**All-Purpose Mix**

Our all-purpose mix is a staple in many Chinese kitchens, and it's surprisingly easy to make at home. Unlike chili powders found in Western markets, Chinese chili powders are usually made from toasted chilies. This gives them a distinct flavor profile that's both spicy and savory. To start, we need 1 tablespoon of toasted chili powder. If you don't have access to Chinese chili powder, you can substitute it with cayenne pepper or other hot peppers. But if you want the authentic flavor, go for the real deal.

To make our chili powder, simply toast some dried chilies in a wok over medium-low heat for about 8 minutes, or until they've deepened to a rich chestnut color. Then, snip them into 1-inch pieces and toss them in a strainer to remove any seeds. Next, blend the mixture into a fine powder using a coffee grinder or spice grinder. This will give you the perfect consistency for your all-purpose mix.

In addition to our chili powder, we'll also need some other ingredients. There's cumin seeds, which should be blitzed into a fine powder using a spice grinder. We'll use about 1/2 teaspoon of this, as well as 1/4 teaspoon of star anise powder and 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper powder. You can adjust these amounts to taste, but this will give you a good starting point.

We'll also need some other ingredients like salt, citron peppercorn powder, ginger and garlic powder, and finally, MSG (monosodium glutamate). If your MSG is in larger crystals, be sure to pound it into a powder before adding it to the mix. Now that we have all our ingredients, simply combine them in a bowl and stir until they're well combined.

And there you have it – an all-purpose mix that's perfect for everything from stir-fries to braises. It may not be as spicy as some other Chinese seasonings, but it has a depth of flavor that's hard to beat.

**Guangdong Guangxi Variant**

Now, let's talk about a variant of our all-purpose mix that's popular in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions. This version is lighter on the chili powder and hits its flavor notes with sand ginger powder instead. If you can't find sand ginger, you can substitute it with galangal or another type of ginger.

To make this version, start by using about 1 teaspoon of chili powder instead of 2 tablespoons. Then, add an equal amount of sand ginger powder (about 1 teaspoon). You'll also need the same other ingredients as before: white pepper powder, five-spice powder, salt, and MSG. Remember to pound the MSG into a powder before adding it to the mix.

Now that we have our ingredients, simply combine them in a bowl and stir until they're well combined. And there you have it – a lighter, more delicate all-purpose mix that's perfect for dishes from the Guangdong and Guangxi regions.

**Cumin Lamb Seasoning**

Finally, let's talk about cumin lamb seasoning, which is a staple of northwestern Chinese cuisine. This blend is used to season lamb chops and skewers, giving them a deep, savory flavor. To make our cumin lamb seasoning, we'll start with 5 teaspoons of ground cumin. Be careful not to grind the cumin too fine, as you want to retain some texture.

Next, toast about 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds in a dry wok over medium heat until they're lightly browned and fragrant. This will bring out their nutty flavor and aroma. Then, blend the sesame seeds into a powder using a spice grinder or coffee grinder.

In addition to our toasted sesame seeds, we'll also need some other ingredients like fennel seed, chili powder, salt, and MSG. Blend these together in a bowl until they're well combined. Remember to pound the MSG into a powder before adding it to the mix.

Now that we have all our ingredients, simply combine them in a bowl and stir until they're well combined. This cumin lamb seasoning is perfect for grilling or roasting lamb chops and skewers. It's a flavor combination that's hard to beat!

**Marinating Meats**

While Chinese seasonings like these are amazing on their own, the real magic happens when you marinate meats in them. The acidity of the MSG (or other acidic ingredients) helps break down the proteins in meat, making it tender and flavorful.

To make a marinade, simply combine your favorite ingredients like cornstarch, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, garlic, ginger, and chili pepper flakes in a bowl. Then, add your seasonings – whether that's our all-purpose mix or cumin lamb seasoning – and stir until they're well combined.

When you're ready to cook, sprinkle the marinated meat with some additional salt and MSG (if using). You can then grill, roast, or sauté the meat to perfection. The result is a dish that's both flavorful and tender.

And there you have it – a few tips for making delicious Chinese dishes at home. Whether you're using our all-purpose mix or cumin lamb seasoning, remember to always taste as you go and adjust your seasonings accordingly. Happy cooking!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enso this week we want to talk about song cow that is Chinese barbecue see like basically everywhere in the world that has their own version of stuff on sticks smoldering over charcoal choco is one of those things that's probably equal part food in culture as the Sun starts going down in a Chinese city the shaka joints begin setting up for the night you can think of these places as like half restaurant and half bar a place that you can munch down on a veritable smorgasbord of meat tofu and veggies sure but also a place that you can kick back relax with friends roll some dice and let the empty Qingdao bottle slowly pile up I love Chou cow and we've been wanting to do a Chinese barbecue 101 video for you guys for a while but the bad news is that in our apartment complex we still aren't allowed to grill out on our balcony but with the grilling season coming up we figured we could at least go over the foundation of Chinese barbecue the spice mixes now as befitting something that spots street corners around the country there's gonna be a ton of diversity here someone from the Northeast is gonna use different mixes than someone from Xin Jiang would and even outside of those regional differences different companies and different vendors will have their own mixes so while we will be going over three different types of Shao Kahn spice mixes today just know that these ones are far from universal so that said first we'll go over a chili powder base mix that can sort of function as a general all-purpose Chou Kyle seasoning you usually see the stuff sprinkled on things like chicken wings or tofu skin then we'll show you a Guangdong Guangxi variant of that which hits a lot of the same notes but is a bit less spicy and finally finish up with a classic cumin seasoning that's an absolute must with lamb so first up our all-purpose mix which relies of course on chili powder now unlike chili powders in the West Chinese chili powders are usually made from toasted chilies so while you can absolutely swap in something like a quality cayenne pepper here let's just show you how to - some chilies real quick if you feel like going the extra mile so first grab some dried chilies these are a chili that we really like called gradual Longhorn but anything with a medium kick to it like our bowls opponets or cayenne z' would work just fine just snip your chilies into 1-inch pieces and toss in a wok and toast over a medium low heat for about 8 minutes or until the chilies have deepened into a chestnut color like so then just toss in a strainer if there's a quick jiggle to get out some of the seeds and give those a blitz any coffee or a spice grinder to get it into a fine powder for this recipe we'll need 1 tablespoons worth besides that we've also got 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds blitzed into a fine powder together with a quarter teaspoon of star anise powder 1/4 teaspoon works out to roughly 1/3 of a star anise and while you could break it apart we usually just grind up a whole one and reserve the excess we've also got a quarter teaspoon of white pepper powder 1/2 teaspoon citron peppercorn powder 1/4 teaspoon each ginger and garlic powder a teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon msg for the msg if your MSG's larger crystals like ours is first pound it into a powder then add all the remaining ingredients quick mix and with that you've got some barbecue seasoning now a slightly different way of thinking about the same thing is what we consider to be a bit of a guangdong variant it's a bit lighter on the chilli powder here about one teaspoon and hits it with an equal amount of sand ginger powder sand ginger or sha Jiang Mandarin is also used extensively in Malaysia where it can be found under the name günther usually we recommend subbing the stuff with galangal but honestly this mix is so sand ginger forward just do the previous one if you can't find it besides that we'll also be using a half TSP white pepper powder 1/4 teaspoon of five-spice powder together with a mandatory salt and msg pound the msg if you need quick mix and that is good to go next up cumin lamb seasoning this is an especially common mix in northwestern style Xiao Cal and a popular choice to go with lamb the country over if you go to a shop I join looking behind the grill you can often see two shakers one for the chili powder mix and one for the cumin mix and while we did go over this one in our cumin roast lamb video it's definitely worth going over again a cumin seasoning mix then predictably relies on cumin this was five teaspoons worth of cumin added to a spice grinder and blitzed when you're grinding your cumin though you do have to be careful that it doesn't get too fine ten to twenty seconds should be about right you don't really want visible seeds but you also don't want it to be overly powdery besides that the other thing that this will rely on is toasted sesame seeds always a useful thing to have around to toast first Hostin a dry walk and stir for about five minutes over medium heat you know they're done once they've deepened in color and started to make some like popping sounds then besides that we've also got one teaspoon of fennel seed this time blitzed into a fine powder a teaspoon of chili powder a teaspoon of salt and a half teaspoon msg same deal grind the msg but this time going with the sesame seeds after and give them a rough pound you don't want the sesame to get into a powder or anything but you do want to pound them open so that they release their oil all the other stuff in quick mix and the lamb seasoning is also done so in Chinese salchow expecially for meat not all the flavor comes from the spice mix also comes from marinades but they don't marinate like all the meat of course however there's like a whole other world about meat marinating but worse comes to worse you can always use our standard marinades - the cornstarch and sprinkle the spices on as you grill it so check out the description box for written recipes a big thank you for everyone that's supporting us on patreon and of course subscribe for more these cocaine videosso this week we want to talk about song cow that is Chinese barbecue see like basically everywhere in the world that has their own version of stuff on sticks smoldering over charcoal choco is one of those things that's probably equal part food in culture as the Sun starts going down in a Chinese city the shaka joints begin setting up for the night you can think of these places as like half restaurant and half bar a place that you can munch down on a veritable smorgasbord of meat tofu and veggies sure but also a place that you can kick back relax with friends roll some dice and let the empty Qingdao bottle slowly pile up I love Chou cow and we've been wanting to do a Chinese barbecue 101 video for you guys for a while but the bad news is that in our apartment complex we still aren't allowed to grill out on our balcony but with the grilling season coming up we figured we could at least go over the foundation of Chinese barbecue the spice mixes now as befitting something that spots street corners around the country there's gonna be a ton of diversity here someone from the Northeast is gonna use different mixes than someone from Xin Jiang would and even outside of those regional differences different companies and different vendors will have their own mixes so while we will be going over three different types of Shao Kahn spice mixes today just know that these ones are far from universal so that said first we'll go over a chili powder base mix that can sort of function as a general all-purpose Chou Kyle seasoning you usually see the stuff sprinkled on things like chicken wings or tofu skin then we'll show you a Guangdong Guangxi variant of that which hits a lot of the same notes but is a bit less spicy and finally finish up with a classic cumin seasoning that's an absolute must with lamb so first up our all-purpose mix which relies of course on chili powder now unlike chili powders in the West Chinese chili powders are usually made from toasted chilies so while you can absolutely swap in something like a quality cayenne pepper here let's just show you how to - some chilies real quick if you feel like going the extra mile so first grab some dried chilies these are a chili that we really like called gradual Longhorn but anything with a medium kick to it like our bowls opponets or cayenne z' would work just fine just snip your chilies into 1-inch pieces and toss in a wok and toast over a medium low heat for about 8 minutes or until the chilies have deepened into a chestnut color like so then just toss in a strainer if there's a quick jiggle to get out some of the seeds and give those a blitz any coffee or a spice grinder to get it into a fine powder for this recipe we'll need 1 tablespoons worth besides that we've also got 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds blitzed into a fine powder together with a quarter teaspoon of star anise powder 1/4 teaspoon works out to roughly 1/3 of a star anise and while you could break it apart we usually just grind up a whole one and reserve the excess we've also got a quarter teaspoon of white pepper powder 1/2 teaspoon citron peppercorn powder 1/4 teaspoon each ginger and garlic powder a teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon msg for the msg if your MSG's larger crystals like ours is first pound it into a powder then add all the remaining ingredients quick mix and with that you've got some barbecue seasoning now a slightly different way of thinking about the same thing is what we consider to be a bit of a guangdong variant it's a bit lighter on the chilli powder here about one teaspoon and hits it with an equal amount of sand ginger powder sand ginger or sha Jiang Mandarin is also used extensively in Malaysia where it can be found under the name günther usually we recommend subbing the stuff with galangal but honestly this mix is so sand ginger forward just do the previous one if you can't find it besides that we'll also be using a half TSP white pepper powder 1/4 teaspoon of five-spice powder together with a mandatory salt and msg pound the msg if you need quick mix and that is good to go next up cumin lamb seasoning this is an especially common mix in northwestern style Xiao Cal and a popular choice to go with lamb the country over if you go to a shop I join looking behind the grill you can often see two shakers one for the chili powder mix and one for the cumin mix and while we did go over this one in our cumin roast lamb video it's definitely worth going over again a cumin seasoning mix then predictably relies on cumin this was five teaspoons worth of cumin added to a spice grinder and blitzed when you're grinding your cumin though you do have to be careful that it doesn't get too fine ten to twenty seconds should be about right you don't really want visible seeds but you also don't want it to be overly powdery besides that the other thing that this will rely on is toasted sesame seeds always a useful thing to have around to toast first Hostin a dry walk and stir for about five minutes over medium heat you know they're done once they've deepened in color and started to make some like popping sounds then besides that we've also got one teaspoon of fennel seed this time blitzed into a fine powder a teaspoon of chili powder a teaspoon of salt and a half teaspoon msg same deal grind the msg but this time going with the sesame seeds after and give them a rough pound you don't want the sesame to get into a powder or anything but you do want to pound them open so that they release their oil all the other stuff in quick mix and the lamb seasoning is also done so in Chinese salchow expecially for meat not all the flavor comes from the spice mix also comes from marinades but they don't marinate like all the meat of course however there's like a whole other world about meat marinating but worse comes to worse you can always use our standard marinades - the cornstarch and sprinkle the spices on as you grill it so check out the description box for written recipes a big thank you for everyone that's supporting us on patreon and of course subscribe for more these cocaine videos\n"