Quick chinese cooking?

[mercator]

My wife is looking forward to coming to the US and learning from me how to cook western meals. Why? "Because China cooking long long. You get hungry waiting so long to eat."

 

Not really, but I get the true meaning of that. She doesnt want to spend hours cooking. I don't either, so I can relate. So does anyone have meals that are quick to make that are from any of the big cuisines in China?

 

The other option I will suggest is we work on them together, then the time is irrelevant, and make big batches to freeze.

 

But any quick meal ideas would be good. If you want to post recipes that is great, or just names of dishes would be good too, especially if they are Cantonese since she would likely know what it is anyway (she is a self-proclaimed gourmand of Cantonese cooking. My next trip she is going to introduce me to the finer points of it Last trip was a bit of a rush filling out forms and visiting relatives).

[nousername]

i have a couple suggestions:

 

first, some chinese cooking is quite simple too. some of my favorites dishes from my wife are the simple ones. she stir fries corn and peppers. she also makes this egg and tomato dish that is great. or just a simple stir fry of lettuce is good too. they all are very simple but great.

 

second, i got this gag-type gift from my uncle before. it's a cook book for guys... simple dishes. it's called "A Man, a Can, and a Plan". some of the food isn't too bad.

 

anyway, if you want details about any of the dishes just PM me and i can get more details about the dishes from edith. also, she highly recommends getting a few good cook books from china and bringing them to the US.

[Darlene2005]

Noodles must be the fast cooking, haha!

 

Just kidding!

[pkfops]

You have to change your view of meal planning.

 

In the west, a meal is built around a big piece of meat.

 

For Asian meals you can build around a bowl of rice or noodles.

 

A sharp knife and a hot wok should get you going.

[mercator]

I think my meal is built around the microwave at this point.

 

I actually can cook fairly well (shhh... don't tell my wife), but as I am most often alone, I don't cook anything formal. I make oatmeal in the morning with yogurt and a fruit; lunch is salad and a hot dog (everything free hippie dogs I call them - since they are uncured and made of turkey (ostensibly. it is still a hotdog and therefore acknowledged as mystery meat) - they are low fat/cholesterol and taste ok, so no guilt hehe), and dinner is usually a nuke (microwaveable meal) and a few tomatoes and some green olives stuffed with jalapenos. Yes it is pretty monotonous, but its left over habit from this diet I was on (nutrisystem - prior to visit 1 to GZ), and its nice not thinking about it... at time a go make b, etc.

 

Speed in preparing seems to be the preference for us both... I think we'll just have to play it by ear and go from there, since its a long way off anyway. *sigh*

 

Not sure I want to know what the 'brown liquid' is, but I wonder if it is some sort of vinegar? You can drop just about anything in a 'good' vinegar and it is going to keep for ages, so long as it is submerged. I think because no germ can survive in a vinegar or briny vinegar... I'm not a huge egg fan anyway, unless it is scrambled and covered with saracha sauce or tabasco.

[pkfops]

OK Here's an ABC recipe.

 

Grill a boneless steak(or meat of choice) with Korean BBQ sauce and

slice thin; serve on a platter.

 

Steam your favorite Chinese green vegetable and

serve with a light coating of oyster suace.

(hint: put your oyster sauce in a squeeze bottle for quick access)

 

Add a bowl of steamed rice and you have a Chinese home cooked

meal in about 20 minutes.

 

Don't forget the Tsing Tao.

[rosyanne]

One of the reasons why it take so much time to cook Chinese food is coz we cook more than enough dishes! As soon as she learn the fact that no one here need more than 1 dish per meal...she will be releived.

[mercator]

I personally like the idea of fixing one dish and sharing off of it. I got acquainted with that at the family home in GD, and social. My kids think that it is disgusting, not to mention I would need a supply of plastic table cloths (LOL), but for her and I it would work.

 

I talked to her yesterday about the dishes mentioned by 'nousername' and she is familiar with them. I've a steamer somewhere that I cooked rice in once upon a time (the microwave does it now, as I usually use MinuteRice brown rice), so I could use that for vegetables... I think if it takes a while to cook unattended then it should be ok...

 

I look forward to showing her some western dishes, especially the fast ones. Most of the chef-like stuff I know how to make is all eastern, whether Japanese, Chinese, Thai or Indian, but I can whip up a goodly number of things.

 

pkfops, your recipe sounds pretty good too. Nice and quick.

 

Here's a fairly quick Thai one for you all:

 

1 can coconut milk

1 tbsp (or to taste) red curry paste ('taste of thai' makes it in a packet like a gravy packet)

8-12 oz chicken breast boneless, cubed

1 can chunk pineapple, drained

1/8-1/4 cup cashews (optional, to taste)

 

In a skillet heat on medium the coconut milk and fold in the curry paste. It will 'melt' over time until the mixture is a pink color. Add more to taste. 1tbsp would be considered 1-2 star at a Thai restaurant. Add a tbsp or so for each additional 'star' of spiciness you want. When the mixture is bubbling and reduced a bit (thicker), add the chicken. The chicken should cook through in 5-10 minutes depending on your cube size. I go about 3/4" or so and it takes maybe 5-7 minutes.

 

When the chicken is cooked through, add the pineapple and cashews, if desired. Cook another 2-3 minutes until the pineapple is warmed up.

 

Serve over rice. The rice will absorb some of the sauce :9 You could add another dimension by adding some lemongrass, which if you wanted it to look fancy that makes a nice garnish too I suppose.

 

This is a nice hot and spicy yet sweet dish. The flavors are varied but not too busy. I don't know its Thai name anymore and it is a variation on a restaurant meal I had 6-7 years ago anyway... All tolled I think it takes 20-30 minutes to make.

Edited December 30, 2005 by mercator (see edit history)

[mercator]

Which cuisine is it? Hunan? Sichuan maybe? I love that dish and its pretty easy to make. When I go to China in the Spring, I will have to see if I can order it and see how it is 'authentically.'

 

Thanks ChineseWife!

[corvette]

My wife is looking forward to coming to the US and learning from me how to cook western meals.  Why?  "Because China cooking long long.  You get hungry waiting so long to eat."

 

Not really, but I get the true meaning of that.  She doesnt want to spend hours cooking.  I don't either, so I can relate.  So does anyone have meals that are quick to make that are from any of the big cuisines in China? 

 

The other option I will suggest is we work on them together, then the time is irrelevant, and make big batches to freeze. 

 

But any quick meal ideas would be good.  If you want to post recipes that is great, or just names of dishes would be good too, especially if they are Cantonese since she would likely know what it is anyway (she is a self-proclaimed gourmand of Cantonese cooking.  My next trip she is going to introduce me to the finer points of it   Last trip was a bit of a rush filling out forms and visiting relatives).

177677[/snapback]

For winter it's pretty easy and quick actually. You can go for hotpot.

 

Chao-mien is pretty easy to make too, so far I've made twice here. But it's difficult to get the seasoning stuff in a small town like Mt Vernon where I'm now. Luckily I got Chinese soy sause in Wal-mart. So far my cooking has been smooth.

[BillV 8-16-2004]

My wife is looking forward to coming to the US and learning from me how to cook western meals.  Why?  "Because China cooking long long.  You get hungry waiting so long to eat."

 

Not really, but I get the true meaning of that.  She doesnt want to spend hours cooking.  I don't either, so I can relate.  So does anyone have meals that are quick to make that are from any of the big cuisines in China? 

 

The other option I will suggest is we work on them together, then the time is irrelevant, and make big batches to freeze. 

 

But any quick meal ideas would be good.  If you want to post recipes that is great, or just names of dishes would be good too, especially if they are Cantonese since she would likely know what it is anyway (she is a self-proclaimed gourmand of Cantonese cooking.  My next trip she is going to introduce me to the finer points of it   Last trip was a bit of a rush filling out forms and visiting relatives).

177677[/snapback]

I prepared supper for my wife last night. It was actually similar to Chinese cooking, I took a fresh whole bass and steamed until the eyes were white and kept on low. Prepared a Chinese eggplant in a wok adding a little peanut oil, water, ginger, garlic, oyster & soy sauce. After the eggpalnt was ready I took the bass and put on a plate, added some thinly sliced ginger & garlic, added some white pepper a little salt, sprinkled some long green onions chopped along with some parsley on top. In the wok I added peanut oil heated at a high heat and then poured over the top of the bass you could hear it crackle. My wife had the rice ready and supper was served.

[yuehan123]

We bought a pressure cooker at a nearby Goodwill store. It really speeds up some cooking times, however it will not handle rice well at all.

 

There is a cooking show on the Food Network called 30 minute meals. My wife cooks something new every few days from this show and her English improves with each episode. She used to run a small restaurant in Nanning, it's a rare meal that takes more than 20 minutes from first chop to 'lao gong qi fan le.'