Wok

[JeepMonkey]

Does anyone here cook Asian food very often?  I decided to learn how this year.  For Christmas I got some cookbooks, but I need to buy a wok.

For those that do cook Asian food, do you use a wok often?  Is there anything to look for when purchasing a wok?

[CheffoJeffo]

My preference is for round-bottom cast iron wok over hot flame.

If you have an electric stove, then you may want to go for a flat-bottomed carbon steel or non-stick wok as you may have trouble achieving the temperatures that you need.

[JeepMonkey]

I have a gas stove, so temperature shouldn't be a problem.

Does a wok offer any advantage over a skillet?

[Blanka]

I would buy a Wadjang.

[CheffoJeffo]

I wouldn't be so sure about heat -- Western stoves run much less heat than is typically used in stir frying. If I had an electric stove, I wouldn't bother with a wok.

As far as the wok vs skillet (of similar construction ... say cast vs cast) comparison the one big benefit that I see with a wok is that it is much easier to flip food in a round bottomed wok so that all sides get cooked properly. Stir frying is a very hot, very fast process and you need to be able to easily cook all sides of the food. That isn't that easy in a skillet.

I also find that the round bottom and even heating of my wok leads to less soggy results, although that observation is anecdotal.

[CheffoJeffo]

Don't take that bet ... I have three sets of knives in the house and two sets at the cottage.

You don't *NEED* to have a vast array of knives, but they are like tools and you get the best results by using the right tool for the job. For some, a sixpack driver will work fine ... I like having complete kits with all of the bits I'll ever need.

 

[Hoopz]

Why not rice PBJ?  My family (especially the kids) love Jasmine rice.  We use a Zojirushi steamer and it's great.

[2600]

Yeah, why you are getting a wok a rice cooker is a great addition.  I love having a Wok as it makes stir frying and other dishes a lot easier to cook.


Anyone want to post some good recipes?

[CheffoJeffo]

I'm sure your cooking is delicious, too.

My kids wouldn't agree ... although I do tend to experiment more than I cook from recipes so I can't blame them.

And, to be fair, I use 4 knives on a regular basis with the rest being mostly for specialty preparation. By the same token, I have a nice set of security bits, of which I use 3 on a regular basis but the others come in handy for those special situations.

[drventure]

+1 on the Jasmine Rice. Good stuff.

[polaris]

jim, what do you mean by empty calories in rice?

[Justin Z]

If I'm not mistaken he basically means that eating a bowl of rice is more or less the same thing nutritionally as eating a bowl of sugar.

[polaris]

Well, man, put it this way... I can make up a gigantic pot of stir fry with chicken, vegetables, and shirataki noodles and it'll clock in ~250 calories (with 90% of those calories coming in from the chicken).

That's one cup of cooked rice.

im glad you posted this and not what justin posted, fair enough i see what you mean, justin is wrong.

[Ed_McCarron]

How'd this work out?  Didja take a wok on the wild side?

[polaris]

im glad you posted this and not what justin posted, fair enough i see what you mean, justin is wrong.

Not really.  Blindness is a near epidemic in some asian countries because rice represents almost the entirety of their diet.  Evil corporation Monsanto made up "golden rice" to try and alleviate this but managed to muck it up like they do everything else.

i see your point but that doesnt mean it has no nutrition, it just doesnt provide full nutrition, but to compare it to sugar is wrong.

[2600]

im glad you posted this and not what justin posted, fair enough i see what you mean, justin is wrong.

Not really.  Blindness is a near epidemic in some asian countries because rice represents almost the entirety of their diet.  Evil corporation Monsanto made up "golden rice" to try and alleviate this but managed to muck it up like they do everything else.

i see your point but that doesnt mean it has no nutrition, it just doesnt provide full nutrition, but to compare it to sugar is wrong.

True, but there is a reason that they have enriched rice.

[polaris]

250 stick to your ribs calories per cup, people. 

Nuff said.



The thread inspired me to make up another batch of sushi.  Would have taken a pic but we ate it too fast. 

though i believe you would be better getting the calories from the rice than the chicken, i get the impression your diet is working for you so its hard to argue with it

[Justin Z]

i see your point but that doesnt mean it has no nutrition, it just doesnt provide full nutrition, but to compare it to sugar is wrong.

To clarify, I was speaking about polished rice.  Obviously brown rice is more nutritive.  But white rice has a bit of iron and some other trace minerals, and that's it.  It's pretty damn empty, especially in comparison to its caloric content.

[danny_galaga]

Pretty popular here, being closer to Asia. Most people use beaten steel woks. As a few have mentioned, they need to be oiled after cleaning or they'll rust too much...

[Franco B]

Anyone want to post some good recipes?

This is one of my favourites. Its quick, easy, you don't need any obscure ingredients and it tastes fantastic.

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Chinese Duck Stir Fry

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 Duck breast
1 tbsp Honey
200g egg noodles
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 tbsp Sesame oil
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 clove Garlic, finely chopped
3 cm Ginger, cut into thin strips
Handful baby Carrots
Handful sugar snap peas or mangetout
1 red pepper, cut into strips
Handful Spring onions, cut into thin strips
1 tbsp Mirin
1 tbsp Soy sauce
Handful Coriander, leaves and stalks finely chopped

Method:

1. Score the skin of the duck breast and place skin-side down in a cold frying pan. Set over a medium heat and fry gently until the skin has browned. Turn the breast over and drizzle the honey over the skin.

2. When the duck breast has cooked through, take off the heat and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Cut into thin slices.

3. Cook the noodles following the instructions on the packet.

4. Heat the olive oil and sesame oil in a wok or frying pan. Add the chilli, garlic, ginger, carrots, mange tout, peppers and spring onions. Pour over the mirin and soy sauce and stir-fry for a few minutes.

5. Add the noodles and coriander stalks and toss together.

6. Spoon into serving bowls, fan the duck pieces over the top and sprinkle over the coriander leaves.

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We tend to use a duck breast per person and add a little more chilli and/or the seeds. Its not the healthiest of stir fry's but its nice for a treat.

[Blanka]

Just learned from a nice Dutch TV program that to call cooking wokking, you need at least 9kw of power in your wok burner. Needless to say, most 5-pit furnaces with a wok-unit in the middle, only go to around 3kw. That's why Chinese have seperate wok-burners in their restaurants.

Another find out from that program:
Wok-sleighing.