Cooking terms
ok4rm
October 07, 2012, 08:42 AM posted in I Have a QuestionHello,
I was looking for some recipe to make 饺子. I found some, but unfortunately I realized I could not understand some cooking terms.
http://www.xinshipu.com/%E7%8C%AA%E8%82%89%E7%99%BD%E8%8F%9C%E9%A5%BA%E5%AD%90-15665.htm
I consider myself to be still at elementary level, so I often use online or mobile dictionary, e.g. mdbg.net where I can paste the whole text and pick up the unknown words.
Unfortunately, the cooking terms seem not to be included in the common dictionaries. I was trying to search cooking in chinesepod.com, too, but it seems all the relevant lessons are about eating rather than cooking :-)
E.g. in this sentence: 先把白菜切碎，加入盐杀5分钟 I do not understand the meaning of 杀: should I heat the cabbage, boil it, braise it, or just leave the salt take water out of it? Dictionary says "kill / murder / to weaken or reduce / to counteract". None of these meanings make sense to me when talking about cabbage with salt added.
The next step, 然后，加入凉水泡1，2分钟is a complete mystery to me. 凉 is translated as "cool" or "cold" and 水泡 as "bubble / blister". Cold bubbles? One or two minutes? What is it???
Thank you,
Jindra
ok4rm
October 07, 2012, 06:47 PMMany thanks, toianw. I need to study more. Getting the word wrong out of three characters in an oline dictionary is .. a newbie error, maybe.
I tried the recipe, the result was not bad. For me the taste was perhaps a little bit too salty. I have to look for more recipes how to make dough and how to make the skin. I used a very simple dough made of wheat flour and the result is a little bit too thick and stiff. Edible, but different from what they serve in my local 中国饭店. Their 饺子 skin is much thinner and softer... I was fool when I expected the filling to be the most difficult part. ;-)
Thank you very much!
toianw
October 07, 2012, 10:27 AMHi Jindra,
杀 here is short for 杀水 (probably also not in a dictionary) which means to get the water out by adding salt and leaving to stand. So just add the salt, mix well, then leave to stand for 5 mins.
As for 加入凉水泡1，2分钟, you can read it like this 加入(add) 凉水 (cold water) 泡1，2分钟 ([and] soak for 1-2 mins).
Hope it helps. Good luck!