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Questions from a Beginner

Hi Rhonda, 
I'm a 22-year old grad student. I've lived alone for the past few years and have learned to cook a little better than many of my peers I think. My favorite Chinese dishes are: General Tso's Chicken, Sesame Chicken, and Kung Pao Chicken (yeah, I know...a lot of Chicken). Anyway, I found some recipes (not from your site) and nothing worked out well at all. I was quite disappointed. Since then I've found recipes on your site which I'll try. Before I do though I have a few questions:

(1) All of these dishes are deep-fry dishes. Can I use just regular Crisco Vegetable Oil for this? Also....do I *have* to deep fry these dishes to get them to turn out? (I tried just stir-frying the chicken with non-stick cooking spray before) I'd like to make them as fat-free as possible. What's the difference?

(2) If I do stir-fry, is putting that 2 TBS vegetable oil better than the non-stick spray? Am I ever supposed to *remove* the oil? Or, when the recipes say to throw in the 'sauce' do I just do that with the oil, and them dump all of that on my plate?

(3) In the other recipes, the 'sauce' was always this thick stuff with cornstarch. When I added it to the dry wok, it instantly congealed into this almost-burnt film...that was not a sauce. Kinda like what happens when one makes scrambled eggs. Why did this happen? Is it the oil thing ? (see #2). How can I keep it from happening.

(4) How much of the green onion do I use? (Green onions are scallions, right?)

(5) How important is "fresh" ginger? Can I buy ground ginger instead?

(6) Which part of the garlic do I use? The whole thing or just the insides?

(7) What is chicken stock? Is there a substitute? Chicken broth maybe?

(8) What isle would Chili paste be in my grocery store? I can't seem to find it.

Geez...that was a lot. Sorry. I hope you can help. After two lost dinners thus far, I'm beginning to think it would just be better to order take-out from P.F. Chang's, which, my god(!), is right across the street from my apartment! (Maybe I should just sneek in their kitchen and watch!)

***

Thanks for writing.  Don't head over to P.F. Chang's just yet! (although they are an excellent restaurant chain).  I'll help as best as I can, taking your questions in order: 

(1) You can use vegetable oil for deep-frying, but peanut oil is better as it has a higher smoking point.  When I use vegetable oil I sometimes have trouble with it spattering.  What I will do sometimes is to combine the two, using half peanut and half vegetable oil.  

You can often choose to stir-fry instead of deep-frying.  I have a recipe for stir-fried Kung Pao Chicken at
http://chinesefood.about.com/library/blrecipe241.htm
This won't work for a batter-coated dish that's meant to be immersed in hot oil (such as ginger beef) but it can work for many other dishes.

(2) You should still use a bit of oil when stir-frying with a non-stick pan, although you can reduce the amount.  Try adding a bit of water to the pan if things start sticking.  

You don't normally remove the oil when stir-frying, even when preparing a sauce. It's different in deep-frying, as you'll often deep-fry a meat and then use the wok to stir-fry other ingredients, re-adding the cooked meat near the end.  In that case, you'd remove the oil, perhaps saving it to use another time, and clean out the wok before stir-frying.  

(3) Hmm...as I mentioned above, you do need to add a bit of oil, even when using a non-stick pan.  Also, does the recipe call for mixing the cornstarch with water before adding to the other ingredients?  I'd be interested in seeing the recipe.  

(4) The short answer is as much as you want.  Some save the uncooked green onion/spring onion/scallion to add as a garnish, others add it to the dish, often during the final stages of cooking.  It's a matter of personal preference.  

(5) Fresh ginger is one of the basic ingredients in Chinese cooking: ground ginger just doesn't have the same sharp bite.  If you store the ginger in a paper bag in the crisper section of the refrigerator it will last quite awhile. For speedier cooking you can peel ginger ahead of time and store it in sherry in a sealed jar in the refrigerator. You can also freeze ginger.   

(6)  You need to peel the garlic.  The easiest way is to place an individual clove on a flat surface and whack it with the flat edge of a knife, making sure that the knife blade is facing away from you.   This makes it easier to peel.  Then mince or chop as called for in the instructions.

(7) Broth is a liquid resulting from cooking meat, fish or vegetables in water, like bouillion.  Stock is the strained liquid resulting from simmering meat, fish or vegetables in water.  Different parts of the chicken would be used when making a chicken stock as opposed to a broth, and it will have different qualities.

A good stock is very important to Chinese cooking.  You can used canned broth as a substitute, but stock is preferable. The best idea is to make a large quantity of stock and freeze it to use in different recipes. One trick is to pour the stock into ice cube trays - one cube is approximately equal to one ounce.   

(8) That would really depend on the supermarket.  Where I shop the chile paste is found under a section called "Ethnic Cuisine" but it may be different at your store.  I would ask one of the clerks for help. 

I hope this helps.  Below are a few links to resources on my site that you may find helpful.  Also, we have a devoted group of Chinese food fans on the forum. Finally, if you're looking for a good cookbook for beginners, I highly recommend Helen Chen's Chinese Home Cooking.   Good luck!

Good Recipes for Beginners:
Chicken Chow Mein 
Pork or Beef Chop Suey 
Egg Rolls

Cooking Basics
Basic Cooking Tips
Stir-frying Tips
Deep-frying Tips

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