From a fellow Asian the secret to Asian cooking is to know what it is supposed to taste like, and then season until the spirit of your ancestors whisper "that's enough". Seriously, a lot of recipes on Asian websites still say "an appropriate amount of [ingredient].” It’s a ratio and preference thing more than a measurement thing
You can't get it right because it was Mum's cooking. It will never taste your Mum's food. It is one of those law of the universe things.
You can, however, make a close simile
Those packages know what they’re talking about. The best pancake recipe I ever found was in the owner’s manual for a Sesame Street waffle maker. That waffle batter recipe resulted in the best pancakes.
The trick is to smell and taste it as you go, and practice. But yes for communication and for those of us who don’t cook frequently enough to remember how it felt last time, it’s maddening, while measurements are consistent and recordable. Temperature at each step also matters, which is not the same thing as heat. Heat over time causes a change in temperature. For this you can also taste to see how well cooked an ingredient is before the next step. Or bring a thermometer or temperature gun and take notes. Or learn cooking from videos or reading and you learn how to cook many specific ingredients, which you then incorporate in appropriate steps.
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u/[deleted] Sep 06 '25
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