These days, with various ways of cooking Chinese food available, foodies have discerned a new stage of cooking in the field of culinary arts. These new procedures provide cooks and chefs with the perfect combination of nuances, flavors, essence and texture of food from China’s culinary culture. Generally, there are no changes in the essential ingredients, but the cooking technique makes a difference in the preparation of the dishes. Each food dish can be cooked in a completely different way by implementing varied cooking methods.
Some of the essential steps of Chinese culinary procedures can be highlighted such as frying, stewing, boiling, braising, simmering, sautéing, steaming and smoking. Frying plays a prominent role in Chinese culinary procedures and is believed to be one of the most important activities in recipe preparation.
Frying can be subclassified as quick frying, deep frying, and slippery frying. In addition, this process involves taking into account many factors, which depend on the type of ingredients used. For example, to preserve the flavor and juiciness of the meat, it is preferred to fry; whereas, as far as vegetables are concerned, frying them makes them nice and crispy. In the realm of fast food, the speed of Chinese culinary procedures plays a predominant role in Chinese cooking, where food ingredients are rapidly stirred before frying.
Frying or sautéing is another common feature of Chinese culinary procedure. Sautéing consumes much less oil compared to frying and needs moderate temperatures compared to frying. This ensures that the food is soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.
Sauce making is often successful in stir frying. Additionally, boiling, simmering, stewing, and braising are other Chinese culinary techniques used for food preparation. When parboiling, the cleaned, cut ingredients are placed in a large container to float. The ingredients are then subjected to high temperatures. Boiling for a long period of time not only kills the flavor but also the nutritional quality of the food to some extent. To avoid this, most food preparation is usually done over low heat to ensure nutritional value is preserved.
The cold blending and smoking measures of Chinese culinary procedures involve cooking the food in advance, while grilling involves seasoning the marinated raw ingredients before grilling them over an open flame.
In Cold Mixing, blanched or parboiled ingredients are mixed into salads and then chilled before serving. Lastly, the poaching process involves cooking the ingredients in a liquid, one degree below the boiling point. The poaching technique is the most suitable for preparing fish dishes, in which cooking is continued until the fish becomes soft and tender. In conclusion, these Chinese culinary procedures are some select ways to enhance the flavor of Chinese cuisine and make it attractive to food lovers.