Got a Wok...Need Recipes

CPARKTX · March 2015

After seeing all of the woks in action at Salado I broke down and got a wok and spider. Now I need a few of your favorite recipes to convince my wife why it was worth yet another Eggcessory.

Mattman3969 · March 2015

You are in for some crazy good eats!! Congrats on the wok purchase. Just a couple of my favorite wok cooks so far

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1175925/getting-the-wok-hot-mongolian-beef/p1

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1177602/wednesdays-wok-cook#latest

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1176300/chicken-pad-thai-and-mango-sticky-rice#latest

@caliking - had given me a great wok site but I have it saved on my iPad but unfortunately I'm no where near it for the next couple of days, maybe he can repost the link here.

fljoemon · March 2015

I bought this book:

Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge: The Ultimate Guide to Mastery, with Authentic Recipes and Stories by Grace Young.

http://www.amazon.com/Stir-Frying-Skys-Edge-Ultimate-Authentic/dp/1416580573

For recipes posted here: http://eggheadforum.com/search?Search=wok

fljoemon · March 2015

Grace Young's Best Stir-Fry Tips
• Marinate the Meat: Tossing the meat with a little seasoning liquid is the secret to a truly flavorful stir-fry and a tender texture. You don't need to marinate the meat for long, though. As soon as it's tossed, it's ready to cook.
• Don't Crowd the Pan: As much as you might want to cook extra stir-fry to have for lunch the next day, you should avoid over-filling the wok. It's better to prep extra ingredients and then store those away so that they're ready for a quick stir-fry when you want it. Stick to the guidelines of 3/4 pound for beef or 1 pound of pork, chicken, or lamb and 2 cups of vegetables for a meat stir-fry and 4 cups hard vegetables or 8 to 12 cups of leafy greens for a vegetable-only stir-fry.
• Dry Vegetables: When stir-frying anything from snow peas to lettuce, it's important that the vegetables are very dry. Otherwise, the vegetables will steam and braise in the pan and lose their crisp texture. Giving the vegetables a whirl in a salad spinner is the easiest solution, but you can also pat them thoroughly with kitchen towels.
• Peel Ginger with a Spoon and Mince by Hand: Ginger is a central flavor to Asian cooking, appearing in almost every recipe. Grace likes to peel the papery skin off ginger root with a spoon: vegetable peelers and knives take off too much ginger flesh with the skin and a spoon is handier for getting into the nooks and crannies. Mincing the ginger by hand, instead of with a grater or Microplane, keeps it from becoming too pulpy and spattering in the hot hot oil.
• The Wok Should Sing: From the second you add the aromatics to the second you take the wok off the heat, you should hear the sound of sizzling. Not too loud, not too quiet. This "singing" means that your wok is at exactly the right temperature.
• Tumble the Stir-Fry: Think of stir-frying as a tumbling motion. You're constantly moving the ingredients touching the hot bottom surface of the wok up to the top and bringing those on top down. This way, every piece of meat or vegetable gets cooked evenly and quickly.
• Pour the Sauce Down the Side of the Pan: The last step in most stir-fries is to add a little sauce to the pan. Be sure to swirl this down the side of the pan to maintain the hot temperature of the pan. Pouring it in the middle brings down the temperature too much.

One last word of stir-frying advice: pay attention. We're all such multi-taskers these days that it's easy to get distracted with something happening in the next room or a new alert on our phones. But stir-frying happens so quickly that you really need to stay focused the whole time. As soon as the oil hits the pan, stick to the stove until the stir-fry is done.

caliking · March 2015

Mattman3969 said:

You are in for some crazy good eats!! Congrats on the wok purchase. Just a couple of my favorite wok cooks so far

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1175925/getting-the-wok-hot-mongolian-beef/p1

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1177602/wednesdays-wok-cook#latest

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1176300/chicken-pad-thai-and-mango-sticky-rice#latest

@caliking - had given me a great wok site but I have it saved on my iPad but unfortunately I'm no where near it for the next couple of days, maybe he can repost the link here.

Is this the link you were referring to? If not, let me know, because I've forgotten and would love to know which one you're referring to

http://www.finecooking.com/cyor/stir-fry.aspx

@CPARKTX - The Grace Young books are popular on the forum. I have 2 books by Fuchsia Dunlop which are excellent. Every recipe I have tried has been a win.

We love to cook Chinese food at home, so our pantry and condiment fridge is usually stocked with the following:

Light and dark soy

Mirin

Rice vinegar

Chinkiang vinegar

Fermented black bean

Black bean garlic sauce

Chilli garlic sauce

Toban djian (chili bean sauce)

Sichuan peppercorns

Chili oil

Knowing you, you could knock out all kinds of goodness with that stuff!

(It was a pleasure to meet you at Salado, BTW. I'm a long time admirer of your cooks).

Mattman3969 · March 2015

I believe that is it Cali Thank you for reposting.

Mattman3969 · March 2015

This is where most of my Pad Thai recipe came from. You will find that the sauces will make or break your stir fry. I like a mix of sweet & sour, sciracha, hoisin and soy. Tamarind paste has really good flavors too.

theyolksonyou · March 2015

I can't add to this advice other than, I LOVE WOK ON THE EGG!

one piece of advice @Mattman3969 gave me I don't see listed is when your wok is stable around 500 and you start cooking shut the bottom vent about half.

Also, good gloves and plenty of oil.