Chinese Cooking Tools

In addition to the wok and cleaver, there are several other tools found in virtually every Chinese kitchen:

Metal wok spatula and ladle. The metal spatula is used for many things, but it is especially good for stir frying, large quantities and/or fried rice and glutinous rice cakes. It can also be used to scrape up bits of food that have stuck to the bottom of the wok. The ladle is also used for these tasks as well as for soups, stews, sauces, etc. Many Chinese chefs use the ladle exclusively and never the spatula. Handles of both the spatula and ladle should be long enough to prevent the chef from getting burned.
Bamboo cooking utensils. These are great for everyday stirring and mixing needs. They don’t absorb flavors, colors, and liquids easily and don’t conduct all the heat from the wok like the metal spatula does. They can be used interchangeably with the metal wok spatula.
Bamboo strainer/Spider. This is a great tool for frying, coarse straining and removing dumplings or similar items from the cooking liquid.
Fine mesh strainer. This type of strainer is essential during deep frying to remove fine food bits and particles which may burn and spoil the cooking oil. They also help decant the oil after frying for reuse.
Bamboo steamer. The bamboo steamer allows the preparation of multiple dishes at once by stacking layer upon layer of bamboo racks, requiring only one burner and one wok. Each dish can be cooked in its own time, and several layers can be added.