Archive for the 'recipe' Category
April 7th, 2010 by admin
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.
March 29th, 2010 by admin
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!
March 19th, 2010 by admin
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!
March 17th, 2010 by admin
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!
March 16th, 2010 by admin
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!
March 10th, 2010 by admin
There’s nothing better than the smell of fresh-baked bread! And you don’t have to spend hours preparing the dough and making sure things are absolutely perfect. The only downside to this recipe is that you need to prepare the dough in advance, as it can take over 12 hours to rise (there’s no kneading involved!). Here’s a simple bread recipe, for use with whole wheat flour:
3 C. Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons (or so) olive oil
Combine the flour, salt, and yeast with 1.5 Cups of water. Cover the dough (preferably somewhere dark and warm) and let rest for 12-24 hours.
When you’re ready to bake it, just coat the bottom and sides of a metal baking pan with some of the olive oil, and put the dough inside. Drizzle any remaining olive oil over the dough, and set it aside for an hour. Then, heat your oven to 350 degrees and bake for 45 minutes. Take the bread out of the pan immediately after baking to let it cool more quickly.
Of course, use your imagination to come up with variations on this simple recipe! Try other types of flour, or maybe adding some whole grains into the mix. Let me know what you come up with! Recipe originally found here.