Wok recipes and tips??? Anyone???

anzyegg

I received a spider, and Wok for Christmas and I figured I'd ask for some good tips and recipes....

henapple

+1

Mickey

Much like this best.

Skiddymarker

After you season the wok a bit, fry something in it. Egg rolls, chicken wings etc... something with lots of oil. Do this a couple of times to build the season and then go for the stir fry. Strongly recommend doing some veggies and then some chicken with a sauce added after the food comes out of the wok. Once your wok is well seasoned, you will be good to wok and woll. 

Remember, do not soap wash the wok, wipe it out and leave it....

henapple

The Wok Shop recommends scallions, onions and garlic as a first "cook" to season the wok and remove any metallic taste. I did that tonight. They say scallions work best.

henapple

@Skiddymarker‌ ...the directions say to wash with a bamboo brush...

stv8r

Wow @Mickey that fish looks fantastic!  Any links to the recipe thread?

SGH

@anzyegg- Great gifts brother. I know that you will put them to very good I use. I'm always one of the first to offer help or advice, but woking is not one of my specialties. To be perfectly honest, I've never done it. To that end, I hope others will help you out my friend. Congradulations on the gifts and enjoy.

Mickey

stv8r said:

Wow @Mickey that fish looks fantastic!  Any links to the recipe thread?

s Nothing to it. S&P and wondra flour/cornmeal combo. And score fish.

theyolksonyou

Check out @jfm0830‌ discussions and his blog. Money.

stv8r

@mickey Thank you sir!  Saw some red snapper recently at my fishmonger, and I love red snapper!  Will try this soon

Skiddymarker

henapple said:

The Wok Shop recommends scallions, onions and garlic as a first "cook" to season the wok and remove any metallic taste. I did that tonight. They say scallions work best.

That would be the seasoning a little bit I was referring to. The pores of the steel must be opened with high heat and then filled with oil under lower temps to produce that very black looking almost non-stick surface. The scallions (or almost any onion) will help hold the oil on the sides and helps to remove the mineral or motor oil often used to keep rust at bay during shipping. I always scrub the hell out of a new spun or stamped wok with something like an SOS (not for hammered), rinse well, dry then it is seasoned. I prefer to heat over a gas flame (30,000BTU turkey burner works for up to 16" woks) until straw blue, pull from high heat, wipe with oil (cotton rag is best) then reducing the heat to low, set the oil. The need for high heat and then low heat is why it is almost impossible to season carbon steel on an egg. Repeat three or four times and the pan is black and good to go. 

The bamboo brush and utensils are a good choice for hammered. I think rinse and rubbed with a bamboo brush would be more accurate for a hammered wok cleaning instruction. Good old nylon scrub brush is just fine for a spun or stamped.  

@Mickey has the best demo of a first cook on a new wok - impossible to give them too much hot oil, I just prefer chicken wings or some tempura veggies. Fish looks very good Mr Rawls. 

anzyegg

Thanks @Skiddymarker‌, great information. I didn't know not to use soap and water to wash.

anzyegg

Thanks @Mickey‌, fish looks awesome.

anzyegg

Thanks @henapple‌, I'll try some ideas from there. Thanks my friend @SGH‌, I got some nice gifts and my wife also won me a Yetti cooler when she went to the dealer to purchase my Christmas gifts....

SGH

anzyegg said: my wife also won me a Yetti cooler when she went to the dealer to purchase my Christmas gifts....

That is awesome brother. What size is it?

Sistm

I just got a wok for Christmas and I am waiting for my first cook. I think I am going to do some sausage peppers and onions tomorrow. I seasoned mine yesterday. I'm gonna follow this post.



My in-laws got me a yeti tundra 65 too. Heavy but awesome!

Sistm

Here is a link to a good post that includes some good recipes...

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1136668/stir-fry/p2

Skiddymarker

anzyegg said:

Thanks @Skiddymarker‌, great information. I didn't know not to use soap and water to wash.

Treat your carbon steel wok like you would cast iron, if food does get stuck and burnt on, bring a little water to a boil in the pan to help scrape/brush it out. 

Little Steven

Pad Thai is an awesome cook.

anzyegg

@SGH‌, it's a smaller 5.2 gal model but plenty fine for me....

anzyegg

Thanks @Sistm‌, I just finished seasoning mine today....thanks @Skiddymarker‌.

Dredger

This is another good one. http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1173149/triple-grace-young-stir-fry

anzyegg

Thanks @Dredger‌, I'll check it out.

Spring Chicken

No recipes for you but you might get some ideas from watching this video I put together of wok cook photos your fellow Eggheads have posted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuAf_jEMzIg&list=UUd8OXP_tkp28l2eMVZJHBXg

Spring "Woking Some Chicken And Frozen Veggies Tomorrow" Chicken

Spring Texas USA

Que_n_Brew

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1148943/cajun-jambalaya#latest One of the most impressive wok cooks IMO....by Dyal SC. I haven't tried it bit will as soon as I get my wok

tisoypops

What do any of you think about cast iron woks? I was planning on getting carbon steel until I heard that cast iron is also really good, and preferred by some. Lodge, which is my favorite cast iron brand makes a cast iron wok, though they do make some carbon steel stuff, just not the wok.

R2Egg2Q

@anzyegg - I'd recommend that you check out either of Grace Young's books for a bunch of recipes.  I have Breath of a Wok and I really like it.

@tisoypops - Nothing against Lodge but I'd steer clear of their wok as it is too thick and would likely perform differently than a traditional wok.  The cast iron woks from China are thin walled and heat up quickly.  My 14" CI wok weighs 2 lbs 10 oz.  The info I see online indicates the Lodge is 10 lbs. 

Here's some quotes about CI woks from Grace Young's Wok Buying Guide:

 
"Cast-iron woks are slower to heat than carbon-steel woks, but because cast iron retains heat well, it is excellent for stir-frying, braising, and slow cooking. Unlike carbon-steel pans, cast-iron pans do not respond quickly to heat adjustments. Less experienced stir-fry cooks often find that once the wok is removed from the heat, the food must be immediately transferred to a platter or it will continue to cook in the hot wok."

"Cast-iron woks manufactured in China are preferable to cast-iron woks made in America: they are much thinner and lighter in weight." 

I haven't found my cast iron wok to be noticeably slower to heat that my carbon steel woks.  If you want a wok that can take some abuse I'd say go with carbon steel over cast iron. 

bboulier

I would definitely choose carbon steel for a wok.  You have much more control over temperature.  The beauty of cast iron is that it holds heat well, but that's not a good feature in a wok.

anzyegg

Thanks @R2Egg2Q‌, @Que_n_Brew‌, and @Spring Chicken‌ . I have been checking out the Grace Young things. Great suggestions.