Fast Food! (Wok on the wild side!)


 
Rich G

Rich G

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Ok, I'm going to get in trouble as this is two entries here in a row with no grills involved.....I've been using the grills, just nothing out of the ordinary.

I've been wanting to use my wok for more traditional dishes (our usual is a LOT of veggies, some protein, and a decent brown sauce, but more of a stir fry than a Chinese dish.) Of course, having said that, tonight's dish is decidedly Americanized Chow Mein, so I'll just claim to be working on dishes that I would order at a good Chinese place.

Not much play by play, but for starters however you say mise en place in Chinese.....well, that's a must, 'cuz wok cooking goes FAST! The lineup in order that it goes in the wok: shrimp (8-12, cut in thirds, marinated in soy, oil, cornstarch), garlic/ginger, Shaoxing wine, "the sauce" (oyster sauce, soy, sesame oil, chicken stock, salt, sugar), veggies, cornstarch slurry. The noodles (not pictured) were cooking a couple burners over....

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So, noodles cooked, drained, rinsed go into screaming hot wok to get some color, flip, more color, remove. Shrimp goes in with some fresh oil, flip, toss, flip, toss. Add garlic/ginger, and 30 seconds later deglaze with wine. When that cooks off a bit (30 more secs?) add sauce (this is where using hot stock in the sauce is handy, as it boils fast!) Sauce to boil, add veggies, give them a minute or so, then add slurry to thicken. Kill heat, add noodles, toss thoroughly and plate!

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Flavor was spot on, noodles were slightly overcooked, and my daughter said "Just like when we order, only better!" VICTORY!

I have a couple ideas on tweaks, but this was really good, and the whole dish cooked in about 8 minutes, including cooking the noodles separately!

Wok on!

Rich
 
That looks great. A smidge of dark soy sauce for the noodles will give you that authentic Chinese mein color and depth of flavor note.

I was at Ranch99 before dinner. Whipped up a quick wonton soup for dinner with mushrooms, bok choi, and green onions and some frozen chicken mushroom wontons. That along with some appetizer potstickers, shrimp shumai and a beer and dinner was filling.

Also got some thin Hong Kong mein to make a fried noodle dish with the leftover char siu that’s up for tmrw’s bbq cook.

Keep on wokin! Love your cooks!
 
Brett-EDH said:
That looks great. A smidge of dark soy sauce for the noodles will give you that authentic Chinese mein color and depth of flavor note.

I was at Ranch99 before dinner. Whipped up a quick wonton soup for dinner with mushrooms, bok choi, and green onions and some frozen chicken mushroom wontons. That along with some appetizer potstickers, shrimp shumai and a beer and dinner was filling.

Also got some thin Hong Kong mein to make a fried noodle dish with the leftover char siu that’s up for tmrw’s bbq cook.

Keep on wokin! Love your cooks!
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Yeah, I was going to add some dark soy, but was using a recipe "as-is" for the first time, and it didn't call for it.

I didn't mention, but the veggies were snow peas, bamboo shoots, carrot, and green onion.

Soup sounds great! Ranch 99 is the only place I can find all the goodies here, too.

R
 
Rich G said:
Yeah, I was going to add some dark soy, but was using a recipe "as-is" for the first time, and it didn't call for it.

I didn't mention, but the veggies were snow peas, bamboo shoots, carrot, and green onion.

Soup sounds great! Ranch 99 is the only place I can find all the goodies here, too.

R
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Your recipe is spot on. Nearly identical to my brown sauce. We have a few Asian grocers to choose from. Our drive through San Jose area last week blew us away with the Asian community diversity. We could eat there for weeks on end and never run out of places to try.

I wanted to make Vietnamese fresh rolls but 99 had no herbs. My quest restarts tmrw for basil and mint.
 
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I should have been born Chinese. It’s my favorite cuisine in the world. That dish looks great. My minor change will be to add a few Szechwan peppers for a little added heat while I steal this recipe!
 
I live in a chinese household. I see cooks and still cannot replicate. Maybe another 20 years. But I am getting better.
One big advice: I frequently cook potatoes the same way as potstickers. Just use a bit of butter instead of oil. Same water and covered pan. Come out plump and crisp
 
Mark Silver said:
I should have been born Chinese. It’s my favorite cuisine in the world. That dish looks great. My minor change will be to add a few Szechwan peppers for a little added heat while I steal this recipe!
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I live with heat/spice wimps! :( When it's just me and my two oldest daughters, I can spice it up to level 10. When I'm cooking for me, my wife and youngest (which is most of the time), spice level 2 is pushing it! :)

If you (or anyone else) is interested, I riffed off THIS RECIPE from Woks of Life for this one.....

Rich
 
Tony Coloma said:
I live in a chinese household. I see cooks and still cannot replicate. Maybe another 20 years. But Ibam getting better.
One big help. I frequently cook potatoes the same way as potstickers. Just use a bit of butter instead of oil. Same water and covered pan. Come out plump and crisp
Click to expand...
Interesting......
 
Cut potato side down.
(Small potatoes work best, large cut several times work)
Butter in pan.
Add water to about half height (1/2 inch)
Boil, hard simmer at least.
Yes, covered.
(Unless you want a chinese chef to whack you)
As water disappears, start turning to other sides. Adjust heat. (Usually down to control browning.) There will be hot spots depending on your stove and pan.
Enjoy.
 
Looks very tasty. Used to order Chinese food all the time because it's really good and was inexpensive. Then it got crazy expensive and $75 worth of take out become only one meal when it used to be $25, give or take. Will give this a go, thanks Rich
 
ChuckO said:
Looks very tasty. Used to order Chinese food all the time because it's really good and was inexpensive. Then it got crazy expensive and $75 worth of take out become only one meal when it used to be $25, give or take. Will give this a go, thanks Rich
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Greasy too. Yes the prices have skyrocketed, from cheap to oh now I have to think about it, greasy, and we can do better ourselves. Living with two chinese cooks has made me ... seem stupid. Haha 😄
 
But we still order take out occasionally. Just wish it were what it used to be. I will try your recipe. All I have to do is look like I am trying. Then iyah, she will take over. 😉
 
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