I work in a Chinese takeaway

[mniser]

I've worked there 7 years and I'm currently very bored AMA

I love moo shu pork! That's another dish where hosin sauce is the magic ingredient:

www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/moo-shu-pork-recipe-1973360

It's also offered as moo shu beef, moo shu chicken, etc and found very commonly in American Chinese restaurants.

To your other question I've noticed here to that dine in Chinese restaurants seem to be less common compared to take out shops, except for the more posh places.

How do they get the beef so tender and soft... ?
Whenever I order I am known as 'no peas', do they have nicknames for other customers...?

Bloody hell OP I am starving now!!!!

@RachelBlue hi we get a lot of customers with gulten free requirements we normally suggest a fried rice dish for example chicken and just ask them to not add soy sauce also I'd recommend Singapore vermicelli as it's made with rice noodles but check there's no other gluten ingredients as every place is different if you say it's an allergy and not a life style choice they will be extra careful about it to avoid a law suit. Also some places use rice flour instead of wheat based flour so it's always worth asking incase there is sauces you can have without even knowing it.

@RachelBlue sorry forgot to also mention avoid the beef dishes is possible as a lot of places marinade the beef then coat in flour so just be careful

Hello thanks for doing this, question i have is does the chicken or king prawn chow main have sugar in? And does any of the food have no sugar in mains

@glennamy I think it's down to the marinade and a decent cut of beef to be honest also we don't use nicknames for people we get all sorts of strange requests people have asked for nothing green at all in dishes and have a lot of people swapping ingredients for different ones I wouldn't worry about it. It's probably just to make sure they have your order right.

@chicken2015 the chow mien will have some sugar in due to the sauce but if you get it dry it will have a lot less in. We add sugar to most dishes however the black bean for example is a lot lower than sweet and sour or even curry. If you ask nicely enough they can add less sugar to any dish for you or at least we do anyway we've had a few requests like that due to diet January.

Yes, a key part of preparing meat in Chinese cookery is ‘velveting’. It tenderises the meat and makes it really silky. It involves coating it in various things (egg white, oil, cornflour) to tenderise.

Thanks @mniser and @MissConductUS - I'll look at that link. One day I'll go back to San Francisco and go back to the restaurant we went to in China Town. I've just googled and it's still there!

@MissConductUS
Prawn crackers aren't filled at all, they are like thick chips, but really light and prawn flavoured. They melt on the tongue and are yummy

@mniser
Do you do duck chow mein? It's my favourite dish but not all takeaways serve it.
We're actually staying at a holiday park in Durham at Easter, you might be close enough to pop in!

@purplebunny2012 I didn't really know how to describe prawn crackers but that's a good way of doing it. Yes we do duck chow mien where abouts in Durham will you be staying?

@purplebunny2012 - apparently this prawn cracker deficit is the source of major disappointment for British expat's in the US:

britishexpats.com/forum/usa-57/wot-no-prawn-crackers-239300/

I see an opportunity for some savvy British entrepreneur in filling this unmet need.

What type of sugar do you use mainly? I have an allergy I'm trying to decipher and had a reaction after a chinese takeway- noodles etc . I am wondering on cane sugar/demera sugar as that seems to be common in other things I've had reactions to!

I really fancy your salt n pepper box! But we are nearer sunderland than durham!

@mniser
Looks like we're between Peterlee and Hertlepool

@MissConductUS

@Msgiggles30 we use cane sugar in all of our dishes.

@juneybean that's a bit far really we are about half an hour away from Sunderland unfortunately.

@purplebunny2012 that's the other side of durham to where we are so it would be a bit far sorry.

@mniser
Ah, no worries, thanks

Fascinating thread mniser, we love Chinese takeaways but don't often have them. Sometimes we buy enough for days at a time and just reheat.

Which oils do the chefs use to cook with, especially for deep frying? X

drooling

Do you cater for a halal diet? So no pork or alcohol.

I'm a bit alarmed you say that white wine is used a lot. How commonly is it used and any dishes it would be in that you wouldn't expect?

I love salt n pepper chips.

You're not near Consett are you? (Pls say yes 🙏🏼)

@LyingWitchInTheWardrobe what's your go to order?

@Chichz we use vegetable oil for frying and sesame oil for the fried rice.

@MrsSiba all of the vegetable dishes would be halal we also do a lot of quorn dishes so they would be suitable unfortunately we do use white wine in our salt and pepper dishes so best to check with your local Chinese.

@muddypuddles12 we are about seven miles from consett.