Hints for Cooking Chinese Food at Home

It's understandable that lots of people are afraid to make Chinese food at home. Chinese food recipes can call for exotic ingredients and cooking methods that can make even a more experienced cook a little fearful, so often folks will call for takeout whenever they have a craving for Chinese food. However, cooking Chinese food doesn't have to be a difficult task - it can be just as easy as any other meal that you prepare. Cooking Chinese food also doesn't mean that you have to go out and buy lots of fancy ingredients and cookware - you can most likely prepare some great Chinese food with items that you already have in pantry. Here are some helpful hints as you try to cook Chinese food on your own.

First, you don't need to own a wok to cook your own Chinese food. If you do have a wok, you most certainly can use it, but don't let that keep you from making your own Chinese food. Any frying pan (deeper pans are better) can be used when cooking Chinese food.

Next, feel free to substitute similar ingredients when cooking Chinese food. This will not only keep the costs down, but will keep you from making a separate shopping trip just for your special Chinese meal. For example, the General Tso's Chicken marinade that I frequently make calls for rice wine, but I use red cooking wine as a substitute, which works out great. Other substitutions that I have successfully made include using red wine vinegar instead of rice vinegar and using dried Mexican chili peppers instead of specialty dried chili peppers.

Finally, don't be afraid to experiment with Chinese food recipes. The best thing about cooking Chinese food at home is that you can tailor the seasonings to your own tastes. If your family likes things extra spicy, then you can add in extra chili peppers (I've even added hot sauce to my General Tso's Chicken sauce to spice things up). My family likes things with lots of garlic, so I've added extra garlic to my Chinese food recipes with terrific results. Have fun with the recipes and feel free to add or subtract ingredients as you see fit.

Once you get over your initial fears, you'll see that anyone can make great Chinese food. In fact, after you make your first batch of homemade General Tso's Chicken or Sichuan Beef, you might find that you like it even better than your favorite Chinese restaurant's version.