Three different Chinese egg salads in this video - Northern-style Garlic Eggs (鸡蛋蒜), Yunnan Pounded Eggs (舂蛋), and a simple liangban egg (凉拌鸡蛋). 0:00 - Three salads with no mayo 0:37 - Garlic Eggs 2:18 - Dai Pounded Eggs 3:51 - Modern Liangban Eggs 4:59 - No mortar? FULL WRITTEN RECIPE ...is over on Substack! Free as always, if it had to be said: https://chinesecookingdemystified.substack.com/p/chinese-traditional-egg-salads THAT WESTERN SALT MINCING TECHNIQUE ... isn't too difficult or anything: https://youtu.be/kJ5PCbtiCpk?si=w2aEMWWVr0v4SpqZ&t=15 just do this move with the salt quantity ..read more

Yi people's Pounded Chicken! A great shredded chicken dish, that while rather rare in Yunnan itself, is quite applicable to the western kitchen with a couple tweaks. 0:00 - The Eshan Yi 1:30 - Why pound? 2:21 - Recipe, in Yunnan 5:06 - Going to an American Supermarket 8:02 - Recipe, in America 9:16 - How do they compare? FULL, WRITTEN RECIPE ... is over on Substack! Free as always, if it had to be said: https://chinesecookingdemystified.substack.com/p/yi-peoples-pounded-chicken ______ And check out our Patreon if you'd like to support the project! https://www.patreon.com/ChineseCookingDemystif ..read more

Historical Mapo Tofu was... different, and very much unlike what we know of as Mapo Tofu today. 0:00 - The old way was... different 1:52 - Mapo Tofu in the 1980s 4:08 - Mapo Tofu in the 1950s 6:54 - The 1958 Recipe (the best Mapo Tofu I've ever had) 12:17 - The man that invented the masterpiece 13:46 - Mapo Tofu in the 1920s 15:42 - Mapo Tofu in the 19th century 17:40 - Which Mapo Tofu is "correct"? 20:02 - Which Mapo Tofu is the most delicious? FULL, WRITTEN 1958 RECIPE ... is over on the Substack! Free as always, of course: https://chinesecookingdemystified.substack.com/p/the-first-mapo-tofu ..read more

Peanut Milk Soup! A classic throughout southern Yunnan, and a great way to complete a (potentially spicier) meal. 0:00 - why eat this soup 0:46 - thin version 2:56 - thick version 4:09 - cross cultural silliness FULL WRITTEN RECIPE ... is over on the Substack! Free as always, if it had to be said: https://chinesecookingdemystified.substack.com/p/peanut-milk-soup ______ And check out our Patreon if you'd like to support the project! https://www.patreon.com/ChineseCookingDemystified Outro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ Found via My Analog Journal (great channel): https://www.youtube.co ..read more

People often say that there's eight Chinese cuisines. We counted 63 in the mainland, plus another 7 outside. We probably undercounted. This was our best shot. 0:00 - How many cuisines again? 2:00 - Methodology, and Guangdong 10:20 - Guangxi 11:27 - Guizhou 12:34 - An aside on the definition of Chinese 14:19 - Yunnan 16:27 - Tibet 18:03 - Sichuan and Chongqing 19:37 - Hubei 20:21 - Hunan 21:23 - Jiangxi 22:26 - Fujian 23:59 - Zhejiang 25:48 - Shanghai, Tianjin, Harbin, and Hong Kong 27:48 - Jiangsu 29:05 - South Anhui and Lu An 29:42 - An aside on North China methodology 30:50 - Anhui and Jiang ..read more

Yuncheng-style Big Plate Chicken! A fascinating - and aggressively delicious - dish that is a great twist on the Xinjiang classic. 0:00 - Big Plate Chicken is kinda weird 0:41 - Introducing Yuncheng-style Big Plate Chicken 2:55 - Chenmian prep, the day before 7:31 - The braise 10:28 - Chenmian pulling 11:35 - Finish the braise 12:01 - How to eat this thing FULL, DETAILED WRITTEN RECIPE ... is over on the Substack! Free as always, if it had to be said: https://chinesecookingdemystified.substack.com/p/big-plate-chicken-noodle-soup A MEA CULPA RE KNEADING TECHNIQUE If you're coming to this descri ..read more

We've been using MSG in our recipes for seven years (give or take), so we thought it was high time for a retrospective - as well as a redo of our old Yunnan smashed cucumber salad. 0:00 - fine lets talk about the health thing i guess 5:05 - 7 year msg anniversary cucumber 8:11 - The real origin of MSG hate FULL, WRITTEN RECIPE Is over on Substack! Free as always, if it had to be said. We cover some of the same ground we covered in the video, so definitely do click the 'jump to recipe' bit: https://chinesecookingdemystified.substack.com/p/celebrating-seven-years-of-msg ______ And check out our ..read more

People say that 'Velveting' is the key to the "Chinese Restaurant Stir Fry". So why doesn't the word exist in the Chinese language? 0:00 - What is velveting? 1:11 - A Guide for velveting 4:11 - An unhinged rant 8:13 - Too much Chris, where's Steph? FULL, DETAILED VELVETING GUIDE Is over on Substack! Check out more velveting information than you've ever wanted over here: https://chinesecookingdemystified.substack.com/p/a-guide-to-velveting That said, might as well be helpful and copy it over here too... IN CASE YOU NEED IT RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW First, thinly slice your meat against the grain. Fo ..read more

Zhacai, the number one pickled vegetable in China. It's everywhere at Chinese grocers, so how do you actually eat it? 0:00 - The easiest way to enjoy zhacai 1:58 - Zhacai purchasing 3:11 - Simple Zhacai with cucumber 3:47 - Zhacai stir fry with egg 5:12 - Zhacai beef over steamed rice noodles 7:25 - Balancing Zhacai Salinity FULL, DETAILED RECIPES ... are over on the Substack! Free as always, if it had to be said: https://chinesecookingdemystified.substack.com/p/how-to-love-zha-cai In the accompanying post, we also included recipes for Zhacai Pork Slivers as well as a basic Zhacai salad. _____ ..read more

with weimian! Classic from Yangzhou - a dish with a simple twist that fits spaghetti like a glove. 0:00 - What's Spaghetti's Problem? 1:40 - The Solution 2:41 - Making Yangzhou Braised Noodles 5:44 - Okay, but what's ACTUALLY used in Yangzhou? FULL, WRITTEN RECIPE ... is over on Substack! Free as always, if it had to be said: https://chinesecookingdemystified.substack.com/p/fixing-spaghettis-asian-soup-problem ______ And check out our Patreon if you'd like to support the project! https://www.patreon.com/ChineseCookingDemystified Outro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ Found via My A ..read more