Chinese Spatula and Ladle

3 min read

Some wok sets consist of a pair of stirrers in the shape of a spatula and a ladle, made of iron or stainless steel, each with a long metal handle and a wooden tip.

Of the two, the ladle or scooper is more versatile. It is really a miniature wok with a long handle (its Chinese name actually means a little wok), and is an indispensable utensil in the professional kitchen, since it is used for adding ingredients and seasonings to the wok besides being a stirrer and scooper during cooking, as well as for transferring cooked food from the wok to a serving dish or bowl. It is also a measurer for the cook: a standard-size ladle will hold about 175ml (6 fluid oz) liquid, slightly smaller than a rice bowl.

The spatula or shovel has a rounded end to match the contours of the wok, therefore it can be very useful for scraping and lifting food from the bottom of the wok such as when cooking a whole fish, or large, thin slices of food. One common factor regarding the wooden tip attached at the end of the metal handle: it often becomes loose and falls off in your hand during cooking! So make sure it is nailed or glued firmly in place – you may have to do this yourself, since very seldom will you find this has been done by the manufacturers.

Strainers

There are two types of strainer used in a Chinese kitchen: one is made ofcopper or steel wire with a long bamboo handle (comparatively inexpensive); the other is made of perforated metal (iron or stainless steel, quite expensive). Strainers are used to scoop food out of hot oil or water. Their disc-like shape enables you to transfer large quantities of food quickly to avoid over- cooking.

Steamers

Again, there are two types of steamer: the traditional one made of bamboo, very pretty but not so easy to track down; or the modern version made of aluminium, widely available. It is not always necessary to use a Chinese steamer for certain dishes as you can easily improvise with a rack or trivet and a dome-shaped lid with the wok. Full details will be found in the steaming section on page 109.

Chopsticks

You may well wonder whether chopsticks are essential for Chinese cooking: the answer is yes and no!

Basically, there are only two types of chopsticks available: the very long ones – up to 41cm (16″) long, made of bamboo or wood; these are used for cooking only, rather like a pair of tongs. Then there are the standard-length chopsticks – between 25-28cm (10–11″) long – made of bamboo, lacquered wood, or heat-resistant plastic. These are mainly used at the table, but they can also be very useful in the kitchen, such as for mixing (instead of using a fork or spoon), and for egg-beating (instead of using an egg whisk). So, it is not absolutely essential to have chopsticks in the kitchen.

When it comes to using chopsticks for eating, I think it is essential that you should have them at the table. This is not purely an aesthetic question, but also a practical point – partly because all Chinese food is prepared in such a way that it is easily picked up by chopsticks; also, since you can only pick up a small morsel at a time, you really have to chew the food well before swallowing it down, thus chopsticks help the digestion as well as increasing your appreciation of the flavour of the food.

Learning to use chopsticks is quite simple and easy – use to help you. Just relax and don’t fix your eyes on your fingers, but rather concentrate on the food at the tip of the chopsticks – by the way, make sure the two chopsticks are level with each other, if the two sticks are not aligned, then it becomes very difficult to pick anything up.