Yesterdays first wok cook

2Fategghead · April 2010

Specal thanks to vidalia1 for the recipe and Richard Fl, Doug in Eggmonton, Village Idiot and Boilermaker Ben for helping me with the rice and getting me started on my first wok cook. :woohoo:

My raws for a Szechuan pork over fried rice.

I started by scrambling a couple of eggs then frying the rice then placing it in a warm oven until the main dish was done.

I had to wipe the wok out after I scrambled the eggs.

Then I put the pork in.

After I browned the pork I added red peppers and pea pods.

After the red peppers and pea pods softened I added the green onion and peanut butter mixture.

I allowed this to cook until the sauce thickened sightly.

This was our reward! :P

I learned a lot from this cook and I have a lot to learn.

The pork was melt in your mouth good and the rice stayed firm! :P

Kenny 13 · April 2010

It really looks great! Enjoy the wok.

2Fategghead · April 2010

Thanks Kenny I will.

Tim

Village Idiot · April 2010

Looks like you nailed it. Good job !!!

The only thing I'd think about adding next time is an arbol chile or two to give a little heat ... but that's just me.

Boilermaker Ben · April 2010

Looks like it turned out great. Nice job with the mise en place...that's the real key to stir-fry. Sigh...I need a decent side-table.

pattikake · April 2010

Wow looking good, great job. I will be doing my first wok cooking soon. I can't wait.

Patti
Wichita, KS

Firetruck · April 2010

Great cook and pics. I would love to try that some day. Gotta get a wok first :blink:

Clay Q · April 2010

Outstanding! Looks delicious! I'm getting my wok out for tonights dinner.

Thanks for the inspiration.

2Fategghead · April 2010

That would be good Gary I'll give it a try next time. Tim

2Fategghead · April 2010

Yes, Ben the BGE table is very handy. Thanks for all your support. Tim

2Fategghead · April 2010

Thanks Patti. This forum is such a great support group. I could not have done this cook with out them. Tim

2Fategghead · April 2010

Thanks JoJo. I found I had to get all my ducks in a row before starting and the forum members helped me every step. Tim

2Fategghead · April 2010

Thanks Clay and your welcome. Tim

Hungry Celeste · April 2010

I just bought a woo3, and I'm planning to cook fried rice for today's lunch. Tell me about the temp--how hot did you fire the egg before you started to cook? Was the draft door wide open? Thx.

bbqbeth · April 2010

All this stir fry is killing me!

SSN686 · April 2010

Morning Tim:

GREAT looking first time with the wok! The wok is becoming one of my favorite Eggcessories! May have to think of something to have tonight?!

Boilermaker Ben · April 2010

Not to steal 2Fategghead's thunder, but I can tell you what I do.

If I know I need rocket-hot temps (like for searing meat), I'll leave the draft door open and heat the egg until I've got a full bed of lava coals. Then, when I'm ready to cook, I close the vent door all, or nearly all the way, so things don't really get out of control with the dome open. JUST BE CAREFUL! if you close the dome for any reason, you'll need to open the bottom vent again, so you don't get a flashback when you open the dome again.

I sear meat with the spider in legs-up configuration, so the wok is close to the coals. For veggies and sauces, I do legs-down, or just pick the wok up away from the coals every few seconds, to keep the heat down. For garlic and ginger, I don't pre-heat the wok as long, and pull it up out of the egg, and set it on the gasket, so the garlic doesn't scorch, then, once I've added other ingredients, I set it back down in the spider.

Having only wokked on the stove before, I was hesitant to let the wok get really hot the first few times I stir-fried in the egg. Now I know, it really isn't possible to get the wok too hot for searing meat...you just have to move faster. I've had thinly sliced meat in and out of the wok in less than 30 seconds. Wok hei!

I have no experience with the woo, so I don't know how this will change for you. but either way, you'll probably need some hefty gloves for this. I use welding gloves for extra dexterity and heat protection.

Bordello · April 2010

What a great looking cook, bet it tasted so good. Keep the pictures coming and report on what you learn good or bad.

Regards,
Bordello

2Fategghead · April 2010

Hungry Celeste, I did it all wrong. :(

I lit the egg and let it burn off and when it reached almost 500° I opened the dome and put the spider and wok in and scrambled a couple of eggs for the rice and I ended up almost scorching and then almost burning the rice. At this time I had food stuck to the bottom of the wok. I put some water in the wok and stirred off the mess stuck in the bottom and wiped it out before starting the main dish.

I had the egg dome open and bottom draft wide open. I realized I needed to close the bottom damper and did close it half way but, I made a bad place in the bottom of my wok that I had to scour out and start over as far as the seasoning goes.

Next time I will do it different.

How I don't know yet. Maybe not so much burning lump and have my bottom draft closed a lot more.

Like I said this was my first wok cook and even if it did come out great I have a lot to learn.

Feel free to share with me what you have learned. Tim

2Fategghead · April 2010

bbqbeth, Come on in the water is fine. Tim

2Fategghead · April 2010

Thanks Jay. I did this cook but I made mistakes to learn from as well. Tim

2Fategghead · April 2010

Thanks Ben. I have welding gloves as well and a triangle of thick fire brick just in case. Tim

2Fategghead · April 2010

Bordello, Thanks. I will. Tim

Kenny 13 · April 2010

Tim, you may have made some mistakes to learn from, but IMO that's a very fine first effort. I hope I can say the same for my first wok attempt.

2Fategghead · April 2010

Thanks Kenny. I'm sure you will do very well. Tim

Boilermaker Ben · April 2010

Yeah, the really hot temps are needed for searing foods, particularly meat. For scrambling eggs and warming rice, a more gentle heat would be preferable. Try flipping your spider to legs down, and using a smaller fire. Since you do the rice first, if you're not putting meat in your rice, you wouldn't need to sear anything first, so you could start with a lower fire, cook the rice, and then let the fire get bigger for your main course.

I found that a little coarse salt, like kosher, rubbed into the burnt area with a dry paper towel works well to remove charred bits, when a little water over the high heat of the egg doesn't do the trick. Even though you've seasoned your egg, expect foods to still stick for a while. Once the patina on your wok improves with cook after cook, it will get more non-stick. When you scour with salt, if you don't have to go all the way through to the metal beneath, you might not need to re-season.

cookn biker · April 2010

Tim, I give you an A+ on your first wok cook!!

Looks very good!!

JLOCKHART29 · April 2010

Excellent job for the 1st or 50th time!!! You will really like it as its one of those things that when you are tire and need something quick just hack up some vegs, toss on some mystery meat and sause it down.

thirdeye · April 2010

Lookin' really good.

Hungry Celeste · April 2010

I just finished my first wok on the Egg, right in time for the first rainstorm in at least a month. I cleaned out the ash w/the shopvac (it was high time), lit it, and let it get up to 550-600 degrees. I put the wok on, heated it for a minute or so, then stir-fried chopped bacon until mostly cooked, but not crispy, then added chopped garlic, ginger, jalapenos, & red onion. Swished that around for a bit, then closed the lid to let it cook for 1-1.5 min. Temp was significantly lower; it didn't climb above 400. I added the rice & some soy & closed the lid for about 2 minutes...again, the temp was pretty tame due to my half-empty firebox. When the rice had colored nicely, I added a (defrosted) bag of frozen stir-fry mix, tossed it, and closed it up for 2-3 minutes....just before I took it off, I added 2-3 handsful of flat chives, roughly torn (the chives grow right near the egg).

Overall, the temp was not too much higher than I can get with my gas stove....I'll be trying again when I get another bag of lump. Still, it tasted good...attempting to insert pic, but this board doesn't like Picasa, so it may not work. Pxo51OQt4W1PWzOczNkb_j6j9RjrNAThQMM2CFdqoQ8?feat=directlink

Pxo51OQt4W1PWzOczNkb_j6j9RjrNAThQMM2CFdqoQ8?feat=directlink

2Fategghead · April 2010

Thanks Ben. I'll try variations of lump and elevation of spider as well as different uses of kosher salt. Tim

Yesterdays first wok cook

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