As a Chinese student living outside China, I've never had one day that I don't miss Chinese food! Things are cooked in a quite different way than what I was used to back home, let alone the taste: in the Netherlands, everything taste rather plain for me. According to the experience of my friends and myself at the Chinese restaurant here - some of them are good and taste just like at home, while others cater more for the local preference so can't be called real Chinese taste.
I was born and rasied in North-China, where the ingredients used for cooking might be different from those in South-China. But generally, we share some basic ingredients as follows (The corresponding Chinese names are give in parenthesis):
- Spring onion, ginger and garlic
These are the true "must-haves" - I use them in almost every dish I cook, whether it's vegeteables, rice or meat!
- Star anise and Sichuan pepper
They are ususally used when cooking meat. A few weeks ago I was invited for a dinner at a friend's house and I learned that these are only used in North-China because a friend who is from Shanghai had no idea what these are! :)
Used for soep and vegetables for a better flavour.
- Shaoxing Cooking Wine (Liao Jiu)
It's a kind of wine made of rice and is also used very often.
There are 2 kinds of soy sauce we use:
- Light soy sauce (Sheng Chou) used for a stronger taste
- Dark soy sauce (Lao Chou / Jiang You) used for a darker color
Mostly used in South-China (Cantonese style).
A lot of Chinese people love spicy food, very spicy food! Among the many Chillis in China, the Chilli produced in Sichuan (a province in southwest China) is the most well-known one and has the best taste too.
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