Cooking Methods and Heat Control: Stir-fry, Braise, Steam, Roast, Double-boil
This domain tests whether you can name the heat level, the time, and the thickening method for a given dish - and explain why they were chosen.
Heat levels and oil temperature
旺火 for 炒 and 爆, roughly 30–60 seconds of contact; 中火 for 烧 and 焖; 小火 for 炖 and 煨; 微火 for 吊汤 and holding. Oil stages: 三四成 (about 90–120 °C) for 滑油 of 上浆 items; 五六成 (150–180 °C) for general frying; 七八成 (200–240 °C) for 炸 and 爆.
Method families
- 炒 splits into 滑炒 (slippery, oil-blanched), 煸炒 (dry, no added liquid), and 爆炒 (旺火, 碗芡 added in one pass).
- 红烧 uses 糖色 or soy for colour and finishes with a starch-thickened 收汁; 干烧 reduces naturally and is never thickened with starch.
- 蒸 needs full steam from the start: about 8 minutes per 500 g for 清蒸鱼, then 2 minutes 虚蒸 off the heat.
- 隔水炖 (double-boil) seals the 炖盅 and sits it in a 微沸 water bath for 2–4 hours, giving a clear soup with no evaporation loss.
- 烤 divides into 挂炉 (hanging, radiant) and 焖炉 (closed, residual heat).
Worked example
宫保鸡丁, 荔枝味. 碗芡: 糖 12 g, 香醋 15 g, 生抽 8 g, 料酒 8 g, 淀粉 5 g. Velvet the diced chicken, 滑油 to about 70% done, then toast 干辣椒 and 花椒 at low heat until the 糊辣 aroma appears but the chilli has not blackened. Return the chicken over 旺火 for about 15 seconds, add the 碗芡, finish with 红油. Reasoning: the chilli is toasted below its smoke point so the aroma develops without bitterness.
Traps that cost marks
- 热锅凉油 - heating the wok to smoking before adding oil - is what produces 锅气 and prevents sticking; a cold wok does neither.
- Thickening a 干烧 dish with starch, which turns it into a 红烧.
- Opening the steamer lid mid-cook, which collapses the fish.
- Holding a double-boil at a rolling boil, which clouds the soup.