Cooking Classes

Chinese Wok Cooking

Making Hot & Sour Soup, Beef with Green Pepper, Kung Pao Chicken (contains peanuts), Steamed Rice

• Date/Time: Wednesday April 11, 2012; 6pm-9pm 1-session
• Location: East Ridge High School, Woodbury
• Cost: $35 per person
• To register: call 651-458-6600 or check online at www.cecool.com

Chinese Appetizers and Snacks

Making Egg Roll, Scallion Pancake, Meat Stuffed Moon-cake

• Date/Time: Tuesday April 24, 2012; 6pm-9pm 1-session
• Location: Cottage Grove Middle School, Cottage Grove
• Cost: $34 per person
• To register: call 651-458-6600 or check online at www.cecool.com

My 2-cent about Chinese cooking:

"There is no secret to Chinese cooking.  The more you cook the same recipe, the better you will be at making a tasty dish for your family and friends.  Most often the Chinese don’t use a recipe, why?  Because after you have cooked it so many times, it’s all in your mind.  I have never seen my grandmother used a recipe.  In fact she had never gone to school so she could not read.  But we loved everything our grandma made for us.  She was our star chef.  Cooking is intuitive, so listen to your gut feeling."

Beef with Green Pepper Recipe

Ingredient: beef, 2 green pepper, 1 small onion; ginger, garlic, Chinese white pepper powder胡椒粉, starch, Chinese cooking wine 料酒, soy sauce and salt; cooking oil and chick bouillon 鸡精

1. Thinly slice beef to 1 x 2inch slices
2. Marinate beef with minced ginger and garlic (you can substitute with ginger or garlic juice), ¼ tsp Chinese white pepper powder, 1tsp dark soy sauce, 1tsp cooking wine, stir well and let it set for 10 to 20 minutes.  Optional: a dash of oyster sauce.  Tip: for tender beef, add 1tsp cooking oil to the mixture while marinate, mix well.
3. Cut green pepper to 1x2inch pieces, cut onion to small pieces
4. Heat 3tbsp oil to high heat, when the oil is hot add beef, stir fry for 2-3 minutes, add 1tsp cooking wine (and a little hot water if you like your beef to be more tender).  Cook the beef until it is cooked, scoop it up to a bowl and set aside.
5. Add 1tbsp oil to wok, when the oil is hot add green pepper and onion, stir 2-3 minutes (tip: for softer onion, cook onion first for 2 minutes before adding green pepper.)  Add already cooked beef, add a little chicken bouillon, 1tsp light soy sauce and some salt, stir 1-2 minutes, add 1/4tsp Chinese white pepper powder and starch solution, stir 1 minute and ready to dish up.

My cooking tips:

• The key to wok cooking is that the oil has to be hot before putting in any ingredient. Ingredient should sizzle when cooking.
• Use rice cooker to make steamed rice, they will taste better than use regular pots.
• Soy sauce, cooking wine, chicken bouillon and cooking oil can be used in almost every dish.
• Starch solution is used to thicken the dish and make a shining surface.
• I always marinate meat before stir-frying.

Video: How to Make Chinese Scallion Pancake

Click the picture to view the video