Chef Chinese Cuisine
Chinese cooking is a GRAMMAR, not a recipe list: technique × flavor-base × regional dialect. Learn the grammar and thousands of dishes become one system. Home constraint honesty: a domestic burner is 5–10× weaker than a wok range — every method below is adapted for that (chain chef-constraints-adaptation; ingredient sourcing → chef-ingredient-localizer).
Read references/regional-and-techniques.md for the Eight Traditions map and technique specs.
The flavor grammar (learn this, unlock everything)
Base sentence of a stir-fry: aromatics (ginger+garlic+scallion) → protein (velveted) → vegetables (hard→soft order) → sauce (premixed!) → thickener (cornstarch slurry) → finishing oil/aroma.
The pantry that IS the cuisine (priority order): light soy (salt/umami), dark soy (color+depth), Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry — localizer-approved), toasted sesame oil (finisher, never cooking fat), cornstarch, rice vinegar, oyster sauce, doubanjiang (Sichuan soul), fermented black beans, five-spice, Sichuan peppercorns. First five = 70% of dishes.
Flavor profiles as formulas (mix, taste, adjust — chef-flavor-balance levers):
- All-purpose stir-fry sauce: 2 soy : 1 Shaoxing : 1 water/stock : ½ sugar : 1 tsp cornstarch.
- Sweet-sour: 2 vinegar : 2 sugar : 1 soy : ketchup spoon (yes, it's canon in HK style).
- Mala (Sichuan): doubanjiang fried in oil till red + Sichuan peppercorn + dried chilies — numbing (má) + hot (là) are TWO different sensations, build both.
- Cantonese steam-dress: soy + sugar splash + hot oil poured over ginger-scallion (the gentle-methods benchmark fish).
Wok hei on a weak stove (the honest engineering)
- Flat-bottom carbon-steel wok or widest cast-iron/steel pan; NEVER nonstick for this.
- Preheat empty to first smoke wisps; oil in, swirl, then food.
- Batch law: one portion per round, period. Two chicken breasts = two rounds. Crowding = braising = gray sadness (the #1 home failure — optimizer flag).
- Ingredients DRY and room-temp; sauce premixed in a cup (no measuring over flame).
- Sear undisturbed 30–60 s before tossing — home burners need contact time, not acrobatics.
- Optional hei cheat: finishing drops of smoked/toasted oil, or 5-second torch pass. Declare the trade (
chef-world-classics honesty rule).
Velveting (why restaurant meat is silk)
Sliced protein + 1 tsp cornstarch + 1 tsp Shaoxing + ½ tsp soy + optional pinch baking soda (beef), 20 min rest → the coat buffers heat, keeps juices in. Blanch in oil or water 30–40 s, then stir-fry. This one technique upgrades every stir-fry more than any wok purchase. Cheap-cut liberation: works on tough beef → economics win (chef-kitchen-economics).
The technique set beyond stir-fry
- Red braising (hóngshāo): sear → caramelized sugar + soy + Shaoxing + star anise/ginger → low simmer to fork-test (braise rules from
chef-meat-guide). Pork belly is the throne dish.
- Steaming as a main method, not diet food — whole fish, egg custard (silky ratio 1 egg : 1.5 water, strained), baozi (
chef-gentle-methods-guide owns the setups).
- Dumplings: jiaozi = the dumpling-family spec in
chef-world-classics; fry-steam-fry finish.
- Smashed/quick-pickled vegetables (cucumber + garlic + vinegar + chili oil) — the 5-minute acid counterweight every rich meal needs.
- Congee: 1 rice : 8–10 water, 60–90 min — the comfort/recovery food, kids- and diet-table-compatible (
diet-medical-adaptation).
Beginner ramp (для тех кто "ниче не может")
Start order: (1) egg fried rice (teaches wok heat, day-old rice rule — fridge-cold, food-safety compliant), (2) smashed cucumbers (zero heat), (3) one premixed-sauce chicken stir-fry with velveting, (4) red-braised anything (braises forgive everyone), (5) steamed fish (the flex). Each step = one new mechanism only.
1---2name: chef-cuisine-chinese3description: Chinese cuisine authority — the Eight Great Traditions (Sichuan, Cantonese, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hunan, Anhui), wok technique and wok hei at home, the flavor-base grammar (aromatics + fermented sauces), velveting, stir-fry architecture, dumplings, and braising red-style. Use whenever the user cooks Chinese food, mentions stir-fry/wok/вок, Sichuan/сычуанская, dim sum, or wants restaurant-Chinese results on a home stove.4---56# Chef Chinese Cuisine78Chinese cooking is a GRAMMAR, not a recipe list: technique × flavor-base × regional dialect. Learn the grammar and thousands of dishes become one system. Home constraint honesty: a domestic burner is 5–10× weaker than a wok range — every method below is adapted for that (chain `chef-constraints-adaptation`; ingredient sourcing → `chef-ingredient-localizer`).910Read `references/regional-and-techniques.md` for the Eight Traditions map and technique specs.1112## The flavor grammar (learn this, unlock everything)1314**Base sentence of a stir-fry:** aromatics (ginger+garlic+scallion) → protein (velveted) → vegetables (hard→soft order) → sauce (premixed!) → thickener (cornstarch slurry) → finishing oil/aroma.1516**The pantry that IS the cuisine (priority order):** light soy (salt/umami), dark soy (color+depth), Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry — localizer-approved), toasted sesame oil (finisher, never cooking fat), cornstarch, rice vinegar, oyster sauce, doubanjiang (Sichuan soul), fermented black beans, five-spice, Sichuan peppercorns. First five = 70% of dishes.1718**Flavor profiles as formulas** (mix, taste, adjust — `chef-flavor-balance` levers):19- All-purpose stir-fry sauce: 2 soy : 1 Shaoxing : 1 water/stock : ½ sugar : 1 tsp cornstarch.20- Sweet-sour: 2 vinegar : 2 sugar : 1 soy : ketchup spoon (yes, it's canon in HK style).21- Mala (Sichuan): doubanjiang fried in oil till red + Sichuan peppercorn + dried chilies — numbing (má) + hot (là) are TWO different sensations, build both.22- Cantonese steam-dress: soy + sugar splash + hot oil poured over ginger-scallion (the gentle-methods benchmark fish).2324## Wok hei on a weak stove (the honest engineering)251. Flat-bottom carbon-steel wok or widest cast-iron/steel pan; NEVER nonstick for this.262. Preheat empty to first smoke wisps; oil in, swirl, then food.273. **Batch law:** one portion per round, period. Two chicken breasts = two rounds. Crowding = braising = gray sadness (the #1 home failure — optimizer flag).284. Ingredients DRY and room-temp; sauce premixed in a cup (no measuring over flame).295. Sear undisturbed 30–60 s before tossing — home burners need contact time, not acrobatics.306. Optional hei cheat: finishing drops of smoked/toasted oil, or 5-second torch pass. Declare the trade (`chef-world-classics` honesty rule).3132## Velveting (why restaurant meat is silk)33Sliced protein + 1 tsp cornstarch + 1 tsp Shaoxing + ½ tsp soy + optional pinch baking soda (beef), 20 min rest → the coat buffers heat, keeps juices in. Blanch in oil or water 30–40 s, then stir-fry. This one technique upgrades every stir-fry more than any wok purchase. Cheap-cut liberation: works on tough beef → economics win (`chef-kitchen-economics`).3435## The technique set beyond stir-fry36- **Red braising (hóngshāo):** sear → caramelized sugar + soy + Shaoxing + star anise/ginger → low simmer to fork-test (braise rules from `chef-meat-guide`). Pork belly is the throne dish.37- **Steaming** as a main method, not diet food — whole fish, egg custard (silky ratio 1 egg : 1.5 water, strained), baozi (`chef-gentle-methods-guide` owns the setups).38- **Dumplings:** jiaozi = the dumpling-family spec in `chef-world-classics`; fry-steam-fry finish.39- **Smashed/quick-pickled vegetables** (cucumber + garlic + vinegar + chili oil) — the 5-minute acid counterweight every rich meal needs.40- **Congee:** 1 rice : 8–10 water, 60–90 min — the comfort/recovery food, kids- and diet-table-compatible (`diet-medical-adaptation`).4142## Beginner ramp (для тех кто "ниче не может")43Start order: (1) egg fried rice (teaches wok heat, day-old rice rule — fridge-cold, food-safety compliant), (2) smashed cucumbers (zero heat), (3) one premixed-sauce chicken stir-fry with velveting, (4) red-braised anything (braises forgive everyone), (5) steamed fish (the flex). Each step = one new mechanism only.
DedInc