A Beginner's Guide to Chinese Cookery
Introduction
When I first ate Chinese food in the UK in the 1970s, it was really quite unappealing. Everything came in a gloopy sauce and seemed to taste the same, due to the overuse of monosodium glutamate, supposedly a flavour enhancer but in reality, nothing of the kind. Then in the 1980s a new breed of Chinese restaurant arrived (at least it took that long to reach the provinces) which provided lighter, tastier Chinese cooking demonstrating regional differences. There was one drawback,...
Chinese Cooking - The Flexibility Of The Wok
Chinese food can be cooked using any pan at all but if you want a really versatile implement in which you can stir fry, braise and deep fry, you must have a wok. This simply designed yet incredibly useful tool has been used in Chinese cooking (and indeed the cooking of other Far Eastern countries) for centuries but even today is indispensable to professional chefs and home cooks alike.
Woks come in many shapes and sizes; some with flat bottoms, some with two handles and some with one. Cast...
Chinese Food - Dim Sum
Many non-Chinese think that dim sum is just a steamed dumpling with maybe a dipping sauce to accompany it. However, although that is one type of dim sum, the term "dim sum" does not refer to a single recipe but to a style of serving a vast selection of different snack type items. Usually, these will be provided on a trolley which trundles between tables for diners to make their choices.
Dim sum originated in the Canton province of China and was always served with tea. The custom soon spread to...
Chinese Food - Eating With Chopsticks
If you've ever eaten in a Chinese restaurant you will be familiar with those long thin utensils, which are traditionally used to eat Chinese food. Yes, I'm talking about chopsticks. These versatile and efficient objects are actually reasonably easy to use despite appearances to the contrary. In fact with a little practice, one can become proficient in their use.
History shows that chopsticks have been in use since the time of the Shang Dynasty which ruled China between 1600 BC and 1046 BC....
Coffee Addiction - Alternatives To Coffee
Do you have an addiction to coffee? Do you find it hard to get through even half an hour without having another cup? Have you worn a trail between your desk and the coffee machine? Well there are alternatives which will still keep you active, without the addictive properties of caffeine.
First of all, don't try to go "cold turkey" and stop drinking coffee completely and suddenly. If you do that, you're quite likely to have severe withdrawal symptoms such as sweating and shaking hands. Just...
Coffee Making Using A Coffee Machine
If you don't mind instant coffee granules or powder, it isn't that difficult to make a cup of coffee. You just put a teaspoonful of coffee in a cup or mug, boil some water, pour it on, stir and then serve. However, if you want "proper" coffee, not instant, the process isn't quite so easy unless you have a coffee machine.
There are many different types of coffee machine available and which one you choose will depend on the features and the price of the appliance. In a domestic environment,...
Cooking Indian Food at Home - Where to Start?
If you read my article, Curry - A Journey, published on the Curry page of this site, youll know that my first experiences of the dish were of the generic variety which the British invariably cooked and ate when living abroad a few decades ago. Youll also know that I then discovered real Indian cookery and decided that as I couldnt afford to eat out that much, I needed to learn how to cook the stuff myself.
My first stop then, was a local bookshop, where the choice of books on Indian...
Indian children love the Khomcha-Wallah.
Indian children love the Khomcha-Wallah. He wanders the streets, the busier the better, basket of goodies on his head and a cane stool under his arm. When he encounters a likely crowd he sets down his basket on the stool and starts to trade. The basket will contain the half-prepared ingredients of what is known in northern India as chaat - savoury snacks from traditional Hindu cuisine - which may be served in a banana leaf bowl.
One item might be Aloo Chaat which is fried, golden-brown...
Indian Cookery with a British Twist
In a traditional Indian home, the wife and mother does not go out to work. She stays at home and spends her days making sure that there is wholesome and tasty food ready for her family to eat whenever they may want it. If there are other older women in the household such as aunts or a grandmother, they will help too.
An Indian girl will start learning to cook at a very early age and will be expected to help her mother with the household catering and cleaning too. At her mother's side a...
Kerala Food
Kerala is situated on the South West coast of India right beside Tamil Nadu. The capital is Cochin with its bustling harbour lined with fishing nets and home to fishing boats of all shapes and sizes.
Much of the architecture has been influenced by the Chinese who traded along the coast leaving legacy of cooking pots similar to woks, cleavers and pickling jars. As well as the Chinese, the abundance of spices in Kerala attracted the attentions of the early Phoenicians, Syrians, Egyptians,...
Most people think that you canοΏ½t possibly eat Indian food
Most people think that you canοΏ½t possibly eat Indian food, if youοΏ½re on a slimming diet. ThatοΏ½s a fair statement if you always eat Indian food in restaurants, because many traditional Indian recipes involve either deep frying or the use of ghee (clarified butter). However, if you cook Indian food at home, it can easily form part of a weight loss regime, just the same as any other food. You just need to follow a few simple general rules.
- Avoid altogether recipes which involve deep...
Pedigree Cat Registration in North America and Europe
If you live in the United States and are looking for a pedigree cat, then you can't avoid coming across the acronym CFA, in full Cat Fanciers' Association.
The CFA was founded in 1906 with the intention of maintaining the integrity of cat breeds and holds the largest register of pedigree cats in the world. The association also organises cat shows, provides judges and indeed runs training programs for show judges as well as continuing the registration of purebred kitten litters
The CFA...
Tandoori Dishes
Traditionally, tandoori dishes are cooked in a tandoor, an oval shaped clay oven with a small fire in the bottom. The heat rises gradually but ultimately reaches a much higher temperature than a barbeque.
A tandoor is normally used to cook naan bread, meats and kebabs (meat or paneer). The bread is stuck to the sides, the kebabs stood vertically and whole chickens rested on a grid over the fire.
For domestic cooking, a tandoor is not really convenient but the meat dishes can be reproduced...
The History of Chinese Cuisine
In China, food and its preparation has been developed so highly that it has reached the status of an art form. Rich and poor, the Chinese people consider that delicious and nutritious food is a basic necessity. There is an old Chinese saying Food is the first necessity of the people.
This art has been cultivated and refined over hundreds of years. Legend has it that the culture of Chinese cuisine originated in the 15th century BC during the Shang dynasty and was originally introduced by...
The Punjab is situated in eastern India
The Punjab is situated in eastern India and is divided by the Indian/Pakistani border. It is very fertile because of the rivers that cross here and as a consequence, agriculture is central to the economy. Wheat accounts for a large proportion of the crops, along with corn, mustard greens, sugar cane and rice.
Buffalo milk which is 3% higher in fat than cows milk, is also important to the Punjabis, who are not prey to worries about cholesterol. Every bit of the buffalo milk is used in...
Travel - Dealing With Air Sickness And Jetlag
If you dread the idea of air travel because of air sickness and/or jetlag, there are a few precautions you can take to prevent both.
Air Sickness
Generally, air sickness is at its worst on take off and landing. This is due to the steep attitude of the aeroplane, the sudden increase or decrease in speed and height and the fact that the ground is visible and seems to be rushing past. The difference between what one sees and what the "balance" area of the ears is telling one causes the brain to...
Your Website - How To Advertise It
Many people think that the way to advertise their website is to say, place a classified ad telling their readers to go to their website for the best baby clothes, recipes or whatever they happen to be selling. However, this is not the case. Not that it won't work at all but it is very labour intensive with little or no return for effort.
The best way that I have encountered of generating targeted traffic to my website is by writing articles and publishing them both on my own website and...
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