Observations in a Chinese Take-Away!

[Cory Ander]

Hi all,

Had a Chinese take-away last night.  This place has it's kitchen at the front of the shop and therefore in full view of the punters.

I found it interesting to notice the similarities between Chinese and BIR cooking regarding the "unique" smell and taste they achieve in their dishes.  These are some of the things I noticed and was told by their chef:

• They use very powerful gas burners on full blast.  The chef told me they are 100MJ/h burners ( I was impressed that he knew!).  The largest burners on household cookers are typically about 12MJ/h
• They use well seasoned cast iron (or steel) woks
• They use cheap vegetable oil.  He looked at me as if I am stupid (which I am  ) when I asked him if they used peanut oil or similar
• They use pre-cooked (i.e. pre-fried) meats
• The oil, from pre-frying the meats, is subsequently used to cook the dishes
• They use pre-fried fresh garlic (golden)
• They use lots of MSG - but not if customers ask them not to
• They uses lots of salt and sugar
• They use chicken stock powder (Knorr)

These observations probably won't be new to most of you but, for me, they serve as an interesting reminder of what actually goes on in these joints and what is fundamental to obtaining the "taste" and "smell"! 

Regards,

[mike travis]

I have noticed a lot of take away chefs are balding on top. Maybe this is due to the ignition of hot oil that you get from a jet engine burner underneath the wok  I tried this in my own kitchen and the only heat I got was from the Mrs when she had to clean the cooker!

It always amazes me how you can walk into a Chinese take away and there is some 80 odd meals on the board and all are available, anything from mixed grill to aromatic duck, and within 10-15Min's you are walking away with it. A lot of it must be precooked especially the curry sauce..

I had a wok that I seasoned by "burning" it till it went black and only wiped it clean with a piece of kitchen paper, but I still got food sticking to the bottom of it because I couldn't get it hot enough.

[Cory Ander]

Hi Mike,

I use a 3 ring gas burner (32MJ/h), or a wok burner on a barbecue (18MJ/h), compared
to a domestic gas stove of about 12MJ/h

Check out Jock's burner here: https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1104.msg9632#msg9632  ;D

You can see my burner in the photos here:  https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1714.msg15267#msg15267  Cost me 16 quid.

I have recently been scaring the kids and my wife (and myself too, to be honest, though I'd never admit it!  ;D) with flames licking the kitchen ceiling! 

I use fairly heavy cast iron wok.  Although it's not very well seasoned in the photos here (it is now), I have had no sticking whatsoever.  I love it and...now have two of them.

Regards,

[HOTRING]

I think there is a lot too be said about this cooking hot method, My mates girlfriend is Chinese & she worked in her dads take-a-way for years, she is always complaining about her useless cookers with small flames because she cant get food to taste right at such a low heat. Makes you think??

[parker21]

hi cory where did you get the burner from co i wanna get one. was toying with the idea of getting a simple camping stove just so i have some control with the heat. and my birthday is next month so maybe paying a visit to the local camping shop or argos. would also love to have a couple of lessons with a chef in their kitchen but i think the former is more likely .still i am getting super results with my lekky nob ;D
cheers
gary