Traditional Chinese cooking has always involved a round-bottomed wok as its most important cooking utensil. Cooking with a wok can easily be mastered with a few simple tips.
High heat and fast cooking are essential for delicious dishes cooked using this versatile cooking tool.
Of course, the first thing you need would be a good wok. Cast iron and carbon steel woks are popular in the East as well as among professional chefs. Stainless steel and non-stick hard-anodized ones are more modern versions.
Using a wok to stir-fry successfully involves speed. All your ingredients must be cut to about the same size and prepared in advance. Season any meat used. Standby all the sauces, oil and plates ready. You are now ready to start. To get the aromatic and intense flavor characteristic of Chinese restaurant dishes, all the steps must be correct.
First, heat up your wok before adding the oil. This prevents food from sticking to the surface of the wok. The hot oil also helps to sear the food, sealing in all juices and thus resulting in more intense flavors.
Always add first the ingredients that need a longer time to cook. Keep stirring and turning the ingredients to prevent the food from getting burnt.
If your dish has thin slices of meat as one of its ingredients, then this should be stir-fried separately first, removed from the wok and then added back to the rest of the ingredients in the wok just before the dish is ready. This keeps the slivers of meat juicy and tender.
Besides stir-frying, you can also use the wok for steaming, braising, deep-frying or boiling. Due to its round bottom shape, less oil is needed for deep-frying.
Steaming is a simple technique which doesn't really need much skill. Just fill the wok half-full with water and put in a steaming rack. Make sure the surface of the rack is above the water. Wait until the water is boiling before putting the plate of food on the rack to steam. Steam fish is a light and tasty dish, showcasing the texture, aroma and freshness of the fish at its best.
Braising or simmering is also widely practiced among the home cooks. Stir-frying is minimal and the food such as tofu or bigger pieces of meat are cooked over a low fire. The meat becomes tender and the sauce is now thick, intense in color and flavor. A popular Chinese dish cooked using this method is Red Braised Pork. Sugar caramelizing in oil gives the dish its signature color and sweetness.
Look after your wok well and you could very well pass it down to your children as a treasured heirloom.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7540211
