Cake Wok

Purchasing a wok

So you’re decided to buy a wok – congratulations! There are a few things to keep in mind when you research your purchase, so here are a few tips to get you started.

First of all, you should decide on a material. Cast iron woks are great because they are heavy duty and heat evenly. The downside is that they are the slowest to heat up and cool down. For the authentic wok experience though, I definitely recommend a cast iron wok. Not only that, but your arms will be in great shape after you cook with this thing – like all cast iron cookware, they tend to run on the heavy side!

Another option is a carbon steel wok. If you go this route, I would avoid getting one with a nonstick coating, because they are easily damaged under the high heat that you will be cooking with. Carbon steel woks are nice because they are both durable and lightweight, and the heat dissipates evenly.

I recommend staying away from stainless steel – the temperatures can fluctuate wildly, and you generally need more oil to keep them steady. While stainless steel has its advantages in some cookware, for the type of cooking you’ll be doing it’s best to avoid it altogether. No matter what type of wok you purchase, be sure to research how to properly season it.

You must also make your purchase based on what type of stove you have. If you have an electric range, you might want to consider a wok that has a flat bottom – this way, you can set it down and the heat will remain relatively constant. If you have a gas stove, a round bottom will work just fine. Sometimes you can flip the grate that sits atop the open flame and rest your wok on that, but be sure to test it out before you start cooking – it’s always better to learn these things while the stove is off!

Size also matters – if you’re only cooking for one or two, there’s no need to buy a large 16″ wok that can serve 10 people. It just means more time cleaning, and it’s more of a hassle to cook quickly with such a large wok. Stick with the smallest wok that you can get away with – 12″ is what I use for home cooking, and that suits me just fine.

As with any big purchase, read some reviews before you decide to buy. Mainstream websites like amazon.com offer a wide range of opinions – be sure to read the positive reviews as well as the negative ones so you can effectively contrast the opinions of the authors.

Cooking Terms Glossary

I’ve added a new cooking terms glossary!  It’s not very thorough yet, but I thought I’d put something out to help anyone who needs a definition of a term.  For now, it’s very general, but I’ll be adding more cooking-related words to the glossary over time.  Just thought I’d let you know!

Japanese Knotweed

I’m not sure how this showed up in my RSS reader (the word wok is in the title for unknown reasons), but apparently there’s a strain of weed that’s edible and tasty (similar to nettles, which can also be cooked).

I don’t have a recipe or demonstration as to how to cook this in your wok, but I’d love to try this.  The researchers say it has a taste similar to a cross between asparagus and rhubarb, both of which I love.  The plant also contains vitamins A and C, as well as potassium, phosphorus, and zinc.

It never hurts to expand your palette!

Beef stir-fry recipes

Beef stir-fry recipes aren’t as popular on blogs and in cookbooks as you would think.  I’m not exactly sure why this is, but I suspect it’s because most beef in the United States is sold either as ground beef or as steaks.  It’s not easy to stir-fry with ground beef due to the fat, and many prefer steak as a main dish, not cut up and served with other foods.

Chicken and pork are more versatile for a stir fry, but remember that beef, cubed and trimmed of excess fat, can often be substituted for either in most recipes.  Don’t overlook this cooking option when deciding what to fix for dinner – in addition, beef can take on the characteristics of the spices you are cooking with much more easily, while also breathing a new flavor into some of your old standby dishes.

Chicken Stir Fry Recipe with Asparagus

Since it’s springtime, around these parts that means fresh asparagus, one of my favorite vegetables!  Here’s a stir-fry recipe that calls for it:

1 chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 onion, chopped

2 cups asparagus, cut into 2″ pieces

4 garlic cloves

1 Tbsp. minced ginger

Soy sauce

Chicken Broth

Rice vinegar

Heat about 1 Tbsp of the chicken broth in your wok and add the chopped onion and asparagus.  If your asparagus stalks are thin, you can hold off on the asparagus for right now instead, as they won’t take as long to cook.  You will want to cook under medium-high heat.

After a couple of minutes, add the chicken, then the garlic and ginger.  Stir fry this for another 3-4 minutes.  Add the soy sauce and vinegar, and cook for another couple of minutes, or until the chicken and asparagus are done.  Remember to add the chicken a little sooner if you are using fairly large pieces.

Woks, pots, pans, and other cookware

Now is as good a time as any to review the different types of pots and pans you can find in the kitchen.  Choosing the right type of pan will make cooking much more fun.

You can think of a wok as simply a frying pan with a large round bottom.  The beauty of the wok is it’s simplicity and versatility.  The “proper” way to cook with a wok is to cook your meat and vegetables very quickly and at high heat.  Because of the rounded bottom, your food doesn’t go flying out of the wok when you stir your food in the wok.  In addition, you can add liquids like soy sauce for flavor and make sure that it will cover all of your food.

A frying pan can be used like a wok, but is designed to be set down with a larger surface area over the direct heat of the stove.  Foods that do not need to be rapidly turned, or should not be cooked over high heat are more suited to a frying pan.

A saucepan is designed for simmering over a low heat.  You should not do any frying in a saucepan, or let food cook without enough liquid.  A saucepan is perfect for making a sauce (of course!), or steaming vegetables over.

One of my favorite pieces of cookware is the opposite of the wok – the crock pot!  When cooking with a crock pot, you want to add foods that will cook very slowly over several hours.  It’s easy to add some lean meat, hearty vegetables, and other root vegetables to make a quick and tasty stew.

Japanese Beef and Vegetable Stir Fry

1 lb. beef top round steaks
3 T. cornstarch
1/2 C. beef broth
1/2 C. soy sauce
2 T. sugar
2 T. vegetable or canola oil
2 C. sliced shiitake mushrooms
1/2 head bok choy (also known as chinese cabbage)
1 red pepper (sliced)
1 green onion (sliced)
2 celery stalks (sliced)

Feel free to improvise with this recipe – I don’t usually have fresh bok choy on hand, so consider using a half-head of cabbage (or maybe some fresh basil) instead.

I really like this stir fry recipe because it allows the chef to take a break from cooking – the steps are broken up very distinctly, finally combining all the ingredients at the end.

The first thing you want to do is to slice the steaks into thin strips.  You want them thin enough so that they can cook quickly when you throw them in the wok.  Remember, handling the meat raises it’s temperature and makes it more difficult to cleanly slice, so consider putting it in the freezer for several minutes before slicing.

Next, mix the cornstarch, broth, soy sauce, and sugar.  We’ll use this mixture when we’re almost ready to serve this dish.

Heat 1 T. oil in the wok (high heat).  Stir-fry the strips of steak, and set aside.

Add another Tablespoon of oil and allow it to heat up over medium heat.  Add all the above vegetables and stir-fry for a couple of minutes, so that they are crisp, yet tender.

Finally, add the broth mixture to the wok.  You will need to constantly stir this mixture.  When it begins to boil, add the meat and the vegetables.  Over time, it will also thicken slightly – if it does not thicken enough for you, don’t be afraid to add more cornstarch.  Hopefully your rice is done at the same time – just pile this wonderful main course on top and you’ve got an excellent meal!

Simple Black Pepper Beef

Here’s a wonderful and simple recipe for black pepper beef.  Let this be a reminder that not every recipe needs to be the most complex dish in the world.  Remember, the key to cooking in a wok is to use high heat – this usually means that small, thin cuts of meat are going to be done very quickly since they have a high surface-area-to-volume ratio.  Cooking with high heat can be intimidating because you don’t want to burn yourself, but if you turn it down, you may have to cook vegetables longer, resulting in undesirable mushiness.  Remember that you don’t want to leave the pan unattended – when in doubt, just keep stirring!

Cabbage and Carrot Stir-Fry

Just stumbled across a blog by some organic farmers in Oregon who are sharing a recipe on stir-frying cabbage and carrots.  Remember, when it comes to cooking, you don’t need an elaborate meal to have a good time.  Heck, you don’t even need meat!  All you need is a wok and about 5 minutes.

To start, add some minced garlic and ginger to your heated wok, followed by some shredded carrots.  After a couple of minutes, add your cabbage and some more oil if you need to.  Serve over rice and you’ve got a tasty and simple lunch!

Lettuce Wrap Recipe – with sauces

So this lettuce wrap recipe doesn’t exactly make use of the wok as much, but there are a few reasons I want to highlight it. First, notice the very simple stir-fry sauce. It’s just soy sauce, brown sugar, and a splash of rice wine vinegar. Even if you don’t make this recipe, you might want to try this basic stir fry sauce and see if you like it or want to add anything to it.

The other reason I like this recipe is the other sauce that’s included. I think part of the reason people don’t always like to cook is because it’s hard to come up with new flavors, and sometimes you just want to stick to what works. This sauce recipe takes advantage of things you might already have in your kitchen, such as soy sauce, ketchup, mustard, etc.

I’m not personally a big fan of lettuce wraps (probably due to my love of their more popular relative, the tortilla!), but I love taking ideas from other recipes and adding them to my own. Happy cooking!