Ken Hom webchat Thursday 30 January 2-3pm

Hello, thank you for joining me today.

CaffeineAddict

Hello Ken! What's your favourite Chinese dish to cook? And your favourite non-Asian dish?

Probably my favourite Chinese dish is peking duck and non-Asian is any Italian pasta dish.

AnneMaria

I've binned a couple of woks now where am I going wrong?

You don't have a Ken Hom wok! I would suggest you get the Tao Ken Hom wok, which is practically indestructible. I use it all the time.

Drhookfan6

How do you get those tasty sauces as in beef dishes is it black bean sauce????

You can make your own black bean sauce by stir frying fermented black beans, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, some chicken stock and thickened with corn flour and water. Finish it off with a drizzle of seasame oil.

shelagh

is there a way I could make crispy duck gluten free? thank you

Yes, simply don't flour it before you fry it or use corn flour.

Scream

Do you have any recipes for dim sum? It always seems very fiddly and a lot of effort for small plates!

Yes I have some dim sum type snacks in my complete Chinese BBC books.

Deckofcards

What's the difference between dark and light soy sauce? In terms of what they're used for etc.

Light soy sauce is lighter in colour, saltier and usually used in marinades or together with dark soy sauce to get a multi-textured flavour sauce. Dark soy sauce is less salty, richer tasting and used often for braised dishes as well as in combination with light soy sauce.

Bonsai

Hi Ken, it saddens me when people think their local Chinese take-away is a good representation of Chinese food! How can we dispel the the myth that Chinese food is just greasy, oily and unhealthy junk food?

I know I'm pretty sad as well. I think the best way for people is to ask their local take-away to cook dishes they cook for themselves.

LyndaW

Hi Ken

Not that I'm much of a cook but I do quite like a stirfry which is quick and easy. But my woks don't last very long? The coating starts coming off early on. Am I doing something wrong? Or what should I be looking for when I buy one?

Thanks

Yes I think if the coating is coming off it's not a good wok and I highly recommend the Ken Hom Tao wok because it's very sturdy and indestructable. It's true - I use it all the time.

theMulberryTree

Hi Ken. When I look for recipes online, they always say add rice vinegar or cook with peanut oil. I have a Chinese friend and her mother has said don't bother with all that - it's expensive and it tastes just the same cooking with sunflower or vegetable oil, and you don't need rice vinegar at all! What do you think?

I agree about the oil. Many of the recipes online that use rice vinegar are incorrect, it should be rice wine, which actually is inexpensive and lasts a long time and well worth using.

buzzbee

I've read you use to teach Italian cooking - what's your favourite dish? Do you still cook it often?

Yes I cook many Italian dishes, I love making pasta dishes but even simple things like tomato with mozzerella, salt, pepper, and basil and drizzled with great Italian olive oil.

aganana

I would love some ideas on how to make Chinese food healthy - I am dieting so have stopped our regular takeaways but missing it so much. Hoping I can recreate some of our favourites but without too much oil etc - hope you can help

You should make steamed fish for example, and when you stir fry, you add a minimum amount of oil and instead of using more oil, you should use either chicken stock or water. Be careful with the amount of soy sauce, use more rice wine and sesame oil.

zeezaa

Hello Ken. I would like advice about cooking beef. When we go to our local Chinese restaurant that's what I always order. But when I try making dishes at home it always goes rubbery. Am I using the wrong cut? Cutting it up wrong? Or cooking it wrong? How can I keep it tender? (sorry that's a lot of questions)

I always recommend using fillet because it's naturally tender and the secret is to not overcook it. You should marinate it in soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil and corn flour. Stir fry it in two table spoons of very hot oil for just a minute or so, remove it from the wok and drain it. Then add your vegetables and stir fry them and then return the beef back to the wok with whatever sauce you like.

bananatree

I love the Chinese birthday cakes you can buy in China Town, but they're rather expensive. Do you have a recipe? Is it hard to make?

It's not really my area of expertise but in my complete Chinese cookbook I do have a steam sponge cake, which is similar to the birthday cakes but without the frosting.

rosesarered

Hello Ken,
I would like to know how long should a strir fry [ veg and small pieces of chicken] be actually stir fried for? I worry that the chicken won't be cooked properly.If the wok is really hot, does it matter if it is cooked for too long?Does it work the same in a good heavy frypan as a wok?

I think chicken is often overcooked. If your wok is very hot and your chicken is cut small, it should take less than a minute. Don't forget you should stir fry your chicken first, remove it, drain it, and then stir fry your vegetables and when you return the chicken back to the wok it should be perfectly cooked.
Yes of course you can use a good heavy frying pan, but you might end up with food all over the hob!

LyndaW

Ah, I see someone's already asked that! If I may ask another question, when - if ever! - do you think you'll retire? What drives you to keep working so hard?

Never entirely because I love what I do!

Oldtimer

Hi Ken
Remember the good old days?Spencer Wilcox my hubby worked with you and have good memories of you!
We have a number of books,we love Chinese and follow you!
Even though Spencer has Alhizemeres he has lots of good memories.

Yes of course I have good memories of Spencer and I'm very sorry to hear that he is unwell but I treasure our good times together and wish you the very best.

EmilyHarburn

Dear Ken
Every year my husband and I hold a Chinese New Year party for 40 friends and neighbours. I usually cook English food, i.e. cold salmon and new potatoes with quiches & salads etc. Now he would like me to produce a Chinese buffet!!! I am wondering how to manage this as I do not have outside help. Can you suggest dishes that can be cooked in advance in large quantities? I am thinking of chicken with cashew nuts, Sweet and sour prawns, mixed vegetable chow mien. I found a recipe where you make sweet and sour sauce from orange marmalade, ginger marmalade and cider vinegar. What dishes would you suggest I make and are there any short cuts like this that you think would work?

Run to Tesco and I'll be there in the kitchen with you! For example you can make fried rice in advance and it reheats very well. You can steam fish in the microwave and some stir fry vegetable dishes with carrots or courgettes can be reheated easily. Some noodle dishes too, but I'd be wary about cooking chicken or meat dishes in advance, simply because it'll be too overcooked.

merlotgran

Hi Ken, There is always an image of traditional Chinese cookery requiring no more equipment than a wok, steamer, cleaver and chopsticks. Now that western consumer goods are making their way into the Chinese economy, which kitchen gadgets do you think will be the most popular and will recipes need to be adapted to their use?

Yes I think for example there will probably be more pots for stewing and braising.

melaina

Following on from zeeza - my two favourite dishes are lemon chicken and sweet and sour. I have also tried making both these at home but the chicken comes out greasy rather than crispy and the sauce just isn't the same. How can I make my dishes taste authentic (I suspect that what we get in our local restaurant may not be actually authentic but it tastes good and I would like to recreate!)

I recommend my completely Chinese cookbook for the really authentic way to do sweet and sour chicken and lemon chicken, and it's not fried in batter.