Japanses/ Chinese Crusine recepies/ tips 'n' tricks?

[Shao Feng-Li]

I have a wok, and I love Chinese and Japanese food. So do any of you guys have any usefull tricks on using a wok? Or perhaps good origianial recepies? WEbsites are good too. So you know, at the moment, I prefere Chinese over Japanese. Of course, that's due to the excellent resturant here in town that measures up to the five star one in Santa Rosa. (Perhaps you've heard of it: "Gary Chu's Chinese Crusine" Mr. Chu also owns the "Osake" and "Sake- O" which are both fine resturants, although, I've never been to either.)

[Mave]

Well, first, all I know is that when you cook with a wok, you wanna use gas or direct flames. I don't think real woks work with those electrical coils.

Secondly, unless I'm mistaken, the art of Chinese cooking revolves around the ability to cook something quick/fast, in order to retain the flavors and nutrients in the food. So, you'll be working with a very hot wok and moving fast while cooking.

As for recipes, it really depends on what you intend to cook, i.e. type of foods? (seafood, meat, vegetables, tofu?) If you have the wok cover, I think you can basically do anything with the wok, "steam, boil, deep-fry, stir fry..etc".

[Shao Feng-Li]

sheesh. tell me that there's more than one person here who can help me!

BTW thanky a lot mave!

anyways, i know that one needs a direct falme. my new stove has coils... so maybe ill find an electric wok. for now the only place to get good fried rice is the local resturant. heh

as ofr that fast cooking, that isnt easy.

[Saint Kevin]

Yeah, Mave is right about the flames with woks, electric woks are sub par for the style of cooking. I have an electric wok, and really the only way I can get the best results is using very small amounts of ingredients at a time...on the level of one or two servings. Also, I find that when using an electric wok, it also helps to cook the meat first, to remove the meat from the wok and set it aside, and then to cook the vegetables. Only after the vegetables are done should you toss the meat back in, give it a quick stir, and serve it immediately.

Here's a recipe (ok...guidelines for a recipe) that I used not long ago. Because I don't have exact measurements on anything, I'll either guess the amount, or tell you to do it by taste and feel.

The recipe, is Kung Pao Chicken (and yes, I confess to using a store bought spice package, but I have to because I don't really which spices are used, nor do I have them on hand.

I'll keep the serving size small, about 2-3 servings. Take some vegetable oil and put it in the bottom of your wok to heat up. Next add about one clove of minced garlic, a teaspoon of freshly grated ginger root, and chilies to taste.

A note about chilies: You can use canned, pureed chilies (my preference) such as sambal that you can find in your asian food aisle at the grocery store, or a couple of dried chiles such as Anaheim chilies. If you choose to use dried chilies, place them in the oil while it is heating up, so the peppers can infuse with the oil a bit.

After you've added your ginger, garlic, and chilies, you want to saute them until the garlic is golden. After that, you add your chicken (or beef or pork) cut up into bite sized pieces and stir fry. Be sure to stir quickly and constantly for best results. After the meat is done, either keep it in the wok (if you are using flame) or take it out to be added back later (if you are using an electric).

At this point, you add your vegetables, a few tablespoons (2 give or take) of soy sauce, a few tablespoons of rice wine vinegar and the sauce packet per the instructions.

If you choose to use onions or green peppers in your stir fry, you want to add them first, to give them a little extra time to cook. Quick cooking, or already cooked vegetables you want to add almost at the end, to prevent over cooking.

Some quick cooking vegetables are mushrooms, water chestnuts, and canned baby corn. Ideally you want all of the vegetables to finish cooking at the same time, but it will take some practice to get this to happen consistently, so don't sweat the first few times.

After your vegetables are nearly done, add your peanuts and toss back in the meat, give it a quick stir for another minute, and serve immediately over some rice (which should be cooked by now, if you planned ahead and have good timing).

Some generally tips: Stir constantly; always add less liquid than you think you need, you can always add more later; have all of your ingredients prepared ahead of time (that means chopped into bite sized pieces and ready to go into the wok at a moments notice); if using frozen vegetables, run them under some water until they are thawed, so that they cook properly; and if you find that your sauce needs thickening, you can always use a bit of corn starch dissolved into a bit of hot water (use a whisk or fork to stir to prevent lumps from forming).

There you go, a basic recipe (yes I know I'm cheating on the sauce packet thing) that will yield great results if you use fresh ingredients.

[Shao Feng-Li]

Oh, you're a saint *ahem.* I'm going to have a gas range, I promise you that.

[Saint Kevin]

Great pun. But seriously, just experiment with different meats, vegetables, and sauces (packets from the grocery store, until you're comfortable trying your own). Almost every single one of my stir-fry dishes begins with the same exact ingredients of garlic, fresh ginger, and chilies, and I just go from there.

[Shao Feng-Li]

That's the nice thing about wok dishes. There's really no wrong why to go. Well, you understand what I mean.