Soya Sauce:

Soya sauce plays an important part in Chinese cooking as it imparts a flavour and taste totally different from salt.

In order to get the best flavour and taste it is always advisable to use the best quality.

Shao Hsing Wine:

When using wine in cooking it is best to use Shaohsing Wine. If not obtainable, sherry can take its place. It is never advisable to use wine which has turned sour. To preserve its flavour, keep in a cool place.

Winter Mushrooms:

How to soak dried mushrooms (Tung Ku

Wash the necessary amount of mushrooms thoroughly two or three times, and soak them in boiling water for 15 minutes. Then pick off the stems, and they are ready for use.

M UfHROOM

How to Boil Mushrooms:

Take of soaked mushrooms, and cook them in a deep saucepan with 3 cups of cold water, 3 tsp. of soya sauce, 1 tsp. of salt, 2 tsp. of sugar, andlb. of pork, for 10 minutes over a fast fire, and allow to simmer for 50 minutes. The mushrooms and sauce are then ready for use in such recipes as they are required for.

Three kinds of Mushrooms:—

1. Straw mushrooms Ts'ao Ku  grow from dried straws of glutinous rice. They are black in colour, and are usually cut in two halves and dried.
   
   
2. Winter mushrooms grow from wood. The thin kind is called Tung Kuand the thick Hua Ku. They are dark brown in colour when dried. Fresh mush­ rooms of this kind are very seldom seen in the market.

Button mushrooms can be obtained fresh or dried. They are called K'ou Mo, and are excellent for soup making.

Red Haws {Shan Cha Ping) '-

Used for Sweet and Sour Pork, etc., accord­ing to the recipes, are crab-apples, with the cores taken out, crushed into thin round cakes after addition of sugar, and dried. These can be procured and, being in the dry form, easily stored.

Bamboo Shoots:

Tinned bamboo shoots can be used for cook­ing as they are, but fresh ones must be first boiled in water for about 10 to 15 minutes be­fore use. The water should be discarded.

For those resident in America or in England who are desirous of securing ingredients for Chinese cooking, the numerous Chinese restau­rants now existing in those countries should be able to supply them on request. If not obtain­able, the following substitutes may be used:

Sweet and sour pickles may be substituted by foreign pickles.

Sesamum oil my be substituted by "Wesson oil".

Red haws may be substituted by crab-apple jelly.

Star-aniseed and red pepper may be substi­tuted by bay leaves.

The measurements, such as cups, teaspoons, etc., mentioned in the following recipes, are exactly the same as those used in foreign countries.

Ginger:

For the following recipes, when ginger is used in tiny slices, it is measured by the tip of a finger; when used in big slices, by the tip of the thumb.

Chinese Onion:

The word stalk used in the recipes refers to about two inches only, and not the full length. When minced or finely chopped, it means a length of aboutinch.

Are You Ready To Move Onto The Next Lesson? Click Here...