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Thread ID: 105184	2009-11-22 08:17:00	Chinese cooking question.	Colpol (444)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
832472	2009-11-22 19:39:00	We do that at home too. The wok burner itself is crap in the centre as the oil there gets too cold to fry properly. A swish on the outer portion and it brings it to smoking point. They probably filled a wok with oil and flash fried it. Although they also might just boil it too. Just out of curiosity, is it a proper Chinese takeaway or one of those noodles in a box type outlets? The Chinese takeaway shop down the road from me pre cook the meat in advance by frying it quickly in a wok with about 1/2" of oil.	somebody (208)
832473	2009-11-22 19:42:00	Bob. Proper Chinese restaurant. Best one in the area. PC You are right. Long and slow doesn't work. The cuts of meat I use are chicken breast, Thin sliced rump or sirloin and pork pieces.	Colpol (444)
832474	2009-11-22 20:14:00	Bob. Proper Chinese restaurant. Best one in the area. PC You are right. Long and slow doesn't work. The cuts of meat I use are chicken breast, Thin sliced rump or sirloin and pork pieces. How are you cutting the meat? It should be sliced against the grain so that the protein fibres are short.	somebody (208)
832475	2009-11-22 21:32:00	Hi all. For years I have been trying to cook Chinese meals but no matter what I try I cannot get the meat as tender as the Chinese restaurants/Take Aways do. Pork, chicken and beef all come out tough and dry.( have tried marinades, Fast cook, Slow cook and preboiling) The professionally cooked meat is soft and tender even when reheated next day. I have observed that it is precooked and only needs reheating in the wok. What is their secret? Also what are the additives they put in. I see then adding several ingredients from nearby bowls etc. seems about 4 or five separate dry ingredients. Salt+ MSG+???? Most Chinese restaurants use lots of meat tenderizer (don't ask me what tenderizer they use, I really don't know) to soften the meats especially beef and pork. There's no good quality meats available in NZ nowadays. Premium quality meats are all exported. We can only eat all those meats from old cows and pigs.:D Beef & pork are as tough as rubber that's why Chinese restaurants have to use lots of meat tenderizers to soften the meat, so much so that beef usually don't taste like beef anymore. On the other hand, NZ chicken meat is just way too soft, it's the NZ chicken specy and the feed they used here. It's nothing like those chickens in Hongkong and Singapore - the texture and tastes are just different! Way back in the 80's beef and lamb in NZ were so beautiful, juicy and tasty but I have to say that NZ pork was horrible, it has a very strong ammonia smell when cooking and tastes horrible -almost un-edible. Pork is much, much better nowadays, only sometimes we still get those horrible smelly pork! Well, those were the days!	bk T (215)
832476	2009-11-22 21:56:00	Somebody. as you suggested I normally cut across grain. Bk T Thanks for the info. I agree the meat we get nowadays is basically stuff not good enough for export Where are all the Chinese cooks? Seems this magic ingredient is a secret.	Colpol (444)
832477	2009-11-23 00:29:00	Most Chinese restaurants use lots of meat tenderizer (don't ask me what tenderizer they use, I really don't know) to soften the meats especially beef and pork. There's no good quality meats available in NZ nowadays. Premium quality meats are all exported. We can only eat all those meats from old cows and pigs.:D Beef & pork are as tough as rubber that's why Chinese restaurants have to use lots of meat tenderizers to soften the meat, so much so that beef usually don't taste like beef anymore. On the other hand, NZ chicken meat is just way too soft, it's the NZ chicken specy and the feed they used here. It's nothing like those chickens in Hongkong and Singapore - the texture and tastes are just different! Way back in the 80's beef and lamb in NZ were so beautiful, juicy and tasty but I have to say that NZ pork was horrible, it has a very strong ammonia smell when cooking and tastes horrible -almost un-edible. Pork is much, much better nowadays, only sometimes we still get those horrible smelly pork! Well, those were the days! I recall doing a little work in the 60's for a Chch meatworks that had two grades of meat - Export and Reject. The Reject meat all went to the domestic market. Unless it had been run over by a million snails, chewed by hedgehogs and left in the sun for a month; then it went to the cafeteria (or so I was assured).	R2x1 (4628)
832478	2009-11-23 01:01:00	... Where are all the Chinese cooks? Seems this magic ingredient is a secret. I wouldn't recommend to use tenderizers, you're actually adding chemicals to the meat! Of course, there are some natural meat tenderizers but I dount any restaurants using them. Do you folks notice that most (if not all) Chinese restuarants are having similar menus (similar names) and they taste quite the same, too. Food in NZ is 'BORING'.	bk T (215)
832479	2009-11-23 01:07:00	I wouldn't recommend to use tenderizers, you're actually adding chemicals to the meat! Of course, there are some natural meat tenderizers but I dount any restaurants using them. Green kiwifruit works well as a natural meat tenderiser, although it does make the meat a bit floury. Do you folks notice that most (if not all) Chinese restuarants are having similar menus (similar names) and they taste quite the same, too. Food in NZ is 'BORING'. If you haven't watched this, then I would highly recommend it: www.ted.com	somebody (208)
832480	2009-11-23 02:35:00	Hey you meat eaters are disgusting the vegos, settle down.	prefect (6291)
832481	2009-11-23 02:56:00	Bob's marinade sounds good. But I'd like to emphasise the point he made about the sesame oil... use very little. It can be really pungent and lousy to taste if too much is used. Just a few drops or half a teaspoon at most. As for tenderisers - try fruit juice. Pineapple, kiwifruit, plums and some other acidic fruits work well in a marinade. Fruit juice based tenderisers taste best on pork and chicken. However, keep in mind if you use sharp acidic fruit such as grapefruit or limes and lemons, while marinading it will partially "cook" the meat, so less time is needed to actually cook the food. So therefore I wouldn't recommend these for fish, (unless for something like sushi).	Greg (193)
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