Cuisine of the Month: Chinese

I'm sure everyone has tried "Chinese" food... But is it really Chinese? The Chinese food available in America is almost always non authentic, and many of our classic "Chinese" favorites are just made here. I've always liked Chinese food, but I never really knew what it was until I ended up in a small, locally owned, traditional Chinese restaurant called Chou's Kitchen in Chandler. If you think Panda Express, Pei Wei, or P.F. Chang's is Chinese, think again.

Come here for the BEST Chinese food

Chou's Kitchen isn't the fanciest restaurant, but has a family friendly atmosphere. The owners and staff recognize us now, and are always super nice. Chou's specializes in Manchurian cuisine, and is famous for it's selection of pies, buns, and pancakes. Whenever I go to Chou's, I HAVE TO order the beef pies.

Crispy on the outside, soft and juicy on the inside

True Chinese food has a homemade element that you can rarely find at a chain restaurant. The uniqueness comes from the use of a variety of spices, including the Szechuan peppercorn. This special pepper causes your tongue to become numb. Some say that it even helps you handle spicier foods than you could normally eat. When eating a Szechuan peppercorn, your mouth starts to tingle a little bit. It's quite an interesting sensation. When at Chou's, I always have Szechuan Chicken and Beef in Chili Oil, dishes that both play with the complexity of the peppercorn.

Beef in Chili oil highlights the Szechuan Peppercorn

Szechuan Chicken with dried red peppers

What else do I love about Chinese? The answer is simple: dried chili oil. No Chinese dish is complete without a little dried chili oil. A lot of the times, you can find mildly spicy homemade chili oil, which won't make your tongue burn, but definitely provides texture and flavor. People think I'm crazy, but I enjoy eating it on it's own... with a spoon... I told you I was crazy.

This completes any Chinese dish

Other Chinese dishes that I love include, ones like these:

Cumin Beef highlights cumin's smoky flavor

Crispy Chinese Noodles

Stews made in clay pots

Before you start your meal, you can ask for complimentary Chinese cornmeal porridge. Before this, I had no idea that cornmeal porridge was part of Chinese cuisine. It's a bit bland for me, but after dumping in a satisfying amount of chili oil and soy sauce, is the perfect way to start off a meal.

Try ordering this at Panda Express

So- I bet you can't find any of this at Panda Express. Well, in a flavorful manner, anyways. Chinese cuisine is really homemade and you can taste the love in the food, when it's made correctly, of course. I would really advise you to try an authentic Chinese place out- trust me, you'll never be able to eat a fortune cookie ever again.

Now, I'm going to go complain about how hungry I am to my parents... Maybe they'll take me to Chou's kitchen.