The Wok- first cook

The Cen-Tex Smoker

caliking said:

Stormbringer said:

I was thinking about getting this book, but I looked at one in a bookshop and found it difficult to read tbh ... different fonts, font sizes, loads of sidebars, pictures hard to make out. For those that have got this, is that true for the whole book (I looked at a couple of pages)?

I hear you. The recipes are sometimes hard to read while you’re cooking,  because of the font size and the page layout. And, the layout is all over the place in different sections. Some recipes are underwhelming, but that could be said for any cookbook. 

But, it’s absolutely worth buying IMO. It’s more of an encyclopedia than a cookbook. It’s polyAsian (made that up) cooking, with recipes for most things you like, or have eaten somewhere. The detailed descriptions of techniques are game changing. If you cook a lot of Asian food, the recipes may not all be winners, but the elevation of your technique will be worth the purchase. 

100% this 

Botch

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Stormbringer said:

I was thinking about getting this book, but I looked at one in a bookshop and found it difficult to read tbh ... different fonts, font sizes, loads of sidebars, pictures hard to make out. For those that have got this, is that true for the whole book (I looked at a couple of pages)?

You are 100% right. I had to read through this one multiple times to make sure I understood the recipe. He has moo shoo pork and his own moo shoo mushroom recipe tangled all up together on the same page. Moo shoo mushrooms has 4 oz pork, moo shoo pork has 12oz pork. Step 7 has you go to the side bar to figure out how much pork and marinade for each version then you have to skip ahead or back depending on which version. Very confusing and definitely should have been 2 separate recipes on this one.he really could have done a better job keeping things clearer. 

This is funny, because Kenji talks that way in his videos; he starts a sentence, then thinks of something else and starts speaking about that, then gets another idea, and has up to three unfinished sentences going at once.  He always comes back around and finishes everything, but it can be quite frustrating to listen to.  

fishlessman

ok, bought the book. my hellfire burners been looking at me lately

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Botch said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Stormbringer said:

I was thinking about getting this book, but I looked at one in a bookshop and found it difficult to read tbh ... different fonts, font sizes, loads of sidebars, pictures hard to make out. For those that have got this, is that true for the whole book (I looked at a couple of pages)?

You are 100% right. I had to read through this one multiple times to make sure I understood the recipe. He has moo shoo pork and his own moo shoo mushroom recipe tangled all up together on the same page. Moo shoo mushrooms has 4 oz pork, moo shoo pork has 12oz pork. Step 7 has you go to the side bar to figure out how much pork and marinade for each version then you have to skip ahead or back depending on which version. Very confusing and definitely should have been 2 separate recipes on this one.he really could have done a better job keeping things clearer. 

This is funny, because Kenji talks that way in his videos; he starts a sentence, then thinks of something else and starts speaking about that, then gets another idea, and has up to three unfinished sentences going at once.  He always comes back around and finishes everything, but it can be quite frustrating to listen to.  

Try reading it lol

RyanStl

Is the Kenji book better than the one by the lady people were talking about before?

The Cen-Tex Smoker

RyanStl said:

Is the Kenji book better than the one by the lady people were talking about before?

I think so but they are both great (breath of a wok- grace young) 

Ozzie_Isaac

Botch said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Stormbringer said:

I was thinking about getting this book, but I looked at one in a bookshop and found it difficult to read tbh ... different fonts, font sizes, loads of sidebars, pictures hard to make out. For those that have got this, is that true for the whole book (I looked at a couple of pages)?

You are 100% right. I had to read through this one multiple times to make sure I understood the recipe. He has moo shoo pork and his own moo shoo mushroom recipe tangled all up together on the same page. Moo shoo mushrooms has 4 oz pork, moo shoo pork has 12oz pork. Step 7 has you go to the side bar to figure out how much pork and marinade for each version then you have to skip ahead or back depending on which version. Very confusing and definitely should have been 2 separate recipes on this one.he really could have done a better job keeping things clearer. 

This is funny, because Kenji talks that way in his videos; he starts a sentence, then thinks of something else and starts speaking about that, then gets another idea, and has up to three unfinished sentences going at once.  He always comes back around and finishes everything, but it can be quite frustrating to listen to.  

This is funny to me, that is how my brain works, and I love his videos (except the head mounted perspective).  His non-sequiturs occur at about the same time my attention is waning.

theyolksonyou

Once again, I’ve let you jack wagons spend my money. I did get a digital version for about half the price.  If I really like it I’ll get the hard copy. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

theyolksonyou said:

Once again, I’ve let you jack wagons spend my money. I did get a digital version for about half the price.  If I really like it I’ll get the hard copy. 

$weeeet! Digital is fine. Might be better so you can take your device out to read as you go while you learn the tricks. 

buzd504

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

theyolksonyou said:

Once again, I’ve let you jack wagons spend my money. I did get a digital version for about half the price.  If I really like it I’ll get the hard copy. 

$weeeet! Digital is fine. Might be better so you can take your device out to read as you go while you learn the tricks. 

gross

theyolksonyou

buzd504 said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

theyolksonyou said:

Once again, I’ve let you jack wagons spend my money. I did get a digital version for about half the price.  If I really like it I’ll get the hard copy. 

$weeeet! Digital is fine. Might be better so you can take your device out to read as you go while you learn the tricks. 

gross

Not a fan of the ebook, eh?

Ozzie_Isaac

theyolksonyou said:

buzd504 said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

theyolksonyou said:

Once again, I’ve let you jack wagons spend my money. I did get a digital version for about half the price.  If I really like it I’ll get the hard copy. 

$weeeet! Digital is fine. Might be better so you can take your device out to read as you go while you learn the tricks. 

gross

Not a fan of the ebook, eh?

Not a fan of bringing cook books into the toilet I believe.

Stormbringer

@The Cen-Tex Smoker @caliking thanks. I think I’ll wait and see if there’s a second edition that sorts out the entangled web of recipes. 

theyolksonyou

@Stormbringer the digital from Belomero is not that bad in pdf format and you can change the layout.  It’s like $14, but the link expires in 2024 so you have to save it somewhere 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Ozzie_Isaac said:

theyolksonyou said:

buzd504 said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

theyolksonyou said:

Once again, I’ve let you jack wagons spend my money. I did get a digital version for about half the price.  If I really like it I’ll get the hard copy. 

$weeeet! Digital is fine. Might be better so you can take your device out to read as you go while you learn the tricks. 

gross

Not a fan of the ebook, eh?

Not a fan of bringing cook books into the toilet I believe.

Ah- I was talking about taking it out to the egg so you could follow along until you got all the steps ha ha. 

fishlessman

that book is heavy, really heavy.  first impression

caliking

Bumpity bump. 

Broccoli and shrimp. Served over hakka chow mien ( Chinese-style stir fried noodles, with veg and stuff). 

The recipe was a riff off the broccoli and fried tofu recipe in the book. The real win was the alkaline brine for the shrimp. Made a noticeable difference- gave them a nice juicy pop. 

JohnInCarolina

caliking said:

Bumpity bump. 

Broccoli and shrimp. Served over hakka chow mien ( Chinese-style stir fried noodles, with veg and stuff). 

The recipe was a riff off the broccoli and fried tofu recipe in the book. The real win was the alkaline brine for the shrimp. Made a noticeable difference- gave them a nice juicy pop. 

No curry?  

johnmitchell

JohnInCarolina said:

caliking said:

Bumpity bump. 

Broccoli and shrimp. Served over hakka chow mien ( Chinese-style stir fried noodles, with veg and stuff). 

The recipe was a riff off the broccoli and fried tofu recipe in the book. The real win was the alkaline brine for the shrimp. Made a noticeable difference- gave them a nice juicy pop. 

No curry?  

Or domestic animals 😳

Foghorn

JohnInCarolina said:

caliking said:

Bumpity bump. 

Broccoli and shrimp. Served over hakka chow mien ( Chinese-style stir fried noodles, with veg and stuff). 

The recipe was a riff off the broccoli and fried tofu recipe in the book. The real win was the alkaline brine for the shrimp. Made a noticeable difference- gave them a nice juicy pop. 

No curry?  

And I don't see whole cloves of garlic...

caliking

 Foghorn said:

JohnInCarolina said:

caliking said:

Bumpity bump. 

Broccoli and shrimp. Served over hakka chow mien ( Chinese-style stir fried noodles, with veg and stuff). 

The recipe was a riff off the broccoli and fried tofu recipe in the book. The real win was the alkaline brine for the shrimp. Made a noticeable difference- gave them a nice juicy pop. 

No curry?  

And I don't see whole cloves of garlic...

It's not about the whole cloves. It's about the sleeper cell 6 cloves grated in there

Ozzie_Isaac

caliking said:

 Foghorn said:

JohnInCarolina said:

caliking said:

Bumpity bump. 

Broccoli and shrimp. Served over hakka chow mien ( Chinese-style stir fried noodles, with veg and stuff). 

The recipe was a riff off the broccoli and fried tofu recipe in the book. The real win was the alkaline brine for the shrimp. Made a noticeable difference- gave them a nice juicy pop. 

No curry?  

And I don't see whole cloves of garlic...

It's not about the whole cloves. It's about the sleeper cell 6 cloves grated in there

When you say clove, I assume you mean head.

Ozzie_Isaac

Shanghi-Style Scallion Noodle (page 308)

Need some more work on my noodles, and overdid it with soy in the final sauce, but my goodness the oil is intoxicating.

caliking

Looks good from here!

Did you make a batch of the scallion oil for later? It's good stuff. I think it needs moar ginger and scallions than the recipe in the book calls for, though. 

Ozzie_Isaac

caliking said:

Looks good from here!

Did you make a batch of the scallion oil for later? It's good stuff. I think it needs moar ginger and scallions than the recipe in the book calls for, though. 

Yup, made a big batch.  It smells amazing.  I didn't think to put ginger in, but will try that next time.

U_tarded

Ozzie_Isaac said:

caliking said:

Looks good from here!

Did you make a batch of the scallion oil for later? It's good stuff. I think it needs moar ginger and scallions than the recipe in the book calls for, though. 

Yup, made a big batch.  It smells amazing.  I didn't think to put ginger in, but will try that next time.

I’m surprised @c@caliking isn’t suggesting a “few” heads of garlic too 

caliking

U_tarded said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

caliking said:

Looks good from here!

Did you make a batch of the scallion oil for later? It's good stuff. I think it needs moar ginger and scallions than the recipe in the book calls for, though. 

Yup, made a big batch.  It smells amazing.  I didn't think to put ginger in, but will try that next time.

I’m surprised @c@caliking isn’t suggesting a “few” heads of garlic too 

You cannot comprehend the self-restraint I showed

BigreenGreg

caliking said:

 Foghorn said:

JohnInCarolina said:

caliking said:

Bumpity bump. 

Broccoli and shrimp. Served over hakka chow mien ( Chinese-style stir fried noodles, with veg and stuff). 

The recipe was a riff off the broccoli and fried tofu recipe in the book. The real win was the alkaline brine for the shrimp. Made a noticeable difference- gave them a nice juicy pop. 

No curry?  

And I don't see whole cloves of garlic...

It's not about the whole cloves. It's about the sleeper cell 6 cloves grated in there

Love when a guy with a turban on his head references sleeper cells! 

caliking

BigreenGreg said:

caliking said:

 Foghorn said:

JohnInCarolina said:

caliking said:

Bumpity bump. 

Broccoli and shrimp. Served over hakka chow mien ( Chinese-style stir fried noodles, with veg and stuff). 

The recipe was a riff off the broccoli and fried tofu recipe in the book. The real win was the alkaline brine for the shrimp. Made a noticeable difference- gave them a nice juicy pop. 

No curry?  

And I don't see whole cloves of garlic...

It's not about the whole cloves. It's about the sleeper cell 6 cloves grated in there

Love when a guy with a turban on his head references sleeper cells! 

🤦🏾‍♂️

NDG

BigreenGreg said:

Love when a guy with a turban on his head references sleeper cells! 

ya do?  I would bet $100 that complete sentence has never been written  before.