Wok Cooking: Buying the Best Wok

I got an email from someone asking if i could share wok recipes , ones that are simple with few ingredients.Hope this article helps and more wok recipes in the future. Do write to request for other recipes to if you so wish, i do read my email. What is a wok?

A wok is a thin metal all purpose cooking pan, with high sides and rounded bottom. Though when you say wok, it is meant to refer to the Chinese cooking utensil, other Asian countries do have it as well. In the Philippines it is called carajay, and i remember Indonesians pronounce it the same though spelled differently.

The wok is a versatile tool since it has many uses. It can be used for stirfrying, deep frying, parboiling, simmering , boiling, braising and steaming. The wok is most often identified with the stirfry method of cooking, and also useful in omelet cooking.

Stirfrying:

A fast and fun method of preparing food while at the same time coming up with great tasting dishes. Stirfrying uses high heat so it sears the meat and vegetables easily at the same time sealing in their juices, flavors while maintaining the texture of the ingredients. The nice thing while using a wok is you can swirl the food more around the pan.You can even toss and lift the wok while stirfrying thus making one appear to act like a knowledgeable cook or chef, great eh.

Stirfrying Guidelines:

When doing a stirfry, ingredients are added to the wok in order of texture, size and also cooking time needed.The ingredients are cut into uniform size pieces not only to make them look attractive but to ensure fast and even cooking time. Prepare all ingredients beforehand . Allow time to soak, marinade and blanch the ingredients. Slice meat across the grain to make it tender and when partially frozen to be able to cut it more thinly. Measure all liquid ingredients if unsure or an inexperienced cook. Blend any thickening agent with stock or water and give a quick stir before adding to wok. Arrange ingredients in the order that they will be used for wok cooking. Once the cooking has started it is a continuous mix of stirring the ingredients in the pan one after the other. ***************************

A meal in one, a good thing to try out when there are lots of leftover rice around.

Fried Rice with Ham makes 4 servings 2 T. peanut oil 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions 1/2 tsp. peeled and minced fresh gingerroot

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