6 Must Have Chinese Ingredients - Chinese Cooking 101

hi everyone welcome to soup top recipes a lot of you got questions about Chinese ingredients there are so much to talk about seasonings spices fermented product dry ingredients knew those flour and starch look what I got of henna honestly I got lost when I started to make this video some of these I brought it from China some of them I purchased it in United State I know it looks like a huge mess that is because I have been traveling a lot and I didn't really have a chance to organize them nicely this is how my suitcases look like today I'm going to focus on six sauces that you will definitely meet for most of my Chinese recipes I will cover what they are use cases brand recommendation substitution and storage tips all the other stuff we're gonna talk about in another day so let's get started first let's talk about soy sauce because it's so easy to walk out with the wrong soy sauce there are two general types dark and both are made from fermented soybean salt water sometimes roasted grain as well the most common question that I got is what's the difference between them the light soy sauce is thinner and much saltier the label usually sets shun Cho or Jung Yeo it is often used as seasoning or dipping sauce when the recipe asks for soy sauce it usually means light soy sauce regular like this one dark soy sauce is richer less salty and slightly sweet it's for color mostly is an optional ingredient the label usually would say home so it's off it's like an all-purpose seasoning in Chinese cuisine it brings a full mummy flavor which we call it shim way in Chinese it's very salty so in most Chinese recipes it is like in salt replacement you can use it in stir-fries noodles soup dumplings steamed buns stew anything you name it how to pick soy sauce first depends on the cuisine if you're making Chinese food you definitely want a Chinese brand if you want Thai food you want a Thai friend you know what I mean right the second is depends on your condition soy sauce does contain wheat in it so you can look for gluten-free soy sauce if you need it and if you need to control the sodium amount that you're taking every day then low sodium sauce is the way to go the idea behind a low-sodium sauce is that you use same amount of soy sauce and get the same amount of full mommy taste but less salty it's the most important way is to read the label there are three things that you want to check I have been saving this bottle for five months just to film this video let's see it has preserved tips on the list you definitely don't want that in your soy sauce the salt amount in this bottle is enough to keep the soy sauce stay good for a long time there's no point of any preservatives let's see this one this will be the most common types that you will find the in Asian market it usually contains flavor enhancer such as a bunch of stuff right there I can pronunciate it personally I think this is not an healthy option but it's acceptable if you don't like it I totally understand so check this out this is a naturally grow soy sauce as you can see all the ingredients that they put in natural no preservatives no flavor enhancer like this is a much healthier option for you but it's not easy to find it in most Asian markets lucky for you today I do fund this brand on Amazon and now put a link in the description so you can check it out so these three bottles here I would say this is the best one okay now we have picked a good soy sauce how do you store it normally I just leave it on the counter and the lid covered completely I have never seen a soy sauce go back so don't worry about it it will last you a year or two brand recommendation just to be clear that I'm not sponsored by any company that showed up on this video but if you do want my suggestions there are two brands that I would like to recommend first the pearl gold bridge of course and Kim Lundgren I don't have a bottle for Kim Wong Brenda but I have a picture I'll put the link in the description as well so we can check them out the second important sauce oyster sauce it is made by slowly simmering oysters in water until the water condenses down the flavor itself just so good it brings up any dish to another level if you just add a little bit use-cases course the sauce is often lee used in stir fries like pepper steak beef and broccoli fried rice stir-fry noodles mongolian beef i also like to put it in steamed buns egg rows of dumplings of wonton fillings it's a great flavor to add it to vegetables too it can be used as a dipping sauce or seasoning for meat marinating there are so many ways to use it I can keep going off for substitution in your marriage area or allergic to shellfish you can look for vegan oyster sauce it is also called mushroom flavored stir-fry sauce I don't have a store-bought bottle here but I do have a recipe for vegan oyster sauce I'll put a video link in the description so you can check it out how to pick moister salsa basically there are two different types that you can find on the market regular and premium the difference between them is the percentage of the oyster extractive just check the label if the oyster extractive is the first ingredient that's on the list that would be the premium one if the oyster extractive is the third or fourth ingredient on the list that would be the regular one the price difference this follow right here $10 this bowl for 50 also the premium oysters also will have like a stronger safety mummy taste how to store oyster salsa put it in the fridge with the lid covered completely it does get moles on it if you leave it at room temperature brand recommendation always the sauce you definitely want to stick with Lee Kum Kee brand if you're on a budget this regular oyster sauce will do a good job if you wanted to have a high hold your sauce this expensive bottle right here that's your choice I'll put both of the amazon link in the description so you can check them out rice wine is another must-have ingredient in Chinese cuisine the label usually will say me Joe Joe Joe father Joe shouting Joe what it does is to remove any unpleasant smell of the meza normally any brand of type or work for the recipe that asks for Chinese cooking wine we use it for blanching Mary nating the meat making meat stew here are some recipe examples we using sweet and sour pork beef and broccoli Peppa steak Chinese crispy pork belly Chinese hamburger there are so many recipes that need this cooking line however if you don't have it dry sherry and light beer a good substitution if you don't want to cook with wine you can use ginger juice or orange juice that will remove the bad smell of the meat as well so it kind of stuck do the same job that cooking wine knows how to pick a good Chinese cooking wine here is my tip just check the label one thing that you don't want to see on the ingredient list is alcohol sounds strained right let me explain the good rice wine is made with fermented glutinous rice where the sugar is transformed into alcohol by teeth so the original ingredients they use should not have included alcohol if they did add alcohol in it this bottle right here just some alcohol mixed with flavorings answer you want the good rice wine that is made with the natural fermented process brand recommendation I didn't find the exact brand on Amazon but there is another one that is produced by the natural fermented process so I'll put a link in the description storage tip just keep the lid covered completely room temperature it will last few years I have never seen rice wine go better unless you leave the lid open next salsa Chinese black vinegar it's in keep alike aged for years the label usually will say Chun tool sound tool not to the difference between then comes from the way how they are made but in general they can all be used for recipes that ask for Chinese black vinegar unless the recipe specifically requires the type use cases in northern China you can't eat them plain without black vinegar personally I think it really adds lots of flavors to the dipping sauce besides the dipping sauce I haven't used it in sweet and sour pork ribs eggplant stir fries hot and sour soup spicy one tongue noodles it's so good substitution sorry I don't know anything that can replace Chinese black vinegar because the flavor itself just so unique you could use regular white vinegar to replace the acid but you will get that specific Chinese taste how to pick a good quality black vinegar first of all you want one that from Shanxi or Chili's yeah and also check the ingredient personally I'll pick the ones that don't have food additives a good Chinese black vinegar is made with fermented sorghum and glutinous rice where the sugar is transformed into alcohol first then into acid and finally aged for years you don't need preservatives because vinegar does not go bad unless you leave the lid open you don't need color or a flavor enhancer because black vinegar itself should have the natural distinctive smell and unique foodie flavor and in key color storage tip just leave it on the counter with the lid covered completely no sunlight directly it will last you forever friend recommendation of course I will suggest you the ones that does not have food additives and this one is - yum yum - I'll put the Amazon link in the description so you can check it out next sauce search and open town it's a spicy salty paste that is made from fermented board beans and lots of spices the package usually will say PC and open or just employee go back down use cases some people call it the soul of certain cuisine that is how important it is I haven't used it in Mapo tofu twice cooked for homemade spicy hot puppies Taiwan beef noodle soup you can also add a little bit of this into stir fries it provides some spicy kick and unique distinctive taste if you like spicy food you should definitely have one of this in your kitchen substitution if you don't have it you can use a spicy chili sauce you will ruin the dish but it will taste different storage tip if you use it a lot put it on the counter it will last you to Martha if you don't use it a lot put it in the fridge it will last you six to eight months after it is open ever don't link I'll put the link in the description so you can check it out hoisin sauce this is another may stir fry sauce in Cantonese cuisine it is made with soy bean sugar sesame garlic chilies a bunch of spices the words hoisin means seafood in Chinese this is a seafood sauce but it doesn't contain any animal product hoisin sauce brings a bunch of flavors to your dish I have a Hugh sit in my oven baked chicken picking back cashew stir-fry noodles you can also use it as a dipping sauce like Chinese crispy belly you dip a little bit with this it just brightens up the food itself so good substitution unfortunately I don't know anything to substitute for this sauce if you know please I'll leave a comment below so we can all learn storage tip put this in the fridge because it could get mold if you don't use it often bread and a meal only for hoisin sauce I like to use a Lee Kum Kee brand I'll put the link in the description so you can check it out I would say these six sauces are must-have ingredients actually it's seven because the soy sauce is dark and light anyway if you pick them up with the regular items in your kitchen like salt sugar cornstarch you should be able to cook most of my Chinese recipes in my channel sometimes I do go deeper into Chinese cuisine so you might need more stuff in the future video I will talk about other stables in a different category like spices dry ingredients hopefully this video is helpful to you if you still got questions or where I missed anything feel free to leave a comment down below the video and now try to respond to you bye

Channel: Souped Up Recipes

Views: 820,695

Rating: 4.9498777 out of 5

Keywords: soy sauce, oyster sauce, white wine for cooking, hoisin sauce, dark soy sauce, cooking wine, doubanjiang, black vinegar, chinese cooking wine, rice cooking wine, the difference between dark and light soy sauce, chinese food ingredients, chinese seasonings, chinese ingredients, chinese pantry, How pick soy sauce, how to pick oyster sauce, how to pick chinese black vinegar, how to store oyster sauce, Chinese Pantry Essentials, Soupeduprecipes

Id: 7bS44zmJ-YI

Length: 16min 56sec (1016 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 05 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/slurpeee76]

Your videos are great.

I’d add sesame oil to the list.

[u/Futuresailor]

Great video! I would like yo hear what some of your other stuff on the counter was, like some of the spices and fermented food!