Wok with me


 
Brandon N.

Brandon N.

TVWBB Fan
What's up TVWBB, decided to have some fun with the SJP, chimney starter, RO lump, and wok.

Before we get started, there is a book recommendation. Grace Young's "The Breath of a Wok" is a great book for woking.

I modified her Kung Pao Chicken recipe on P.74 for this post. Used turkey thigh, pineapple, red onions, and snow peas which aren't in the original recipe. Turkey thighs were $.99 and decided to give it a try. It woked pretty darn good!

Next, a wok recommendation from San Francisco's The Wok Shop

The wok pictured below is the 12" hand hammered carbon steel. Just beautiful at $15.00 before shipping. Their customer service is excellent.

Here are the ingredients ready to wok...

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Now for the setup, I started with this...

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With the infrared, temp seemed to max just under 400 with RO lump. Not hot enough to achieve wok hei(wok hay). No problem, used the SJP grid on top of the chimney starter creating a small gap and fire quickly was blazing.

In hindsight, might go with the charcoal grid on top next time. Might be a little easier with a smaller grid. Just have to be careful. Paoing(pan tossing) the wok seemed to work better than stirring with the ladle.

Things fly by quickly, be prepared and proceed with caution. Peanut oil, chiles, ginger, garlic for 30 seconds. Add bird, sear/stir fry for 1 min then remove. Add more peanut oil, red peppers, red onions, pineapple, snow peas, and stir fry 1 min. Then add cooked bird, roasted peanuts, sauce, salt, and stir fry until done.

You will know when you get wok hei. The smoke/smell is addicting!!
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Thanks y'all
 
That looks great. I've wondered if Wok'ing was possible at home. The only problem I see is that it's a lot of work to get the temp up for such a short cooking time. I've wondered if I could get the heat I need from a turkey fryer burner.
 
Thanks Jerry. Used 3/4 chimney of RO. Woking is a lot of prep work to get things organized for such a quick cook.

A turkey fryer burner should work. 600 degree wok seems to be ideal. 500 would be a good first time temp to get a feel for things.
 
Very nice looking stir fry and I also recommend the wok shop! Their prices are very reasonable and ship quick!
 
Thanks guys.

The lady from The Wok Shop was very nice when answering questions. It's a beautiful wok for such a reasonable price.
 
I love to use my steel wok on my Performer. I have the weber gourmet grill grate and set my wok in the center opening. I agree with others that the key to cooking with a wok is preparation. I start with bowls of all the ingredients sitting on the side table of my grill. My wife does not mind all the dirty bowls once she has had the meal.

Mike
 
Bought a large wok several years ago and I have been cooking on it over a turkey/fish fryer for years. Works really great BUT you better be ready with everything because the heat is so intense.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">The Wok Shop </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I have bought from the The Wok Shop several times and am pleased with their prices and knives.
guy
 
Hi Brandon, your stir-fry looks great.
I've been interested in getting a nice wok and giving this a go myself.
A couple of quick questions for you and other experienced wok-ers,

1. What do you consider the best or easiest to use wok for the backyard enthusiast?
ie. carbon steel, stainless, hammered steel, etc.

2. What is a good recommended size from an actual user?
I see you have a 12", do you ever find it to small? I will probably be cooking for only three people most of the time.
 
Carbon steel would be the way to go. Season like you would cast iron.

14" is the ideal one wok size. I have a carbon steel in that size also. The 12" just felt a little safer sitting on the chimney starter.

Look around on the Wok Shop website, you cannot go wrong for the price. Look at the carbon steel with D handles.
 
Carbon steel woks are the way to go. 14 inches is a good, standard size if you're going to use it on a gas stovetop (largest burner) and will work for 3 to 4 reasonable-size servings. If you're doing a stir-fry with meat and lots of vegetables, it would be better to cook in 2 batches. I have had my round-bottom wok for about 40 years and still love it. Now they are making flat-bottom woks for electric burners, but I had a wok ring for my original stove, which was electric, and the round-bottom wok worked quite well. It has one long handle and one D-shaped helper handle, but I don't think they made them with wood on on the D-handle in those days. It's pretty hefty and cooks very evenly. Beware of light-weight woks.

I'd get a dome lid for the wok if you'd like to do tea-smoked chicken or wok-steamed vegetables.

A turner-spatula tool that fits the curve of your wok is essential. The ladle tool is something that I rarely use and another ladle that you already have would probably work for you.

A Chinese drainer/ skimmer (bamboo handle and brass mesh "bowl") is very handy, not only for Asian cooking but also for many other kitchen chores.

Cleaning your wok: Others might disagree, but I find a large ball of curly stainless steel applied judiciously immediately after cooking cleans the debris from the wok very well. After dinner, I usually put the wok over high heat and apply the very thinnest film of vegetable oil before cooling and storing.

Actually, my favorite wok cleaning tool was a bamboo brush/ cleaning whisk. In a kitchen renovation, it disappeared and I can't find a decent replacement. They are all too cheap and the strips of bamboo fall out. Even the ones at The Wok Shop are cheap, primarily because the binding should be almost halfway down the brush to keep the bamboo strips from separating too much.

Other than that, I'm not too opinionated.

Rita
 
Thanks for the advice.
One more question,
Stainless or wood utensils? I watched the video on The Wok Shop on seasoning your wok. In the video they used a stainless wok chuan(spatula) to stir fry chives after seasoning to remove any metalic taste. I wondered if a stainless utensil wouldn't hurt the seasoning as with cast iron.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Rita Y:
.....Other than that, I'm not too opinionated. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Rita, you should know by now, that is why you are loved here is for those opinions!
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I absolutely love my woks (I have 2). I find the wok an excellent way to saute tuna steaks. The deep sides help keep the grease spatter controlled and I get less on the stovetop.

Ray
 
The June/July issue of Fine Cooking has an article and one recipe each for steaming, stir-frying, deep-frying, and smoking in a wok.

Rita
 
Because of you Brandon(and Rita) I felt the need to order this with a few other toys.
Gonna have a lot more headaches or a whole lot of fun, time will tell!
 
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