Any of you good at making Chinese Food?

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Do you make your own sauces or have some good recs for store bout ones?

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Make my own since it's pretty easy and can be easily adjusted to taste, but they all consist of chinese soys (light, dark, sweet), oyster/fish sauce, and sesame base with hoisin, szechuan, and/or rice wine included. I like to marinade the meat in the sauce for a few hours prior to cooking

I usually cook the aromatics in the fry oil first (ginger, garlic, scallions), then add the meat (I make sure to let all the excess marinade drip off before putting it into the pan to get a good sear). Once it's seared, I usually pull it off and cook down the veggies. Combine everything, add sauce and cornstarch slurry, and it usually turns out great

Like MDS recommended. Check out The Woks of Life. I’ve started using it and it’s really easy and comes out better than the take out Chinese places. It’s also good to have a good Asian Market close by. We have a good one in Lafayette that has all the ingredients needed. Good luck.

Ok, cool, thanks. I'll look into it.

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Any tips or hints?

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Keep staples on hand, such as
Shaoxing wine (Taylor brand Dry Sherry works as well)
Chinkiang Vinegar
Scallion
Garlic
Ginger
Soy Sauce
Brown Sugar

My Stir Fry Sauce is
1 18oz bottle oyster sauce
4 ounces Shaoxing wine
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
4T garlic cloves , minced
1/4 cup ginger , very finely minced
1 cup water
4 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cornstarch

Mix everything together and reserve. Add a few ounces to what every you are stir frying.

Lemon Chicken Sauce

Sauce:

Zest of 1/2 lemon
Juice of 1 Lemon (1/4 cup Juice)
3/4 cup Chicken broth
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons corn starch in water
Salt to taste



Cut chicken tenders into nuggets. Tenderize if desired, Season and bread with AP flour and corn starch. Pan fry.

Serve with sauce and white rice

I'm good a making bad Chinese food. Fried rice, stir fry and such. It's not healthy at all and would be judged harshly by those who know how to make Chinese food. But my kids for some reason love it.

Chinese sauces Recipes:

Chinese Sauces

Sweet and Sour Sauce
(Martin Yan)
1/4 cup Pineapple juice
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Rice wine vinegar - start with a tablespoon less than this and adjust after tasting. I use the full 1/4 cup but you may want less.
1 teaspoon finely minced ginger
3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 pinches red cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons Corn Starch


Kung Pao Sauce


2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Lemon Chicken Sauce

Zest of 1/2 lemon
Half cup Lemon Juice
1 cup Chicken broth
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons corn starch in water
Salt to taste


Dipping Sauce

1 ½ Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Chili Garlic Sauce
1 teaspoon Hot Chili Oil


Tangerine Sauce

½ cup Tangerine Juice
2 Tablespoons Sesame oil
1 Tablespoon sweet chili sauce
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Corn Starch
1 Tablespoon Ginger
½ teaspoon 5 spice powder

Cashew Sauce

1 teaspoon dry sherry
2 teaspoons corn starch
3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 teaspoons Sesame Oil
1 teaspoon sugar
3 Tablespoons Peanut Oil
2 teaspoons ginger, minced
2 teaspoons Garlic, minced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Onion
Green Pepper
1 cup Salted Cashews
¾ Pound Pork
rice

Honey Chicken Sauce

2 cloves Garlic oil
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Chinese cooking wine
1 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
¼ - ½ cup water

Rainbow Sauce

3 Tablespoons orange juice
2 Tablespoons Hoisin Sauce
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
½ teaspoon chili oil
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Rainbow pork
Green Beans
Carrots
Red, Green, Yellow Peppers
Green Onions
water Chestnuts
Onions
Purple Cabbage
Pork

Egg Drop Soup

2 Tablespoons Corn Starch
3 Tablespoons water
1 ¾ cups Chicken broth
1 Cup water
3 dashes White Pepper
½ teaspoon salt (to Taste)
2 large eggs, beaten
1/8 teaspoon ginger

Restaurant quality Chinese is hard to duplicate at home. Mostly because Chinese restaurants use super high BTU burners (think jet burner on a stove)

No, but my wife is. Of course she was born and raised

Similarly, I met him at a food expo. It was a very brief encounter and all I can remember thinking was, "this is the guy I watched all those years on PBS."

He was standing right in front of me. It's not often you get to meet your childhood hero.

Super nice dude who gave me a lot of encouragement.