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Q: Do you think Laowai can really master Chinese cooking?
I'm sure they can. The main difference is the cooking method. Chinese cooking, lots of food preparation, short cooking time (usually). Western cooking, minimal preparation, longer cooking time. If they follow recipes, they'll soon master the art of Chinese cooking. If Chinese can master western styles, the reverse is also possible.
Do you think all Chinese can cook Chinese food? I've met quite a few Chinese people who can't cook & eat out all of the time. I've also met some Chinese people (especially my wife!) who can cook great non-Chinese food. Your question is generalising a lot.
humbug:
Well a lot of Chinese people I know don't measure ingredients exactly when they cook, and don't follow recipes as much as people in the west seem to do. I think western food is a lot more about following a set of instructions, we have a more limited range of vegetables, spices and styles so I think it's a lot easier to master.
Hotwater:
The only "western" food that I know of that requires accurate measures are when baking (bread, cakes, etc) as they won't cook right if mixed wrong. For a lot of other "western" food you don't need to weigh anything, it is all down to the skill if the cook.
I'll give you a small example. I used to make my own pizza when I had an oven. The base was made from 5-6 heaped table spoons of plain flour with a sprinkle of salt. The yeast came from a prepared pack so was indeed to the exact measure (7 grams if you really want to know). I'd then add a drop of olive oil & slowly add lukewarm water & mix to the right consistency. You'll note I didn't accurately measure anything there. I'd tell you how I also made the tomato sauce but I'm bored now. :-)
As to vegetables, I see a far better range in Chinese markets than I do in the UK.
Have you you ever been outside china to the "west"? I'd guess your only experience of how to cook "western" food is cooking shows where they weigh everything out to the gram and also make things that the average "westerner" would only attempt very rarely for dinner parties.
DrMonkey:
@humbug Try baking a cake or just bread without measuring anything ^^ On the other end, it's an exception rather than a rule, because it's easy to judge by the eye and easy to fix on the fly. Example : wrap a prepared fish in aluminum fold with cream, herbs (say, basil), lemon juice inside, and a selection of vegetables you like. In the oven.. Done ! Take 10 minutes and it's healthy and delicious. Serve with rice of mashed potatoes.
Of course they cannot. Laowai can't understand the 5000 years of Chinese culture and all the subtleties of Chinese cooking. Laowai only eat hamburger and fries every day, and pizza sometimes, how could they know anything about all the complexity of preparing all the very delicious food in China. Chinese brain is different, it can do more things than Foreigner brain in life.
DrMonkey:
Indeed. And to prove the point, look how empty of Chinese people are all places with typical Foreignistanese food : KFC, Pizza Hut, Mc Donald...
Scandinavian:
Remember that KFC, Pizza Huh and the likes all serve food grown in China with plenty of growth hormones and pesticides to satisfy the delicate Chinese palate. And those place serve food that is prepared in factories by Chinese workers, that is then shipped to the "restaurants" to be heated by the most skilled of Chinese food heaters.
Don't know why you consider these places "western".
Nah, they can't. Also, they can't learn kung-fu or qi-gong, they can't speak or write Mandarin as well as the Chinese. I remember being told once, very seriously, that only Chinese can do true-to-the-spirit ink painting. Such is the plight of the Foreignistanese.
What... There are laowais expert in Mandarin and various dialects ? Several ones reached master-level of kung-fu ? But, cooking, not a chance.
Hell no. Dream on. It will never happen, not in your lifetime nor your children's lifetime. It is impossible. Dream another dream, this one is over.
Easy! Choose your oil: 5W30, 10W30 or 20W50.
Choose your vegetables: chopped, hacked or mushed
Choose your meat: bones, fat/sinew and bones, or of questionable origin.
Heat oil, throw everything in, serve with 80kg of rice.
TedDBayer:
I like 90W, the smell is unbelievable or 30W, it always has consistent viscosity.
The average Chinese person cooks what is close to Western chicken soup. I hate chicken soup (long story). Or everything is cooked with too much oil and over done.
I had a GF once that burned everything, even water, I used to praise her cooking by saying that "Carbon is a major food group as noted by Canadas food guide". However I have not developed proper praise for not only Chinese food, but Asian food in general yet.
Of course! anyone can master anything is just about practicing enough.
