Gravy for Chinese vegetables

[jeral Profile]

How to reproduce gravy that comes in a Chinese veg takeaway?

Any ideas?

Ta

The vegetables in this bought one were: broccoli, mangetout, baby corn, straw pots and bamboo slices (I think) so no mushroom or toms.

I suspect oyster sauce or mushroom sauce, soy sauce might figure but I think I got a hint of Chinese five spice too and no doubt a touch of cornflour to thicken.

[Pampy Profile]

I thought veg. dishes were prepared in various sauces, just like their meat/seafood counterparts - eg black bean sauce/sweet and sour/kung po/etc.

[scullion Profile]

the very basic one that i make is a little cornflour in a mix of water and light soy sauce, added in at the end of cooking the vegetables, probably a rounded teaspoon to a mug full of liquid.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

A Chinese-Thai colleague decades ago used to make his basic sauce by mixing a spoonful each of corn flour (corn starch), granulated sugar, and vinegar with two spoons of soy and adding water or stock. I suppose the spoon would be a level TBS and add about a tea cup of liquid

Not enough sugar and vinegar to make it a sweet & sour sauce, just enough to add a bit of depth of flavour

To this you can add any other flavours you like such as oyster sauce, mushroom soy, shaoxing wine etc. Spice, garlic and ginger probably best cooked with the veg. White pepper is often used.

This forum is good for memory workouts, I’d almost forgotten this as I tend to follow recipes more

[jeral Profile]

Many thanks for remembering Stokey Sue - I'm taking the precaution of printing it out and will experiment...

This definitely had compound flavour. I was initially thinking of adding ginger or maybe a small chilli but it was good as it was so I left well alone.

[Lusciouslush Profile]

A memory workout indeed!

When I'm in the mood & pottering about the kitchen _ I often make up a little batch of stirfry sauce in a glass jar - it keeps for ages in the fridge, so handy for when you want to add just a spoonful or with water added, or make more sauce.

Not definite measurements I'm afraid, but basically, around 130ml light soy or split with dark, the same amount of oyster sauce, around half (65ml) of Shaoxing wine, or sub dry sherry, tho' the Shaoxing gives much more depth, 40g cornflour, 1 tbsp. sugar, 2 tbsp. sesame oil & 2tsp ground white pepper. Then just shake all in a jar & keep in the fridge - it needs a good shake before use.

When ready to cook, fry oil & add your base flavourings of ginger/garlic/chilli - pinch of five spice & a touch of rice vinegar for tartness - I usually add chilli bean paste too, then however much stirfry sauce you think you'll need - I don't like pools of sauce - depending on what you're cooking, add enough base sauce plus water in the pan & let cook for a minute - it will thicken & become glossy to coat. Then add whatever veg etc. by order of frying times - a splash of water can always be added - you don't want soggy veg.

[jeral Profile]

Much appreciated Lusciouslush and for taking the time to write out all the details.

I need to buy shaoxing wine (or dry sherry). I gather there is a vegan oyster sauce made from mushrooms, so might add that to shopping list so as to suit not just me (and keep the oyster sauce for myself).

[Otterspocket Profile]

These are our go to sauces for stir fry’s : copied from a post on chow hound

Clear sauce: mix 3/4 c. chicken broth, 1 T. cornstarch, 2 T. rice wine or dry sherry, 1/2 t. sesame oil, 1/2 t. salt and 1/2 t. sugar

Sweet/Sour: mix 3/4 c. chicken broth, 2 t. cornstarch, 1/4 c. ketchup, 2 t. soy, 3 t. rice vinegar, 1/4 c. sugar, 1/2 t. salt, 1 t. minced ginger, 1 t. sesame oil.

Brown Sauce: 1/2 c. chicken or beef broth, 1 T. cornstarch, 1 T. soy, 1 T. hoisin, 1 T. dry sherry

Oyster Sauce: 3/4 c. chicken broth or clam juice, 1 T. cornstarch, 1 T. dry sherry or rice wine (even Scotch or sake will do..) 1 T. mirin, 3 T. oyster sauce, 2 t. sesame oil

Spicy Sauce: 3/4 chicken broth, 1 T. cornstarch, 2 T. each soy, rice vinegar and whatever booze, 1/2 t. sesame oil, 1 T. sugar and 1 T. red chili oil, 2 t. hottest mustard you can find

[Joanbunting Profile]

Good ideas Badgersspocket, if you are not a vegetarianBut I suppose you could use vegetable stock.

[smitch Profile]

I buy this sauce from my local Chinese supermarket:
https://uk.lkk.com/products.php?product=vegetarian-stir-fry-sauce

It is quite thick, so I water it down a bit sometimes depending on what I want.

[jeral Profile]

Thanks again folks.

I'm making a list for when it stops raining and I travel to the good Chinese shop as there aren't any good or bad nearby.

[Sakkarin Profile]

Generic Chinese Stirfry yesterday, extremely tasty (sorry about the meat, veggie people).

Just a thought for this thread, my current culinary heroine, Fuchsia Dunlop, uses potato starch instead of cornflour in all her recipes to thicken. Not sure that it makes a great deal of difference, but that's what I always use now, I feel it makes a slightly cleaner tasting gravy.

Gravy was the usual contenders - garlic and ginger in the first fry, light soy, rice wine and potato starch in the marinade, and more of both during frying plus oyster sauce, a weeny bit of chilli bean sauce (bought some new, not that MSG stuff) and fresh chicken stock, final thickening more potato starch.

http://www.sakkarin.co.uk/foodforumpix/ ... eneric.jpg

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Yes, Fuchsia says somewhere that most of China uses various starches from root veg, and while that’s not generally potato it behaves the same

The advantages are a sauce that’s translucent rather than cloudy and it thickens well below boiling - the effect is instant and it can even be used to tweak thickness after the food is taken off the heat

Cheap enough from Chinese grocers

You can also use arrow root which has been hideously expensive but I saw some quite reasonably priced in the local whole food deli recently for gluten free cooking but would work well in Chinese food.

[Sakkarin Profile]

I got my last lot of potato starch from Holland and Barrat...

There is an H&B branch in my local Tesco, but the staff harrass you like Currys salesmen, so I use the one in town instead.

I utterly hate it when sales staff do the "can I help you, sir", without eye contact and from 20 feet away, I leave instantly. I also hate having to run the gauntlet of security staff, ogling you threateningly as you enter and leave stores.

[Joanbunting Profile]

Potato starch (fecule) can be bought in the supermarket here. I use it in savoury dishes but when i want to thicken things for sweet dishes eg cherries to fill pancakes I use arrowroot which I have to get from the UK

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Potato starch is used in gluten free baking, and the Ashkenazi Jewish families round here use it in baking I think but cheaper from Chinatown

[jeral Profile]

Interesting. I was earlier wondering if the takeaway gravy had used rice flour which I think is used for e.g. battered prawns, but it sounds like potato starch is the thing.

[Sakkarin Profile]

They probably use whatever is cheapest!

Sometimes I fantasise about rummaging through takeaway bins to find what they're really doing - i.e. I've no doubt most Thai takeways use ready made curry pastes.

Another odd one is my nearest Indian takeaway, which proudly announces that it only uses olive oil. I don't believe it, and why would you anyway in curries?* But then I guess in commercial quantities it may be cheaper than ghee.

* I don't include health reasons, as if you're having a takeaway curry you've taken your eye off the ball anyway healthwise.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

There was was a thing on Food Channel where a Chinese family made “proper” takeaway sweet and sour using vast amounts of orange squash

[Wic Profile]

All this has just reminded me that my mother once taught a Chinese friend how to make a Sweet and sour sauce. The Chinese friend had grown up in a household full of servants, which was quite a normal thing in Singapore, so had no idea of how to cook anything. It was a huge learning curve when she got married and came to live in the UK for three years. However, she wasn’t afraid of trying and attacked every task with great enthusiasm. She was still making M's sweet and sour when she went back home.