Hutong Cuisine Cooking Class

Like we did in other countries, we signed up for a cooking class in Beijing – Hutong Cuisine (hutongcuisine.com) with Chun-Yi Zhou.  She offered her classes in  an authentic hutong (old Beijing-style) home.   We were particularly excited about the class since we have tried our hand at Chinese cooking already, based on what my (Tony) Mom had taught me.

Here’s our prep/dining table.   We used the Chinese chef’s knife, better known to westerners as a meat cleaver.   I like using it for Chinese cooking because it makes smashing, mincing, and scooping really easy.  We even learned a great tip:  hold the knife higher up on the spine so that your index finger and thumb actually hold the blade to stabilize it.  Otherwise, you’re using your wrist, which will tire out very quickly considering how heavy the knife is.

What else did we learn?  Light soy sauce is for flavoring.  Dark soy sauce is for color.  Also, the teacher used cooking oil from the market that is a blend of peanut oil, safflower oil and something else.

Outside of that, we didn’t learn much.  🙁    We realized that we would be better off to watch my Mom cook since she could teach us far more.   BUT, the whole experience was rather amusing and unusual.  Here’s why…  see our teacher in the photo below?  Looks like a pleasant person, no?

Well, she’s no angel.  Think soup nazi, but you’re behind the counter WITH him.  She barked orders at us and other students, shouting things like “what did you do that for?  you’re doing it all wrong!”   Her assistant caught most of the tongue-lashing, but you didn’t need to understand Mandarin to know that she was not happy.

She also didn’t know her own recipe!  As she taught us, she would constantly refer back to the recipe, even taking my copy to see what to do next!  … Credibility = zero!   I couldn’t help but smile.  Why hasn’t anyone opened up a competing “school”?   And the kicker was when Lisa and I were cooking, she wasn’t even in the kitchen.  She had rushed into the other room to eat because her rice was getting cold… wow!

Not all was bad though – most of the recipes turned out really good.  Here’s our yu hsiang rou shi, or fish-flavored shredded pork, a common dish found in Chinese restaurants (and our personal favorite of the class).

So… beware if you’re taking a cooking class in Beijing.  This class is sold through her website separately, as well as through Hias Tours, a popular culinary tour agency.

Up next, we check out the Forbidden City, with fewer Chinese tourists this time around.