Help with 1st time stir fry

Mark0525 · May 2010

I'm dying to try out my new wok and spider. I've read a lot of recipes for stir fry but can someone walk me through it. I want to do a chicken/rice and veggies. I don't know the process. What to start with, cook rice or put in raw, use noodles instead of rice, which veggies to put on first and which ones cook up real fast. Egg setup....etc

This will be my next challenge for next week and I will need babysat again on this one.

vidalia1 · May 2010

Set up

Get the bGE to about 500 degrees with Spider down in BGE

When ready put the wok with oil on spider. Let sit for about 3-4 minutes. It will heat up fast. Close bottom vent.

I use already cooked rice. If possible cook it a day or two ahead of time.

Have all ingredients chopped and spices ready to go. The hardest part of wok cooking is timing because it all cooks so fast.

vidalia1 · May 2010

My Szechuan Pork recipe can be found on page 56 on the 2009 Eggtoberfest recipes...we love it...

Mark0525 · May 2010

Thanks Kim

MakoBBQ · May 2010

Mark, you will love the wok/spider set up. See my post from last weekend.

I did shrimp/veggie/rice noodle stir fry. I cook the shrimp (meat) first to almost done and then remove it from the wok. Then in go the veggies. When the veggies are about done, I add the meat back in. I like using the rice noodles. Boil them first on the stove and then I just toss them in the stir fry at the end. To me a key ingredient is grated fresh ginger root. It give the meal a good flavor. Now keep in mind I am new to the wok, I hope others chime in as I need to experiment with more authentic ingrediants.

Shrimp Stir Fry Post

Mark0525 · May 2010

These are great tips, thank you. I'm cutting and pasting and printing out things

I should just bookmark this post and then when I'm ready print it. Thanks again

thirdeye · May 2010

Egging with your wok is easy. I do a lot of veggies this way because it's very quick. Anyway before you do any cooking in your wok, it needs to be seasoned. Have you done this?

The next step is building a fire, it does not have to be a large one, and it should burn long enough to be burning clean. Since the spider can sit on the fire ring in two positions, you will be able to flip it during your cook if you need to.

Then get all your veggies and meat prepped, the longer something needs to cook the smaller the piece. Like carrots take longer than zucchini, so the pieces of carrot are smaller. You will also need some oil, soy sauce, maybe a thickening sauce, a glass of hot water and seasonings.

I do my meat first with the spider in the low position. It takes about a tablespoon of oil to fry this marinated chicken. I cook it about 2/3 done then remove to a platter.

Then I put in veggies, using a small amount of oil when they first go in, but adding water and maybe a splash of soy sauce during the rest of the cook.

When they are about ready (sample a piece for doneness) I like mine still crispy, return the meat to the wok. At this time you can add a thickening sauce, or just use more water and let that reduce. you don't want to add any more oil. The top picture is the chicken from above, the next one is a different cook with shrimp.

In this one, I have added some fresh spinach, notice that the spider is sitting in the high position because I'm at the end of the cook and don't need to be close to the fire.

Here are two cooks where I have opted to add some noodles to my stir fry. They get cooked ahead of time, then drained and cooled. If you want yours with rice, you could toss in some cooked rice or just serve the whole thing on a bed of rice.

During the cook, I have my wok ring sitting on a tray, which is on a little table on my deck. When I'm all through I move the wok onto the ring, then carry the tray into the kitchen for serving.

This whole process is very short, but you need to have everhthing prepped. Watching how things cook lets you know if the heat is right. If you need to flip the spider, just set the wok on your ring while you do that. It's better to start off too low than to have a wok that is too hot, all this does is make the cook take longer at the beginning. You will have plenty of time to let the wok heat up during the rest of the cook. You could always do a practice run with some veggies to get the feel for everything.

Mark0525 · May 2010

Thanks, I have not seasoned it yet. I'm reading on it right now. Seems like a long process to season it

what about the sauce? Are there recipes on them? I'm sure there has to be something added for flavor.

fishlessman · May 2010

for a first cook i would skip the rice and or noodles, cook the meat and remove, cook the veggies then add the meat and sauce and serve over regular rice from the stove top. biggest mistake is crowding the wok, for your first cook cook the meat in little stages with just a few pieces, it warms back up when you add it to your veggies later. if too much meat goes on too fast the meat doesnt sear, liquid builds up on the bottom and starts to steam it. when you get better at it you will start cooking much hotter and faster and this isnt as much of a concern. small quantities and work fast, reread the advice below about getting the egg to temp, opening dome and shutting lower vent completely, its stops the fire from running away and flaring up while cooking dome open

thirdeye · May 2010

Actually, you can take a brand new one and season it in an hour and a half tops using three heating sessions. Or re season your old one in one or two. The key is proper oiling, and heating and cooling the wok several times. The cooling down is important...

If it's a new one, scrub off any factory oil (or scrub off any thick build up off your current wok) and put it on the Egg over a small low fire since you will be doing much of your work with the lid up. Do all of your heat control with the lower vent. All of the oiling will be on the INSIDE surface only......

With the lid closed, let it heat up for 4 to 6 minutes, then add some peanut oil (or lard) and use a paper towel and tongs to coat the entire inside inside surface. Close the lid for a couple of minutes, then make a few more passes with the oiled paper towel. Do this several more times, adding more oil as needed. By now the bottom should be seasoned and nice and dark. Remove the wok from the cooker and let it cool to room temperature. You should still have some oil in the bottom of the wok when it's removed.

Session 2 - Put the wok back in the cooker but this time oil the paper towel only, and coat only the areas that are not dark, which should be most of the upper 1/2 or 3/4 of the sides. Occasionally coat the bottom lightly but you are concentrating on the sides. Try tipping the wok in the spider ring so the heat is focused on the side rather than the bottom. Close the lid for a couple of minutes at a time. Do this routine several times, rotating the wok as needed for good coverage of the sides. Any time the steel is dry, make another pass with the oiled towel. When you get your sides partially seasoned (within a few inches of the top rim) remove the wok and let it cool to room temperature. Now all that is left is the upper band.

Session 3 - You can do this in the cooker, but it's easier with your MAPP torch. On an outside table on your pizza stone or some fire bricks, take that little ring that is used for stovetop wokking and set your wok in it. Oil the paper towel, coat the upper band that is not seasoned. Working with your MAPP torch (medium heat is all you need) from the OUTSIDE, heat the wok using a up and down, ziz-zag pattern maybe 2" or 3" , just concentrate on the areas that are not seasoned. Heat about 1/4 of the circumference of the wok at a time, but don't stop the torch. You can tell from the smoke when your heat is right. Watch the inside, it will season right before your eyes. Re-oil as needed, and heat until you get the color right. After the first 1/4 you will see how well this works. Then just move around the wok doing the other 1/4's. When you are all done with the upper band, you can also use the torch to spot-season any other areas.
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As far as sauces goes, there is bound to be a million ones out there. Mrs ~t~ usually makes one from scratch and I think the thickener is arrowroot (although I could be off on that). Google stir fry sauces for some ideas

Mark0525 · May 2010

That seems very simple. I will season it over the weekend so it will be ready for next week. So you want the meat to be seared, and the veggies just tender?

fishlessman · May 2010

have you tried seasoning it upsidedown like a lodge dutch oven, ive done it both ways and now i just toss dutch, skillets, woks, peallas etc in upsidedown. it doesnt finish with that nice straw color you sometimes see if its seasoned on a wok burner but it seems to work just fine

Kenny 13 · May 2010

My hand hammered wok from The Wok Shop just came in yesterday. Looking forward to getting it seasoned so I can start with some stir frying.

[Deleted User] · May 2010

Having no such accessory as the "spider", the few times I've done true stir fry, I've used a ROUND bottom wok on a FLAT bed of coals, and set it directly on the coals. I have two side handle style wok, one of which is missing. This missing handle allows me to set the wok on the coals at an angle. I WEAR GLOVES, good thermally insulated gloves, which I use to grasp the handle as needed and to protect the other hand using a long spoon. The edge of the wok leaves a gap of about an inch or so from the fire ring, so lots of flame at times. I have to keep food MOVING CONSTANTLY. I use PEANUT OIL for the high smoke point, and preheat the wok well before adding oil ("hot pan, cold oil, foods won't stick" -- Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet).

Observations:

1) It's hot! Really, really hot.

2) It's fast! Really, really fast.

3) Wear your "rising sun" headband... radiant heat can make you sweat!

In regards to the "Spider", I'd like it to better control the distance from the coals, as opposed to setting the wok right down on the coals. I'd probably start with the bottom about an inch from the coals and see how that does, adjusting the height over time to get the distance just right (not sure how easy they are to adjust "on the fly"). Of course part of the distance equation depends on the the volume of food cooked at one time and the heat of the fire. I'd like a nice hot, high BTU, glowing bed of coals.

Banzai!

thirdeye · May 2010

Yeah, I guess "pan seared" is a good term for the meat. Since the wok is hot, you put the oil in....wait about 20 seconds and add your meat. Stirring it is your only control, and you will notice that as you drag it up the sides, they are not quite as hot. Some folks will add some garlic with the meat, but it can burn easily so be careful if you do that. When I do, I wait until the meat is about ready to remove.

The texture of the veggies is up to you. You will see what I mean about proper sizing or the hard and soft ones in order to get them all to come out the way you want. If you want to do something like some corn rounds, do them separately. Other times if I'm only doing something like a carrot and snow pea side dish, I'll do the carrots first until they are where I want them, then add the snow peas for 30 seconds. For these cooks, keep some hot water handy as you will have to replenish it before it boils dry. Right at the end you can add a little oil if you like.

thirdeye · May 2010

I've done that for re-seasoning mine. Sometimes when I'm using a lot of water or especially with my steamer basket, I need a touch up on the seasoning. I

I usually do it the same night I cook, putting the wok back on the warm Egg.

Help with 1st time stir fry

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