Why are some Recipes so 'Unscientific'?

"An inch of ginger". Okay man... what's that in grams?

0:00 - The short answer
1:01 - Why volume kinda sucks
3:59 - Why weight also kinda sucks
7:15 - How to learn to go by feel
10:33 - An overly self effacing outro

The audio in this video was kind of rough in parts I know, so this video also exists in written form if you prefer over on the Substack (free as always):

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[ChineseCookingDemystified]

Hey guys, a couple notes:

1. I neglected to discuss in the video why I think 'by volume' generally works as a better bridge than 'by weight'. I discuss it at length in the Substack post, but the thrust of it is that (1) we're visual creatures, and it's much easier to estimate 'one tablespoon' than it is '100 grams' and (2) usually, you need to transfer ingredients from container --> dish *somehow*, and that's usually with your hands ("a pinch"), with a spoon, or some sort of cup.

2. Again, I know that this one was a bit of a weird one. I usually don't talk to the camera... I know my eyes wandered to my script at times, and that the audio was a bit rough in parts (damn our neighbors chickens...). Hopefully it all wasn't too distracting.

Anyway, just a quick one before we hop back to China for a trip :)

[internetshaquille]

it's always kinda funny when recipes commit hard enough to call for an exact mass of egg yolk instead of "1"

[yourfriendwill]

ginger, like garlic, one measures with one's heart.

[ctsilva]

My mother taught me that you follow a recipe exactly the first time, taste it, then make adjustments for the next time based on how you want those results to differ next time.

Fast forward 30 years, and my family is always amazed at how I get so many recipes "right" the first time I make something for them. Two reasons: 1. I have learned by so much experience cooking how to look at a recipe and know how it will taste and how to compare various recipes for the same dish and evaluate which one is the right one for my palate. And 2. I NEVER serve them a recipe the first time I make it; I make a test batch a few days before following the recipe exactly and have the Mrs taste it so we can decide the correct adjustments for everyone's palate before serving to the entire family

Cooking is science in methodology but art in execution

[skrunglywungkus]

god, the ISO standard bit is so real but also _damnit i want the mathematically exact same massaman curry as Pailin_

[ElSuperNova]

I'm in that weird camp of having done a PhD in organic chemistry and routinely measuring reagents to 4 decimals places but completely eschewing that for home cooking by doing things by feel and rough ratios. I just don't want to break out the digital scale at home becasue I already do it for work lol.

[Zarathinius]

"A recipe is a lesson plan" is such a good way to frame this. I've been learning from this channel for several years now, and I have definitely picked up more cooking intuition along the way.

[franzanth]

don't worry too much about straying from your usual format. this is a great discussion video and I'm sure you could come up with other interesting topics if you allow yourselves the freedom.

[MarkBalahadiaOfficial]

My maternal aunt was one of the best cooks in the family. She made many delicious Filipino and Filipino Chinese dishes in the style of the Southern Tagalog regions but she never taught me, I just remember watching and helping her cook for family parties. When she passed, I wanted to replicate her recipes the best that I could. I used other recipes, my memories of how she made them, and how they tasted to make my own recipes based on my aunt’s that were true in spirit. Are they exactly the same? No but I’d say I usually get the essence down and I often feel like I’ve made appropriate improvements to them. I also write them down, even with imprecise measurements more as a set of guidelines for myself in the future.

Even when I record measurements by weight, I never really exact with them because “feel” is an important element of cooking that comes with experience. Anyway, very interesting video indeed.

[etzool]

I've been cooking for about 25 years, and have a friend who's my age but just started learning. He's been going out of his mind over the fact that so many recipes go by volume rather than weight, and this video couldn't have come at a better time; you've elucidated it far better than my efforts so far. Thank you and well done!

[brookechang]

I love both this format and the sheer volume of information contained in this video.

That shot at the end made me laugh so hard, because it's so emblematic of Chinese cooking (or any historical recipe, really). I once tried to follow a recipe for ham sui gok where half the listed ingredient quantities were literally "some".

[cameton_youtube]

I really appreciate how Internet Shaquille does a lot of his videos, where he tries to emphasize a process or reasoning behind why certain decisions are made, then gives an example recipe using those rules. In the later case, I think by weight w/ specific ingredients used makes the most sense so you have (1) the general idea, and (2) a *specific* execution of it.

Y'all have also definitely done this on occasion, which I also appreciate

[fjlaboratories]

This video truly sums up my experience in the kitchen, having learned much of my Chinese cooking (despite being Chinese) from your channel. I start off with recipe suggestions for ingredient amounts, but then often add some (no such thing as too much garlic) or take away (black pepper isn't my thing) based on a feel and intuition from what I like and what worked in the past. It sort of ends at a middle ground of "by feel" and "by weight" where the recipe acts as a starting point to avoid too much trial and error wastage.

[uli]

I loved this video. Like, so much. Recipes are great, but explaining broader concepts helps to frame peoples' mindsets much better. 10/10 please make more! Also your mug isn't ugly!!!

[fretless]

I grew up cooking with my mom; I just loved spending time with her in the kitchen. She was a great cook, and something I learned early on is that she never followed recipes. She used them as guidelines and then adjusted as she went, as if cooking was an adventure much more than a chore. It instilled in me a love of the adventure of exploring different foods- the reason I love this channel!

[Rdeboer]

This is probably a good place to mention that the markings on measuring jugs often differ in actual volume by up to 30% between different brands. I've poured '500ml' from one jug into another one to find that it gave a measurement of 350ml in the second jug.

[TF_NowWithExtraCharacters]

I think one weakness the "by feel" approach has is... it needs experience, as you said. What if it's a dish I'm encountering for the first time? If I go by feel, it'll be similar to what I normally cook, whereas the other approaches give me a benchmark of "ok, this dish should taste roughly like this". After the first attempt I'm free to try adjusting it to suit my taste more, so it leans more into the "by feel" approach. And food being such a subjective experience, "by weight" is more accurate, but it's rarely needed for a home cook.

[cameronsouth]

i LOVE this format of video. i love when you guys get into the history of things or the "why" of things. im a chemistry teacher and a baker and i love these sorts of discussions

[sharpphilip]

Man, Chris, I know I’m going to sound obsequious, but you’re a fiercely bright guy—and I appreciate that the humility and self-effacement with which you and Steph approach your lessons makes you relatable without veering into self-deprecation.

I work in corporate learning and development, and, even before the end of the video, I had decided to share this my colleagues; this video is about much more than just cooking.

I hope you’ll make more videos like this. Your usual ones are great, too, but those can leave me ravenously hungry since I don’t get to eat the food I just watched y’all whip up; at least a lecture satiates my brain instead of sending me to the kitchen in goblin mode for a midnight snack.

Keep up the good work!

[fajarsetiawan]

Weight is a much superior way to measure. But in the end of the day, cooking is based on taste. So you must always taste, taste and taste your food and then adjust.