Breville BEW600XL manual Little planning ahead makes stir-frying easier

SPECIAL INGREDIENTS

A little planning ahead makes stir-frying easier.

Agar-Agar

Is made from different types of seaweed. It has excellent setting properties, similar to gelatine, and will set at room temperature.

Bok choy

Also known as Chinese chard or Chinese white cabbage, has fleshy white stems and dark green leaves. It has a slight mustard taste. There is also a smaller version called shanghai or baby bok choy.

Bamboo shoots

The young tender shoots of bamboo plants are available in cans. They are mainly used to add texture to food.

Coconut cream and coconut milk

Both coconut cream and milk are extracted from the grated flesh of mature coconuts. The cream is a richer first pressing and the milk the second or third pressing.

Chili peppers, fresh and dried

Chili peppers are available in many different types and sizes. The small ones (Thai, macho, serrano, jalapeno) are the hottest. Use tight fitting gloves when handling and chopping fresh chilies they can burn your skin. The chili seeds are the hottest part of the chilies so remove them if you want to reduce the heat content of recipes.

Cilantro

This is also known as coriander and Chinese parsley. It is essential to many Southeast Asian cuisines. A strongly flavored herb, use it sparingly until you are accustomed to the unique flavor. Parsley can be used as a substitute; it looks the same but tastes quite different. Cilantro is available fresh. The dried spice version is labeled coriander and is available whole or ground.

Char siu sauce

This is the equivalent of Chinese BBQ sauce.

Crisp fried shallots

These are available pre-prepared from most Asian supermarkets.

Fish sauce

A thin, salty dark brown sauce with a distinctive fishy smell, which is used extensively in Thai and Vietnamese dishes. It is made from small fish that have been fermented in the sun. Fish sauce replaces salt in many recipes.

Garam marsala

A blend of spices, usually consisting of some combination of cinnamon, cumin, pepper, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg and mace. It can be bought already blended from supermarkets, but it is best freshly made. It is usually added towards the end of cooking.

Green Ginger Wine

An Australian made alcoholic sweet wine infused with finely ground ginger.

Hoisin sauce

This sauce is a thick sweet Chinese barbecue sauce made from a mixture of salted black beans, onions and garlic.

Hoikkien noodles

Also known as fukkien, these are thick, yellow and rubbery in texture. They are made from wheat flour and are cooked and lightly oiled before being packaged and sold. The noodles need to be broken up before cooking.

Rice noodles

These are fresh white noodles, they do not require a lot of cooking.

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BEW600XL_IB_A10.indd 23 24/06/10 1:28 PM