Restaurants & Bars

Ching He Huang/Chinese Food Made Easy/Noodles
Singapore-style noodles
http://www.chinghehuang.com/
http://www.mogu.com.tw/
Ching makes a takeaway favourite using rice noodles – this is a fantastic brunch dish.
Ingredients
2 tbsp groundnut oil
1 tbsp grated fresh root ginger
1 red chilli, de-seeded, finely chopped
5 fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 tsp ground turmeric
100g/3½oz smoked bacon, finely chopped
1 red pepper, de-seeded and sliced
1 handful julienned carrot strips
1 handful beansprouts
100g/3½oz cooked chicken breast, shredded
250g/9oz dried vermicelli rice noodles, pre-soaked in hot water for 10 minutes and drained
1 tsp crushed dried chillies
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp clear rice vinegar or cider vinegar
1 free-range egg, beaten
dash toasted sesame oil
2 spring onions, sliced lengthways

Method
1. Heat a wok until smoking and add the groundnut oil, then stir fry the ginger, chilli, mushrooms and turmeric for a few seconds.
2. Add the bacon and cook for 15-20 seconds, then add the red pepper, carrots, beansprouts and cooked chicken. Stir-fry for one minute.
3. Add the noodles to the wok and toss for 1-2 minutes, then season with the chillies, soy sauce, oyster sauce and vinegar. Stir well to combine.
4. Pour the beaten egg into the wok and stir gently for one minute, or until the egg is cooked through. Season with a dash of sesame oil, then pile the stir-fry onto a serving plate and garnish with the sliced spring onions.

Duration : 0:6:30

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m in Kansas and have always wanted Chinese food to be delivered in the white takeout boxes, but they always just come in the styrofoam containers. Does anybody know a place that delivers in the boxes?

safeway has them just not delivery

I love to eat at my local Chinese restaurant, but I always have to get a takeout plate afterwards cause i’m starving about an hour later. Is there somthing in the food?

you are misinterperating thirst for hunger

shinese food actually makes you thirsty

due to the common meat tenderizer MSG as stated before

but it isnt hunger and you should drink water instead of eat more

also find a better Chinese Restaurant it may cost you lil more to eat but it will be a lot healthier for you and you wont feel thirsty afterwords

actually it might be cheaper cause you wont have to order more food an hour later

Sometimes I buy two Chinese take-aways, but only eat one. Next day when I try to reheat it in the microwave, usually the rice gets very dried out. Is there a good way to reheat this kind of food?

Firstly it is not good to reheat rice, as it is risky bacterially.

Secondly, although Microwave is the best way to reheat it you can only really use it if you are talking of boiled rice & not fried rice.

Howver, if you are determined to buy your food in this way then I suggest the following….

1] Ensure any boiled rice is bought in a separate container.
2] Only reheat in microwavbable plastic
3] On reheating stir up the rice THEN add a little extra water to the container
4] Close the lid to keep the moisture in

Serve and eat promptly as it will dry out quickly. Though you can offset that a little if you add some juices from say…. Beansprouts. Apart from adding to the flavours, these can up the moisture level so the overall taste remains palatable.

Additionally remember to drink more while eating food that is dryer than it normally is, as it is too easy to dehydrate and end up with constipation.

Obviously the fried fast foods are bad for you but I hear that the oils and fats in chinese food pack upwards of 900 calories and isn’t the rice and lo mein noodles loaded with carbs?
So which one is worse for you if you want to grab something fast and good for lunch?

My doctor says the three biggest food killers American’s eat are:
1. Fried Chicken
2. Potato Chips
3. French Fries

So I would say your best bet is to get some chinese food, but avoid any dish that contains breaded fried chicken.

My favorite Chinese foods are also some of the worst choices there are, health-wise (General Tso’s chicken, for instance). What are some good, healthy, low-calorie kinds of Chinese food to try instead?

well you can make your own versions at home instead of deep frying most meats just brown them with a little oil in a sautee pan, and choose mostly veggie and steamed dishes. Being chinese and cooking it at home I personally don’t use that much oil and mostly steam/par boil most veggies or just a quick stir fry.

I have some chinese food that sat out overnight. It was probabaly about 10 hours on the counter, and then i put it back in the fridge.

Is it safe to eat? (i really like my leftovers)

Just to make sure, i was going to heat it up really hot in the microwave…wont this kill bacteria if they were present?

The nose knows. Smell it. If you detect any unusual or bad odor at all, no matter how slight, then it’s no good. Unless you live in a place where it’s 100 degrees at night, then it’s probably fine if left out unrefrigerated overnight. I was a Peace Corps volunteer and lived (without a refrigerator) in West Africa for 2 years. You’d be amazed how well most food actually keeps without being refrigerated. I truly believe that the expiration dates we find on all our food packaging these days are there for no other reason than the producer’s legal liability worries.

I’m a lover of the american-chinese food, but I hate having to spend so much everytime I go out. I want to learn how to cook it at home and still get the same great taste!

Do what everybody else says and get a good cookbook and watch cooking shows that focus on Chinese food.
Also, read on what you can find on the internet.
http://chinesefood.about.com/od/diningout/fr/cookerysecrets.htm and http://www.chinesefooddiy.com/index.html
Frequently local community colleges will have ‘fun ed’ courses on cooking various cuisines, and they will usually be taught by people that are or learned from natives to the food.

I have a few other tips that helped me:

1. Locate an Asian market. Go there. You won’t be the only non-Asian, but it’s a fascinating experience. Browse the produce market and get familiar with some of the stuff you see like bok choy, saw grass, and lemon grass. Look in the section with spices and see what is available.
Meander down the aisles and see what is available. The bigger the market, the more interesting it will be.

When you read recipes, some of this stuff you’ve seen will come back to you.

2. Get the equipment you need. You can’t do wok frying in a cheap wok on an electric stove. It won’t get hot enough up the sides and if you try, the bottom will burn. If you turn it down, the food will be oily. You need a decent wok and a gas stove, or an electric wok. Also, it’s alot more convenient and you’ll get much better results with a decent home fryer. I suggest the waring pro 1800 watt 5 quart fryer. You can find them online and some places for 50 bucks and they are at least as good as some fryers going for 150 or so, like the euro-pro. Only fry with peanut oil at around 375 F (sesame oil is for seasoning and some sauteeing, but not deep frying, plus it would cost you a fortune).

3. Stock up on the really common ingredients and have them handy: sesame oil, fish sauce, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, 5 spice powder, yellow curry, fresh (or minced in a jar in a pinch) ginger and garlic, monosodium glutamate (easily available at the right places.), rice wine, oyster sauce, corn starch, white wine, cooking sherry, and several cans of chicken broth.

4. It’s critical to use the freshest ingredients possible. Don’t scrimp on food costs or you’ll be dissatisfied w/ the results. For example, you can’t make those good green beans out of canned beans. It just won’t work. They are too mushy. You can’t make decent General Tso’s chicken with chicken thighs and powdered ginger. (it’s got to be fresh ginger and white meat.) and done in a very good hot fryer.

5. If you don’t already know how, learn to cook rice well. I suggest never using minute rice. Use Texmati or Basmati rice for the best flavor. Follow the measurements exactly. After it boils and thickness to a slurry in the pot, turn the heat down to low, put a lid on it (a good lid that will seal if at all possible), and leave it for 30 minutes. Don’t touch it! Don’t lift the lid even one time. You’ll let out the heat and steam and end up with grainy rice. This is absolutely critical. That’s why so few people make really good rice. I never had any idea until someone taught me just how touchy rice can be.
If you have a home rice cooker, that’s perfect too.

6. Pick one of your favorites and focus on it. Don’t try half a dozen things and do each one once or you’ll get frustrated. Practicing one item until it is perfect will build your confidence, and you’ll learn things that will help with other recipes.

7. Try to meet Asians that like to cook. As a group they tend to value modesty, so they won’t just blurt out their cooking tips, but they will probably be glad to make suggestions if you bring it up and ask them flat out. I tend to start conversations with the restaurant managers that come around to check on me when I’m dining. I tell them I like to cook and ask them for suggestions. I had one offer me a job as a hibachi (it was a ‘pan-Asian’ type place) cook once. No experience needed, he just needed a warm body that liked to cook and he said he’d train me. I should have done it but I was already working an office job and on overtime. I still regret not trying to make it work. Oh well!

good luck
Kevin

I bought myself some chinese food on tuesday, and I’m kinda hungry, can I still eat it or should I toss it?

Rule of thumb…3days for left overs. If you got it on Monday..You got till Thurs. to eat it…On Friday..Chuck it out.

If you go to a chinese restaurant, for health reasons, what type of food do you get? Everything in chinese food restaurant seems so oily

I always ask if they have brown instead of white rice- if not, stick to steamed rice and avoid fried rice. Get veggie stir fry’s and see if they offer any steamed veggies and tofu. Get tofu or no meat just veggies. Ask for no MSG- a lot of times they don’t tell you it’s in there, but they don’t mind keeping it out. Drink the tea- lots of antioxidants. I love Buddah’s delight. Ask if they have low sodium soy sauce if you want that. Also, make it spicier if possible. It speeds up your metabolism, and could help you eat slower.