Food, glorious food. Part 13

At the same Hutong Cuisine class where we learned how to make Kung Pao chicken we also learned a few other tasty dishes that I wanted to share.

Most of the Chinese food we eat in the U.S. is Canton-style, from the south of China. The two dishes I will mention here are two that, if you try them, might be reminiscent of a lot of the flavors you might find in such restaurants. The first is a stir-fried chicken dish with vegetables. The chicken is marinated in the same marinade I mentioned for Kung Pao chicken, a simple combination of soy sauce, vinegar and cornstarch (to keep the meat moist and tender), but the sauce is slightly different. In this sauce, unlike with Kung Pao chicken, there is no wine or vinegar, so the final dish does not have the same sweet and sour flavor of Kung Pao. See detailed recipe below (click for a larger image)!

The second recipe we tried was a stir-fried vegetable with white sauce. I’ve always wondered how to make the simple, thick white sauce prevalent on many vegetable and chicken dishes in Chinese restaurants. Here the mystery is revealed! And it couldn’t be easier. For this recipe we used celery and a Chinese vegetable called lily bulb which is amazingly tasty. The sauce is a simple combination of salt, sugar, white pepper, sesame oil, cornstarch and water. Chop vegetables, mix sauce, stir fry garlic with veggies, mix in sauce, and voila! Tasty authentic Chinese cuisine. Full recipe below, along with lots more photos from our class for you to enjoy.