
thermal adj = relating to heat
E.g.
In winter, many people wear thermal clothes to keep warm.
Chances are = it’s likely that, probably
E.g.
I called my friend, but he didn’t answer his phone. Chances are he was sleeping.
sweet =/= savory
E.g.
I love all kinds of pastries and I can never decide whether to buy the sweet or savory ones.
to replicate v = to make the same thing, to copy, to mimic, to do the same thing again
replica n = copy, reproduction, imitation
Ever notice how […]?
Ever notice how it never snows in Shanghai?
[Did you] ever notice how it never snows in Shanghai?
gas
liquid
viscousÂ
solid
http://www.avclub.com/article/whats-brown-sauce-chinese-takeout-242142
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