The wok is an essential piece of equipment for Chinese cooking.
Chinese cooking does not require a plethora of equipment, but rather a handful of well-chosen tools. The wok is the centerpiece of the style, and a Chinese-style cleaver is essential. The rest depends on the style and depth of your explorations into Chinese cuisine. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Wok
The wok is an all-purpose cooking pot in Chinese cuisine. It can be used not only for stir-frying but also for deep-frying, steaming, blanching, and smoking. Woks come in many different sizes and materials, but the best performers are made of carbon steel; a wok with a 14-inch diameter is suitable for the home cook. Some come with flat bottoms and some with round bottoms; the choice is mostly up to the preferences of the customer. Note that carbon steel woks need to be seasoned before their first use.
Wok Accessories
If you have a round-bottomed wok, a wok ring will help stabilize it over a standard oven burner. If you plan on using your work for steaming or smoking, you may also wish to purchase an aluminum or stainless steel wok cover.
Cleaver
Rectangular-bladed Chinese-style cleavers are lighter and thinner than their Western counterparts. Cleavers are made of either carbon steel or stainless steel. They are a multi-purpose tool and can perform mincing, slicing, dicing and shredding tasks with equal ease. They are also hefty enough to chop cleanly through small bones.
Bamboo Steamers
Bamboo steamers can be nestled inside a wok above a small amount of water to cook dumplings, dim sum, spare ribs, and other steamed dishes. They come in a variety of sizes and can be stacked up to three high at a time.
Sand Clay Pot
This is a pot made of rough clay. The inside is glazed while the outside is unfinished. It comes with a lid and is often banded with steel wire. Sand clay pots need to be tempered before first use and soaked before every subsequent use. They are used to cook stews, congee, and other special dishes.
Spatula
Chinese cooks keep food moving while stir-frying with a special long-handled spatula made of stainless steel.
Strainer
Chinese cooks use two types of strainers. The first is made of steel mesh attached to a bamboo handle; this is used to remove cooked food quickly from hot stock or oil, for example when deep-frying. The second is made of perforated steel and is used to add and remove food gently from hot liquid.
Chopsticks
There is no need to purchase special "cooking chopsticks" for Chinese cooking. A pair of ordinary bamboo or ivory ones will do. They are used during preparation as fine manipulation tools--to separate, add or remove small pieces of food.
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