stir fry

yzzi · March 2012

I'll be on the hunt for a wok and spider now, I guess. Yet more money to put into the egg....

yellowdogbbq · March 2012

Anyone out there using a Woo 3 instead of a spider? Thought it would keep the wok closer to the coals (top of the fire box) but still keep the top of the wok at felt level so it's easy to cook with. Thanks for the help, just planning on what to buy.

Snowren24 · March 2012

thanks for posting the recipe! I seasoned my wok last night, cooked up some green onions like it said to do. Cant wait to use it, I hope to get started tonight.

skotdee · March 2012

I know you shouldn't overload the amount of food you stir fry at one time, but how much is too much? Im wondering if I can double the Rasa Malaysia recipes for example (cashew chicken, kung pao shrimp, etc) to feed 4 instead of 2 from one cook... I think Im gonna try it and report back. I've done three stir fries on my 16" carbon steel so far and am loving it!

skotdee · March 2012

Sorry, double post

Chubbs · March 2012

I double the Kung pao recipe and added noodle last time with no issue. 4 ate off of it.

skotdee · March 2012

Wow, that sounds good, what kind of noodles do you use?

Chubbs · March 2012

I used some organic buckwheat noodles I found at publix. They are basically some chinese lo mein noodles.

Botch · March 2012

Well, that was fun!

I was going to clean up my new cast iron, chinese wok from The Wok Shop tomorrow after work and then season it on my Egg,

But, tonight, I couldn't wait and dove in anyway! There was a small slip of green paper with my particular wok, saying to boil water in the wok with a couple tablespoons of baking soda for twenty minutes to release the non-corrosive coating. I remember someone on this thread had trouble getting the water to boil, so I decided to do it on the Egg. Even with a full blaze it only bubbled at a simmer (?) don't know if its the huge surface area or what. So, I let it cook 3 times the recommended time and then dumped the water. There's a danger in this method, should you happen to spill any water into the Egg while its hot it'll probably shatter.

I shut down the Egg most of the way, let the wok cool (see photo #2, the Small plate setter is a perfect stand for a 16" wok) and then scrubbed it down with a copper scrubbing pad in hot soapy water in the sink. The copper pad looked more aggressive than the recommended steel wool, but I soon realized copper is much softer than cast iron. Still, I was only trying to remove a non-corrosive finish and iron dust, so I didn't worry too much. Whatever my wok was coated with, it was slightly sticky and even with a firm scrubbing in hot soapy water, the handle of my wok was still sticky.

I opened the Egg back up to get her hot, and then rubbed peanut oil into my wok, inside and outside. Put it on the Egg (spider) and let it get hot, poured some more peanut oil into it, and swished it around. By jumping the gun I realized I didn't have any chinese chives to stir-fry, but reading The Breath of a Wok said that it was the sulfur in chives, in fact the whole allium family, that cleansed the cast iron of its off-flavors. Well, I went down into my root/wine cellar and found the remnants of my winter store of onions. I grabbed the four that had the worst sprouting, and then chopped them up, bulb and "shoot" alike (one bulb was pretty sorry so I tossed it). Dumped a third of the chopped onion/shoot into the wok, and stir-fried, pushing the mass up along the sides of the wok to season all surfaces (see photo #1). Once the onions were almost burnt, I dumped them and the oil into a foil pan, let the wok cook on the Small platesetter, and shut the egg down most of the way.

After twenty minutes or so, I wiped out the inside of the wok, fired the Egg back up, and repeated the procedures, two more times. The last time "stir-frying" I also added a half-bunch of parsley from the kitchen, chopped, stem & all (photo 3). Dumped it, shut the Egg down, and scrubbed the wok under hot water ( the inside didn't need cleaning, the bottom did, but the excess will surely burn off on my first cook). Set it back on the Egg for a few minutes to dry thoroughly, and I'm done!

The surface of my wok doesn't look like the mahogany sheen of some of the other posters here, but it is a cast-iron wok, not a carbon-steel. The surface inside is slick as a whistle, although the upper edges still feel tacky. Tomorrow night I'll cook on it for the first time, I'll report back.

Along with the wok I'd also purchased a few other toys from The Wok Shop. The first was the longest-handled spatula they had, and as someone else mentioned the wood handle came loose right away. Fortunately they'd also included a cheap "starter" spatula, so I grabbed that and it worked fine; although its charred from the three hot 'frys and will probably go in the trash tomorrow. She also included a "butt-scratcher" looking thing that actually extended like a pointer from Office Depot, even though it was made entirely from bamboo. I can't envision a use for it in the kitchen, so I guess I'll reserve it for...

Several of you also recommended The Wok Shop's cleavers. I've never worked with a cleaver before, despite cooking chinese-style for over 30 years. Her cleavers were only $5~$7, so I sprang for one. I was amazed at how nice the knife was; heavy, sharp, and well-made! I used it for the first time, chopping the old onions and the parsley for my seasoning session, and I can see this may be changing how I cook, rawk! It slices as nice as my Henckl's chef's knife, but the wide blade allowed me to forego the "scooper" tool I'd been using.

Helluva fun night, even though I never got anything to eat!

Snowren24 · March 2012

I used my wok for the first time last night, awesome recipe VI! Loved it

I cant wait to try some more.

Howdy_Doody · March 2012

Looks like Sukiyaki to me, Snowren. Good show !

Snowren24 · March 2012

Looks like Sukiyaki to me, Snowren. Good show !

yep, it was Village Idiot's recipe from page 4, credit goes to him for sure!

Howdy_Doody · March 2012

He's such a nice guy.

)

NightwingXP · March 2012

He's such a nice guy. )

)

NightwingXP · March 2012

Botch let me know how you like your wok. I got a carbon steel wok and I love it but it seems a little flimsy and the handle is only held on with 3 rivet welds. If this one doesn't hold up I would be interested in the one that you have. It looks a little more heavy duty and the handle looks very sturdy. I have seasoned mine twice and cooked on it once. I was the one that had a hard time getting mine to boil. Had it on the stove top on high for about 45 minutes and it still would not boil. Don't know. As you did, I scrubbed mine with soapy water and a copper scrub pad, and then proceeded to the seasoning. VI recommended I do this ( He's a hell of a guy ) and just season it as normal. It worked just fine. Made Generals last night and will be making some kind of stir fry again this weekend. Would like to make VI's kung pow shrimp but since all the changes to the site lately I cannot find it with the "bunk" search feature not cooperating with me. Maybe he will read this and repost it for me or post a link if his hiatus is not too extended. Glad you enjoyed it! I sure did. Look forward to seeing pics of your first cook !

Howdy_Doody · March 2012

Nightwing,

VI won't be eligible for parole until 2019, and doesn't have access to a computer, so he asked me (through the glass) to post the Kung Pao Shrimp for him. Hope you like it.

12-15 Big Shrimp
¼ cup Peanuts, roasted
10 mini Red chiles
¼ Onion
½ Bell pepper, green
3 stalks Scallions, only use the white part
2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 tablespoons Sweet Soy Sauce, Kecap Manis
½ teaspoon Starch
4 tablespoons Water
¼ teaspoon Sesame Oil
3 dashes White pepper
½ teaspoon Black vinegar
½ teaspoon Sugar

1.Mix the Kung Pao sauce ingredients and set aside (Ingredients list, starting with Soy Sauce)

Soy Sauce
Sweet Soy sauce
Starch
Water
Sesame Oil
White pepper
Black vinegar
Sugar

2.On hot, oiled wok, add the chopped garlic and do a few quick stirs

3.Add onions, green peppers, and dried red chilies. Stir-fry until you smell the spicy aromas from the dried red chilies.

4.Add in the prawns and roasted peanuts and keep stirring.

5.When the shrimps are half-cooked, add the Kung Pao sauce into the wok, keep stirring until the sauce thickens and the shrimps are cooked

6.Add the chopped scallions, do a quick stir, dish out and serve hot.

Botch · March 2012

Got to try out my new, seasoned wok today, it went great! Made Kung Pao Chicken. First pic gives you an idea of what my "patina" looks like so far, this after just three heating cycles. Its more black than mahogany-colored, that might be because its a cast-iron wok, not carbon steel. The food didn't stick at all, was pretty happy about that.

After washing out the wok after the meal with hot water, I dried the inside with paper towels and was shocked to see them come out almost black! I thought I'd had most of the junk cleaned out by now, but I guess it takes awhile.

I admit I was a bit skeptical that a hotter, metal wok would make that much difference in the food, but I'm a believer now; it tasted much closer to what I'd get in a good chinese restaurant.

Thanks for all the help and info, folks!

NightwingXP · March 2012

Thanks HD. I appreciate the assist! Really looking forward to trying this recipe! I sincerely appreciate it! Tell VI I hope he at least gets his conjugal visit in the big house!

stir fry

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