The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-09-10
cHINEse KITCHEN in NEW YORK.
condinlent-Case and Culinary Utensils
Roasting and Smoking Cleanliness.
- r-,.:.. r. l.. c,1,innorc, Nnurs

condin,ent-Cas and Culinary Utensils
Roasting and smoIxing-Cleanliness.
Wong Chin Foo in Chicago News.l
The kitchen is not only visible to the
guest, but is in reality portion OF the
dining hall. All the utensils and para
phernalia are before your eyes; even the
meats vegetables and the cooks them
selves are practically on exhibition. To
those who have believed that the Celestial
cooked in some primitive way visit to
and inspection of his culinary arrange
ments is revelation.
The Chinese kitchen greatly resembles
the American A sink with an unlimited
supply of fresh water, a stove, and
table, are ARTICLES common to both Be
sides these it has, what every civilized
kitchen should have, a butchers chop
ping-bloc 8 pastry table, and condl-
mentcase The pastry table differs from
the ordinary kind in having hard wood
top of extra thickness. The rolling-pin
that accompany it are three in number, of
hard wood, three inches in diameter, and
about five feet long. The condiment-case
is fiat box about. three by two feet, and
usually contains the following: salt,
black, white, and red pepper, mus
tard, dried lemon and orange peel
ginger, both plain and picked, sal
garlic onion, cassia buds, tamarind ex
tract, sweet OIL walnut catchup, tarragon,
savory thyme, mint, and dried celery.
These make up the condiments used in
ordinary cooking On great occasions
other and more expensive articles are en-
ployed. s.
Almost all are globular and made in one
piece. The Chinese cook dislikes the
angles, corners, and edges of American
pans and pots, as these involve much
more trouble in cleaning and are liable to
hold dirt or decaying organic matter be-
Yond the reach of dish-cloth or dish
brush Most pans and pots are segments
of globe two or three feet in diameter.
Kitchen spoons strainers, cake turner's,
stirrers, and scoops are made with about
the same curvature, so that the COOK has
no difficulty in managing any article he
may be cooking.
though the latter are universally pre-
ferred. They are built generally inside,
but at times outside the stove. In roast
ing, smoking or drying any food the ar
ticle is suspended by a wire in the cen
ter of the fire pit and the fire is built on
pile of bricks just outside the ash-pit
door. The draught carries the flame and
heated air through the fire-pit to the
chimney, and so accomplishes the work
to be done. Where slow roasting would
dry the Juices of the food the article is
first suspended over very hot, sharp fire
until the skin is Drowned, and is then
treated in the way just described
hinese cooks vary from their Amer
lean colleagues in other ways. The keep
ing of raw meats is not tolerated in q
first class Celestial kitchen, ice-box or no
ice box. A chicken or duck is carefully
kept alive in q little pen until an hour be-
fore dinner, and is then killed. Pork,
beef and mutton are cooked as soon as
delivered by the butcher: The reason
is that in warm climates raw
meats urn bad and decay in few hours,
while, when cooked, especially roasted,
they would keep as many days The en-
pneumatic oils of the smoke in roasting
act as preservative, and will keep duck
aud pork sweet and wholesome for more
than a fortnight. In fact, prominent
! Chinese exports are smoked duck and
! pork, which are sent and sold all over the
| world
Nearly all Chinese kitchen utensils are
provided with a hook, ring and eye in
| order to hang up. Over the stoves is an
iron-bar or heavy wire to which spoon
stirrer and Gake-turner are alike attached.
| Even knives and cieavers, forks and
prongs are treated in this way. In a
! good Chinese kitchen every article is re.
! Quired to be spotless, ready for use, and
visible to the guest .
Business begins about o'clock and
/ continues till midnight Despite the
small prices charged. it pays fairly from
an American and very we'll from Chinese
standpoint. Tie proprietor of a good
restaurant seldom clears less than 81, 900
a year. In five years he can return to his
native village and there be a social mug
wump for the rest of his life. Many OF
them become AmericaniZed and endeavor
to live accordingly.