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Here is a discussion that was sent to Cecil Adams on this topic.

Dear Cecil, I’ve heard it often said and experienced it myself on various continents (including Asia): you enjoy a terrific Chinese, or Thai, or Malay dinner, only to feel hungry again a short while later. Is this our imagination playing a trick on us appreciators of Chinese cuisine? Or is it a western counterpart to the fact that many Asians don’t tolerate milk? — Erwin Kuhn, Germany

Cecil replies:
We had a helluva time with this one, Erwin. The problem wasn’t just coming up with an answer. It was figuring out the question, which we’ve gotten in different forms over the years.

Possibilities:
1. Why, after eating Chinese food, do you soon feel hungry again?
2. Do you, in fact, after eating Chinese food, soon feel hungry again?
3. People used to say that after eating Chinese food one soon feels hungry again. Now they don’t. What changed?

All we were able to establish initially was that, long ago (at least), people did in fact say the Saying, as I’ll refer to it, and that this wasn’t some mass hallucination. My assistant Una found the following fragment from a dramatic piece published in the literary magazine Golden Book in 1934:

julie (in a flat tone): Yes, but the trouble with that Chinese food is, no matter how much you eat you feel hungry an hour later. Have you ever noticed that?

ham (the Orientalist): It’s the rice.
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American Institute for Cancer Research – Chao and Bao are stir-frying techniques that differ in the amount of heat used, the speed of cooking and how much the ingredients are tossed. The goal of both techniques is to brown the food quickly while preserving the nutritional value, color, texture and flavor of the individual ingredients. Chao is the more common technique for home cooking since Bao requires making the pan red-hot.

Canola oil is high in beneficial monounsaturated fatty acids, and with its light taste and high smoke point, it is ideal for stir-frying in a healthy way.

Soy sauce has been used for over 2000 years in Chinese cooking. Dark soy sauces are usually thicker and employ a single fermentation process, aging over a longer period than the lighter varieties. The flavor will come through, however, with any reduced-sodium soy sauce.
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Fisher and Paykel Appliances designers got a taste of their own cooking yesterday when they took part in “Stir Fryday” to celebrate the opening of the new design center kitchen. Manager Michelle Read said the day was designed to be a bit of fun but with a serious side.

There were about 100 product designers in the new Wall Street Mall site, in central Dunedin. As cooking products were designed, they would be tested by the designers themselves. “They get to make sure they know how to use their products.”

Yesterday, teams of designers formed themselves into teams to cook Chinese food in recognition that Chinese company Haier was a significant shareholder in the company, she said. Having the designers learn more about the different cooking styles on the appliances they designed, made them think more about their products.
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First of all, Ok I get it, orange beef is not “real” Chinese, it’s “american” chinese.

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For the longest time, the Indian curry has been Britain’s long-standing favorite ethnic cuisine. It has been knocked off the top spot by Chinese food. Can you believe that?

A Senior Market Analyst at Mintel said, “The current economic climate seems to be impacting on Brits seeking to recreate the restaurant experience at home. The initial establishment of popular favorites Chinese and Indian cuisine have led to a broadening of the market and increased popularity of different types of ethnic food.”

According to the new Mintel report on the ethnic food market, about eighty percent of people surveyed said that Chinese is their favorite, while Indian was a close second with 71% of the vote.
As a combined total, Indian and Chinese now account for a massive seventy percent of the ethnic food market. The popularity of Mexican food is increasing rapidly and the Mexican market has seen twenty percent growth over the last two years.
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There was a man who had stolen a bunch of shrimp from the fresh fish market in the Chicago area. The location of the stolen goods was close to Chinatown in Chicago. I wonder if anyone would steal Chinese ingredients or any other Chinese products. I’m sure that the felt really silly after the cops arrested him. Could you imagine going home and telling your family that you got catch stealing a huge bag of shrimp. Click on the link above to read more.

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My friend Howie asked me to share this with you. It’s rather interesting and short clip on what people think about authentic Chinese food. You may want to turn your volume down since it’s louder near the end of the clip. It’s a good video edit and mix of music.

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When you are dining out at Chinese restaurants, try to avoid going to those large buffet place since many of them have a lot of greasy foods. The best way eat healthy is really to eat a well balanced meal. It’s important to eat a good portion of vegetables over meat and rice. You may prefer to stay away from eating several of those egg rolls and other deep fried dishes. These egg rolls and other fried foods initially stem from the roots of American Chinese type of restaurants. Here are some ideas that you should consider when dining out:
1. Finding a great restaurant. Go talk to your friends and family and ask them which restaurants that have experienced. Look in your local papers and internet site to find a recommend restaurant. You may need to stray away from your local town to find a good one.
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After using your wok, it’s important to clean it properly and store it correctly to prevent rusting. The following are the proper steps to help store the wok properly.

1. After use, rinse the wok with plain warm water. Dip it into some mild dishwashing soap to clean embedded food particles.
2. If any more food is sticking to the surface, use a soft sponge to gently brush the food particles away.
3. Towel dry the wok. Or, even better, place the wok over a burner set on high heat. One of the purposes here is to burn the grease from the last cooking sessions into the surface.
4. After the wok is smoking and the surface does not look shiny and oily, store the wok in a warm, dry place.

Both seasoning and storing your wok are important in keeping your wok in excellent shape. If you happen to get a little rust on it, don’t worry about it too much. Try to lightly brush it away, but, otherwise, just re-season the wok and continue using it. Other than that, use your wok often to develop a tasty seasoning on it to enhance your flavors.

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A wok can last a lifetime with the proper care. This includes occasionally seasoning it, as well as properly storing it. Luckily, both are very easy to do and can be done in just a few minutes. Follow this step-by-step guide that will teach you one of the steps of proper wok care – seasoning it.

It’s important that you do NOT follow these instructions for a wok with a non-stick coating. Following these instructions will damage the non-stick coating.

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The tenderness of juicy meat and crunchy vegetables always attracts person to kitchen cooking. One of the most popular ways of preparing these ingredients is stir frying. In order, to stir fry, it is vital that you own a Chinese wok as its ability to catch the splattering of oil and to cook quickly places it miles ahead of an American wok. In addition, it is very easy to clean. Just follow these steps to learn how to become a stir frying master:

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Chinese cooking is based on a few simple principles that have been staples of Chinese society for thousands of centuries. These range from the flavors used for preparation, the heating and cooking techniques, and even to specific equipment that must be used. These elements combine to make Chinese cooking an exquisite, unique experience – one that must be tried firsthand to be truly appreciated.

6 Basic Tastes
The most basic aspect of Chinese cooking lies in its seemingly simple list of “basic flavors.” These flavors range the spectrum of six easily identifiable tastes; specifically, there is a sweet, sour, bitter, hot, salty, and fragrant taste.

The sweet taste is basically what it sounds like – any ingredient that is added to a dish in order to sweeten it is considered to have a sweet taste. The most common sweetingredients would include white sugar or any other sugars (brown slab sugar, rock sugar, malt sugar), sweet soy sauce, molasses, hoisin sauce, and honey.

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Basic Tools
In addition to the tastes and cooking methods, Chinese cooking is unique in its use of certain equipment. This equipment is crucial in preparing an authentic Chinese meal, and, in many cases, can significantly improve the taste of the food. In most cases, many of the best equipment can be purchased at a relatively low price. The most common equipment set for Chinese cooking would include a wok, cleaver, strainer, cooking chopsticks, spatula, ladle, and a steamer.

The wok is, without a doubt, the most important piece of equipment needed in order to make a Chinese meal. A wok looks like a large metal bowl, usually with a glass or aluminum cover, that can be put on a stove and heated. It will usually have two handles at the side that are either iron, carbon steel, or wooden. Its cylindrical shape is based on the principle of distributing heat evenly and saving oil (as the oil will seep into the bottom of the wok). Woks are mostly used for stir frying, but can also be used for other types of cooking including deep frying, steaming, and even for soup making. Woks were usually made from cast iron, but, with emerging technology, are now being made from carbon steel.
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Toast Sesame Seeds
Sesame seeds are often used as a garnish in Chinese cooking. In addition to enhancing the natural flavors of food, sesame seeds also add to the overall look of the food. Here is a quick guide to toasting your sesame seeds the right way:

1. Heat up a pan, on high heat. Make sure that you can easily pick up and stir the pan.
2. After the pan is very hot, place the seeds in the pan.
3. Constantly stir the seeds while heating. Be sure to get both seeds of each seed to darken lightly. This should only take about 30 – 45 seconds.
4. Immediately remove the seeds after cooking.
5. You will sometimes have to let your seeds cool before using them. Your seeds are now ready!

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Basic ingredients
The seasonings would be worthless, however, it there wasn’t anything you could put on them. Fortunately, there is a large amount of Chinese ingredients just waiting to be seasoned. These ingredients are usually broken down into two kinds: fresh and dried. Like the seasonings, there are a couple of ingredients that you will see over and over again, and, again, you need to experiment with each one to find out which ones you like.

Fresh Ingredients
Fresh ingredients are produce that need to be refrigerated or used right away so that they don’t spoil. Fresh ingredients are usually complements to some other kind of fresh meat. The most common fresh ingredients most people know about are simple vegetables (lettuce, cabbage, zucchini, etc.).

One of the most used fresh ingredient is bok choy. Bok choy is considered to be the Chinese variant of cabbage; in fact, its leaves look similar to a cabbages’ except bok choy has a crisp white stalk attached. Usually, both stalk and leaves are eaten either raw or cooked in some kind of stew.

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Trying to decide which sort of cutting board you should purchase for you kitchen? Here are some of the benefits and negatives associated with plastic cutting boards, wooden cutting boards, and tempered glass boards:

Plastic Cutting Boards
One of the benefits of plastic cutting boards is their nonporous surface. In other words, you do not have to worry about the juice from your meats and vegetables creeping into your cutting board and staying there.
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So you wanna learn how to cook an authentic Chinese meal? Or, perhaps you already know how to, but are looking to refresh your skills. Either way, it’s important to know the basics, and knowing the basic seasonings and ingredients that go into Chinese cooking is essential for beginners to know and masters to not forget. Look no further as Wok Fusion presents this list of the essential ingredients you need to make an authentic Chinese meal:

Basic Seasonings
Seasoning is basically the process of adding flavors, or, otherwise, enhancing the natural flavor of food. You probably already know all the common American seasonings: salt, pepper, herbs, and spices. Interestingly enough, many of these are also used in Chinese cooking.
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The proper cutting technique is one the most important things you will need to learn in order to cook like a professional. Different recipes use different cutting techniques, so it’s important that you know when and how to use each one. Improper cutting can lead to food with an unexpected taste in it, or, worse, a meal that simply tastes terrible. Thus, Wok Fusion presents a guide for those of you who don’t know the difference between slicing and dicing.

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