Cooking authentic asian food at home

[bennylava]

Anyone have any tips? Why is it so hard to get it to taste like what you get in a good Asian restaurant?

 

[eots]

YouTube - How to cook a dog
BBC reporter learns how to cook dog meat stew in South Korea ... dog meat food south korea

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BTJEHjXs7g[/ame]

 

[Diuretic]

Anyone have any tips? Why is it so hard to get it to taste like what you get in a good Asian restaurant?

I've asked myself that on a number of occasions (each occasion I cook, say, a Thai dish and it's not like you get in a restaurant).

But have a look here - http://luckydawg.home.bresnan.net/

Some damn fine recipes there, could help me out as to what I'm doing wrong.

 

[pegwinn]

Anyone have any tips? Why is it so hard to get it to taste like what you get in a good Asian restaurant?

If you get an answer please let me know.

I like Asian chow. The restaurants in the states are poor examples of what can be had in Japan for example. And my cooking is a poor example of the food I get in restaurants.

I wish I could find a decent yakisoba recipe.

 

[akiboy]

Anyone fancy an pure vegetarian indian recipe?

We unlike the Chinese don't eat every freakin animal on this planet!

 

[Steerpike]

Anyone fancy an pure vegetarian indian recipe?

We unlike the Chinese don't eat every freakin animal on this planet!

I love Indian food. Used to eat at a vegetarian Indian restaurant all the time. I'm not vegetarian, but I could be convinced of it if someone gave me Indian food every day.

Navratan korma
Palak paneer
Chana masala
and plenty of naan

 

[akiboy]

I love Indian food. Used to eat at a vegetarian Indian restaurant all the time. I'm not vegetarian, but I could be convinced of it if someone gave me Indian food every day.

Navratan korma
Palak paneer
Chana masala
and plenty of naan

lol. I like eat this almost everyday...And I love it! But when it does get boring my mom will probably rustle up some pasta or pizza. I also love Lebanese food.Its pretty healthy too..

PS: Paneer rocks! I can eat it at any time of the day!

 

[pegwinn]

Anyone fancy an pure vegetarian indian recipe?

We unlike the Chinese don't eat every freakin animal on this planet!

I have nothing against vegetarian dishes as a group. It's the vegetarian lifestyle that I don't get.

I mean, there is a reason for pointy teeth.

BTW, never had any of what you listed. Now I gotta find an Indian restruant and figger out what I am missing.

 

[bennylava]

When my brother was in the army in Korea, he had dog. He said it wasn't great but not bad. Apparently they don't just eat any kind of dog, either. There is a special breed that is meant to be eaten.
He said it's not like they go out and round up wild dogs and eat them. I don't know about that, I could see how it might be tempting if you were hungry and there were a lot of dogs around.

 

[Kathleen Raskin]

Sesame oil is what I swear by. It's a little pricy, but completely worth it to get the right flavor.

 

[HaShev]

It hard to replicate, because most people don't have the proper condiments and spices. Like Chinese 5 spice, which has to be used liberally. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, Cooking Sherry is often used like in making lo mein. Sesame oil, peanut oil, Oyster sauce, Hoison sauce are also needed in your arsenal not just soy.
Sugar glazing the searing of the meat to offset the salty soy sauce.
I make my own sweet and sour or orange sauce instead of jared brands.
red wine Vinegar-sugar-corn syrup, maybe a drop of red food dye, 1/8-half teaspoon orange extract if making an orange sweet sauce. You can buy tempura battered chicken bits if you donct want to make them from scratch. A good sweet & sour chicken has 'onion, green peppers' (frozen medley ), pineapple chunks, chunks of sweet pickle or even kosher pickle is fine, and I've even seen chunks of tomato to add tang and more texture depth.

Peanut sauces are easy to make, recipes online. Mainly little soy sauce and peanut butter a sprinkle of ginger powder.
Tastes great on cold noodles with scallions.

If you are wondering why you can't get that restaurant taste, perhaps use reused filtered oil from your fryer that has that french fry taste in the oil and fry up your meats and veggies or base your sauces with that.

*note hopefully by now the 2008 poster has gotten the hang of it....this is for others who still need to know the tricks.
Chinese food used to be my one obstacle too. The one thing I rarely got right until I realized the things they used (like cooking sherry)that I had no idea were used in making these dishes. Once you incorporate these missing ingredients you'll notice the missing ingredient was the key to that flavor resemblance to your favorite buffet or take out food.

 

[koshergrl]

Anyone have any tips? Why is it so hard to get it to taste like what you get in a good Asian restaurant?

spices, oils and woks.

you have to know what they use and where they get it. For example I tried to make fried rice, it was never right...until I figured out they use ginger and chili powder in there (among other things). Made a huge diff.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

While concurring with HaShev, it depends on what you are calling "good Asian food".
Most Asian restaurants in America cook Asian dishes much-much different than actual Asian cuisine. Primarily, they take a recipe then add sugar, then add sugar and top it off with sugar.
Americans love their sugar.
But like HaShev notes, your pantry has to have Asian spices/oils/vinegars. Hoisin sauce (sweet bean sauce) is irreplaceable with substitutes. You will never get good twice cooked pork without it

 

[HaShev]

I forgot carrots in my sweet and sour dish.
I like throwing everything in.
Some of the Cheap Take Outs don't give you anything but the fried battered chicken and sweet and sour sauce, so I have to add stuff like pickles and carrots and pineapple to spruce it up a notch. You should see me at a buffet going tray to tray to add the proper ingredients. I'm always throwing pineapples from the dessert bar and green peppers and onions from other dishes onto my sweet & sour and my sesame chicken or orange chicken.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I forgot carrots in my sweet and sour dish.
I like throwing everything in.
Some of the Cheap Take Outs don't give you anything but the fried battered chicken and sweet and sour sauce, so I have to add stuff like pickles and carrots and pineapple to spruce it up a notch. You should see me at a buffet going tray to tray to add the proper ingredients. I'm always throwing pineapples from the dessert bar and green peppers and onions from other dishes onto my sweet & sour and my sesame chicken or orange chicken.

Vegetables? Fruits?? You dare!
Again gotta knock American Chinese buffets...Asians primarily cook/eat vegetables and flavor it with meat...of course here we primarily cook/eat meat and flavor it with rice and pasta. So accordingly that is what they do at the buffets. But I completely agree with you - anything battered in buffets...it is a giant glob of batter...somewhere in there is meat...drowned in some sugary sauce.
Ugh.
I'll keep making stir fry at home.