Does anyone know how to use a wok?

[Gypsy]

I got one for Christmas and I'm really excited about it ... the only problem is, I don't really have any good recipes. The only stuff I can seem to find online is Thai food, and most of the ingredients are very hard to find around here. Besides ... I wouldn't even know if I cooked it correctly since I've never had Thai food.

Does anyone have any tips or know of a recipe?

[Hephzibah]

lol I have one for spaghetti bolognaise... just get some mince, put it in there and 'fry' it for a bit while breaking it into small pieces. After it looks rather cooked, turn down the heat and add whatever sauce you like (myself I like Leggo's Red white sauce ) and let it simmer for a bit.

Cook the spaghetti, and after draining it, serve it with the mince Very simple but very yummy!

[Gypsy]

Thanks! But ... I don't know what mince is. I'm sorry to sound so dumb!

[Hephzibah]

that's ok.
Mince: minced meat;

I don't know if the States have it, but I would say so... its very common over here in Aussie

[shooraijin]

(translates from Strine to American) Ground beef ^^ my mum still calls it savoury mince when she makes ground beef stews for dinner.

I'll see if I can find any stir-fry recipes.

[Hephzibah]

Savoury Mince?
...
O! That's right... mince over there is fruit mince correct? Americans must have such sweet teeth, cause even their pies are sweet! What ever happened to good old fashioned meat pies?

[shooraijin]

Well, that's mince*meat*, right -- mincemeat (in the States) is finely chopped fruit.

Actually, they do sell meat pies in stores, although they're not quite the same as the Australian ones (and they certainly aren't sold at sporting events ).

[Gypsy]

Ah, ok. Yes, that should be very easy to come by. Thanks, Talame, I'll let you know how it comes out!

[Saint Kevin]

First of all, do you have a 'real' wok? As in...the kind of wok that they have in restaurants (solid steel, no cord, used over a gas flame)...or is it an electric wok?

Also, do read the instruction manual as pertains to 'seasoning' the wok. No, not salt and pepper...more like rubbing it down with oil, and other such things to prevent rust and prolong it's life.

As far as a stir-fry recipe goes...I may have a Kung Pao Shrimp recipe lying around somewhere...I'll try to find it.

Most of the time though, I find that you only really need a few ingredients:

1) Spices and oil: These include, in my stir-fry: Minced ginger root, green onions (optional), minced garlic, and a couple of dried peppers (you know the kind...in the chinese food from the restaurants when you ask for it spicy). I think that off of the top of my head, they are called anaheim chiles. Any chile will do...I've used dried chiles, as well as sambal chile paste from a container (in the asian food aisle). I prefer the chile paste, as it gives a much spicier result.

2) Meat: Steak, chicken, etc...note...that if you use some kinds of seafood (shrimp, scallops,etc.) they will cook very quickly, and should be added last. This is backwards from the usual process of adding meat first. A word about meat: You can marinate it or use any combination of spices that you like, but salt and pepper will work fine if you're in a hurry. If you had a spice packet, or some grated ginger/garlic/peppers, you can mix them with a bit of vinegar and oil and marinate your meat in it a while. This gives the best result.

3) Vegetables: Whatever seems good to you...broccoli, carrots, snow peas, bamboo shoots; use your imagination. Also, when you are cutting a vegetable, be sure to cut it along a diagonal, not straight up and down. This exposes more surface area of the vegetable to the sauce, speeding up the cooking process and making it taste better.

4) Sauce base: For me this is typically a combination of chicken stock (not always necessary), rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce. Note that you need to add these slowly and to taste, so as not to add too much. Also of note: sauce packets from the store (in the aisle with the spices) can really make you job easier here. I recommend them if you're just starting out, as you don't really know what the sauce is supposed to taste like.

5) Additives: No, not MSG (ancient Chinese secret). I'm talking peanuts if you want Kung Pao, sesame seeds if you were going for sesame-something, maybe some chow mein noodles if you're into that kind of thing (I'm not). Also, if you are using noodles instead of rice, add them last directly into the sauce and toss (like pasta).

Ok, there you have your ingredients...what to do with them. First of all, you should have all of your preparation done (that means cutting, mincing, chopping, grating, etc.) BEFORE you put anything in the wok. Trust me...you get way better results if you do.

1) Put a couple of tablespoons of oil (typically vegetable/peanut oil) into your wok. Into your room temperature oil, add your garlic, ginger, and peppers. Doing this helps infuse your oil with the flavors of these ingredients.

2) The oil is ready when you can spit (the more sanitary way is to flick a drop of water) into the wok and have it sizzle instantly. When your oil is hot, add your meat and start stirring. (Stir-fry works best with a very hot wok (think 375, maybe 400), and a lot of stirring. Stuff stays crisp and light, not soggy and heavy, when you do it this way.)

3) When your meat is cooked, add your vegetables and sauce base (and spice packet, if you're going that route) and stir frequently. Some people say that tougher vegetables (e.g. bamboo shoots) should be added a little before the rest of your vegetables, and that delicate vegetables (think baby corn) should be added later. They are right, but I usually get pretty good results adding all the vegetables at the same time. The only exception is if I have some broccoli with tough stems. Those need a bit longer than the other vegetables.

If you are serving stir-fry alongside rice...it's about that time to boil your water for your minute rice. If you are using long-grain (i.e. non-instant)...hopefully you know what you're doing, or you have a rice cooker. It's just rice...I'll assume you know what to do with it.

4) Don't forget to stir, and taste, at this stage. Don't be afraid to tweak things, you really can't ruin things that much.

5) Serve. Like I said, if you're using noodles, they get tossed into the wok with everything else (ramen works really well this way...especially if you're broke...just don't add the ramen packet).

There you go. Have fun, and I hope I didn't scare you. It's really not that complicated. Oh, and tell me how your stir-fry turns out.

P.S. If you ever plan on making sweet and sour, I can't really help you out on the breading of the chicken or whatever (I've never done it)...but I DO have a killer homemade sweet and sour sauce recipe that puts even the restaurant stuff to shame. It goes really well with crab-cheese wontons.
I have a killer recipe for that too. I'll post it if you like.

[Maledicte]

oi....now I am getting hungry, mmmmmmm.
I need a wok.

[Gypsy]

First of all, do you have a 'real' wok? As in...the kind of wok that they have in restaurants (solid steel, no cord, used over a gas flame)...or is it an electric wok?

Mine is a flat bottom wok, but after looking at other pictures, I noticed that mine only has one handle. I know next to nothing about cooking - if it's not a toaster oven or a microwave, chances are I don't know how to use it. I'd like to learn, but I'm just not a natural cook. Maybe my wok is really a funny shaped frying pan, but it did say wok on it, and in the little book that came with it.

Thank you for the tips, I'll do my best!

Don't be afraid to tweak things, you really can't ruin things that much.

Heh, you're talking to a real-life Akane Tendo. Last time I made stir fry, Spades threw it all in the trash ... (I thought it was pretty good, but she's the one who can cook). And when I made Ashley poutine, she spit it back out in her plate (I thought that tasted good, too). Anyway, I don't have a good track record, but I still want to learn.

Also, there's no fan over the stove (thank you, landlord). Is that going to be a huge problem with the steam?

[Ashley]

And when I made Ashley poutine, she spit it back out in her plate

....I did not! It was in a napkin I thought you didn't see.

Ahem, before the Canadians come to kill me for that little snafu, my parents have a wok that came with a huge cookbook. We never use it anymore, but if you want it you're welcome to it. From what I've seen at work, there's a lot of tossing involved, and a weird wooden spatula.

[Mave]

I cook and eat stirfry almost everyday so maybe I can help. I'll echo some basics that might have already been mentioned.

1) Always prepare your food ingredients before frying. Ex. cut veggies/meat up first
2) The wok should be pretty hot that your food ingredients should be sizzling in the oil in an instant. I'm guessing that out of a scale of 10, I would raise the heat to 6 or 7 and probably wait 5 minutes (?). But if your pan/wok starts to smoke, you know you've overheated it and that is not good. ^_^;;;
3) The beauty of stirfry is that the cooking should only take 5-10 minutes. It cooks fast and therefore, retains the flavor.

I usually start with adding garlic/onion/ginger to the heated oil and then, make my way up to ingredients that needs cooking (ex. Meats, eggs, potatos), then if applicable, noodles/rice and finally, ingredients that don't take long to cook (seafood, leafy vegetables <--- do not overcook, the former becomes tough while leafy veggies become yellow and lose nutrients/crispiness). It really depends on the dish you wish to try out and most of my cooking techniques come from watching my mum and my personal experiments.

********************************
Here's a popular stirfry dish from home. Let us know if you want something specific.

'Mee Goreng' / Fried Noodles Malaysian style

Serves about 8

1/2 cup cooking oil 6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 cup sliced cooked chicken
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 medium tomato, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup grated potatoes
1/2 pound hard tofu, diced into 1/2 inch cubes and deep-fried until very light brown
1/2 pound bean sprouts
1/2 pound egg noodles, cooked, then drained and mixed with 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
3 tablespoons tomato ketchup
2 tablespoons soya sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 medium onion, sliced and fried
2 red hot chilli, thinly sliced

Heat oil in a heavy frying pan or wok to piping hot, then add garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 1 minute. Stir in chicken, then stir-fry for another minute. Add cabbage, tomato, potatoes, tofu and bean sprouts, then stir fry for 2 minutes. Stir in noodles, ketchup, soya sauce and oyster sauce, then stir-fry for another minute. Place on a serving platter, then garnish with onion and chilli and serve.

[Gypsy]

Thanks, Mave! I have to print these replies out and take them to the grocery store. ^^

[shooraijin]

Mave, do you have anything for nasi goreng? Or lemak?

[R. Zion]

Gyspy, I found a picture especially for you and your wok-using adventure!

[Mangafanatic]

Just thought I'd pop in a mention that atleast one Southern Living Cookbook has a section on Cooking with a Wok. That might be informative and helpful if you should have access it.

[shooraijin]

Simply because no well-dressed Southern belle would be without a wok, I suppose? *boggles*

[Mangafanatic]

[quote="shooraijin"]Simply because no well-dressed Southern belle would be without a wok, I suppose? *boggles* ]


Yes, it is necessary for all Southern hostesses to be equipped to serve the taste of any guest. Escargo, anyone?

Note: After I poster that, it occured to me how odd it was that there was a section devoted to Woks and not to deep friers or something more traditional. Oh well. I won't even attempt to understand it.

[R. Zion]

Well, the South.... the old south is located more on the east coast ---> Woks are used in Asia ----> Asia is called the far east, ergo those in the south would use the Woks of the east since they are on the east coast. See, it's all very simple.

Or some such nonsense. I'm sure this, like most of the other stuff I post, seemed much more clever in my head than in print.

[Mave]

You're welcome, Gypsy!

Mave, do you have anything for nasi goreng? Or lemak?

Gee...nasi goreng is very diverse. You can have just about any flavor you want (Ex: I've fried my rice with ketchup, turmeric, teriyaki, and sweet soy sauce before and it's just a matter of personal taste). But here's a basic one from my Malaysian recipe book (which I brought exculsively from home ]Ingredients:
[/B]2 TB boiled shrimp
1 medium sized red onion - chopped
1/2 C precooked green peas
2 red chillies - sliced
400 gms cold, cooked rice
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
coriander leaves (for garnish)

Method
1) Heat the oil and fry the onions until light brown
2) Add the rice and fry for a couple of minutes, stirring continuously
3) Push the rice aside and crack the eggs into the centre of the wok
4) Stir well for 3 minutes
5) Add the prawns, peas, salt and pepper and remove from heat. Garnish. XD

OT:
The rice for nasi lemak is actually very simple. Cook the rice in some coconut milk and if you have pandan/screwpine leaves, just add them there for additional fragrance and flavor. It's preferably that you use an electric rice cooker but a stove pan is 'doable' <--but you have to keep watch lest it'll overcook and burn. *huggles her rice cooker* XD Similarly, the rice from Malaysia/Hong Kong 'kai fan' is cooked with chicken stock/fat.

The other ingredients of nasi lemak such as roasted peanuts, sliced cucumber and fried eggs is simple. The so-called most challenging part of this dish is the spicy sambal or curry. <--- Do you want the recipe for this as well? It involves anchovies. hehe

Feel free to ask for other Malaysian/Southeast Asian recipes, even if they aren't stir fry dishes. ^_^ But you must be prepared for 1) spicy stuff and 2) to prepare the dishes from scratch/fresh ingredients (the really delicious dishes are not instant XD;;;).

[FadedOne]

P.S. If you ever plan on making sweet and sour, I can't really help you out on the breading of the chicken or whatever (I've never done it)...but I DO have a killer homemade sweet and sour sauce recipe that puts even the restaurant stuff to shame. It goes really well with crab-cheese wontons.
I have a killer recipe for that too. I'll post it if you like.

If I may, can I request your sweet and sour sauce recipe?? I'd surely love to try some real stuff, stead of the restaurant-packet blasphemy.

So yeah...please post it!

[Gypsy]

Yes, please do. ^^