Comments on: Stir Fry Technique: Ten Steps to Better Wok Cookery http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2006/01/16/stir-fry-technique-ten-steps-to-better-wok-cookery/ Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:16:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5.2 Comment on Stir Fry Technique: Ten Steps to Better Wok Cookery by: Tom Spillman http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2006/01/16/stir-fry-technique-ten-steps-to-better-wok-cookery/#comment-57356 Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:27:24 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2006/01/16/stir-fry-technique-ten-steps-to-better-wok-cookery/#comment-57356 I've enjoyed your Blog very much. Since I also collect cookbooks. I have no idea just how many I have, but it numbers probably 600-700 at a minimum in five different languages. Not that I read all of them fluently but I've found that recipes usually have a common format and with a minimum vocabulary and a good dictionary I can get by. There are often interesting differences when comparing the original to the translation. Most of my books are in the Western tradition, particularly French and Italian. However, Chinese is also one of my interests. BTW, I found your ten steps very interesting. I, too, had noted the Grace Young approach from "Breath of a Wok". Here's a little book I stumbled across that you may find interesting, too (if you don't already own it!). The title is "The Eater's Guide to Chinese Characters" by James D. Mccawley, published by the University of Chicago Press in 1984. It is still in print. See: http://tinyurl.com/56uy8w In general, I've gotten to the point where I use cookbooks more for ideas rather than for just "recipes". I use recipes occasionally for guidance but rarely fix one as written. This is not to disparage the writers of the recipes, but I've been cooking long enough that I know our taste. I'm 77 and I've been cooking for 25-30 years and cook most of our meals. My wife fed me and our three kids for a number of years and I decided to take some of the load off of her. BTW, we celebrated our fiftieth anniversary this year. I'll quote Churchill (I think), sorry this is so long, but I didn't have the time to write s short one! Best wishes and regards... Tom Thomas Spillman Asst. Professor (retired) Information Technology I’ve enjoyed your Blog very much. Since I also collect cookbooks. I have no idea just how many I have, but it numbers probably 600-700 at a minimum in five different languages. Not that I read all of them fluently but I’ve found that recipes usually have a common format and with a minimum vocabulary and a good dictionary I can get by. There are often interesting differences when comparing the original to the translation.

Most of my books are in the Western tradition, particularly French and Italian. However, Chinese is also one of my interests. BTW, I found your ten steps very interesting. I, too, had noted the Grace Young approach from “Breath of a Wok”.

Here’s a little book I stumbled across that you may find interesting, too (if you don’t already own it!). The title is “The Eater’s Guide to Chinese Characters” by James D. Mccawley, published by the University of Chicago Press in 1984. It is still in print. See:

http://tinyurl.com/56uy8w

In general, I’ve gotten to the point where I use cookbooks more for ideas rather than for just “recipes”. I use recipes occasionally for guidance but rarely fix one as written. This is not to disparage the writers of the recipes, but I’ve been cooking long enough that I know our taste. I’m 77 and I’ve been cooking for 25-30 years and cook most of our meals.

My wife fed me and our three kids for a number of years and I decided to take some of the load off of her. BTW, we celebrated our fiftieth anniversary this year.

I’ll quote Churchill (I think), sorry this is so long, but I didn’t have the time to write s short one!

Best wishes and regards…

Tom

Thomas Spillman
Asst. Professor (retired)
Information Technology

]]> Comment on Stir Fry Technique: Ten Steps to Better Wok Cookery by: Kat http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2006/01/16/stir-fry-technique-ten-steps-to-better-wok-cookery/#comment-51841 Thu, 14 Feb 2008 23:15:24 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2006/01/16/stir-fry-technique-ten-steps-to-better-wok-cookery/#comment-51841 Thanks Barbara! I have to say, this site is definitely the most comprehensive about wok cooking...thank you! Thanks Barbara! I have to say, this site is definitely the most comprehensive about wok cooking…thank you!

]]> Comment on Stir Fry Technique: Ten Steps to Better Wok Cookery by: Barbara http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2006/01/16/stir-fry-technique-ten-steps-to-better-wok-cookery/#comment-51698 Mon, 11 Feb 2008 22:26:11 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2006/01/16/stir-fry-technique-ten-steps-to-better-wok-cookery/#comment-51698 If you just seasoned your wok, Kat, that instant smoking business will probably chill out over time and use. But, until then, heat your wok on slightly lower than super-high heat, and see if that helps you out. If you put the oil in a cold carbon steel wok and then heat it, your food is more likely to stick. I am not sure why it works that way, but it does--I have done it enough times to want to help folks avoid it at all costs! I tend to use garlic thinly sliced--in bigger pieces than minced, so that when it gets in the wok, it doesn't instantly burn. There are other ways around it. You can cook the onion first, and brown it, add the ginger slices, and cook them, along with perhaps chili slices. Then, you can add the meat in a single layer over the bottom of the wok, and while you are leaving it undisturbed before stirring it, you can sprinkle your minced garlic over the top of the meat. The meat cools the wok a good bit because of its volume and size, which lowers the temperature. It also acts as a buffer for the minced garlic, keeping it from hitting the thin, super-heated walls of the wok en masse. This also protects minced garlic from burning. Try these tips, and if you have any other questions, do not hesitate to ask. If you just seasoned your wok, Kat, that instant smoking business will probably chill out over time and use. But, until then, heat your wok on slightly lower than super-high heat, and see if that helps you out. If you put the oil in a cold carbon steel wok and then heat it, your food is more likely to stick. I am not sure why it works that way, but it does–I have done it enough times to want to help folks avoid it at all costs!

I tend to use garlic thinly sliced–in bigger pieces than minced, so that when it gets in the wok, it doesn’t instantly burn.

There are other ways around it.

You can cook the onion first, and brown it, add the ginger slices, and cook them, along with perhaps chili slices. Then, you can add the meat in a single layer over the bottom of the wok, and while you are leaving it undisturbed before stirring it, you can sprinkle your minced garlic over the top of the meat.

The meat cools the wok a good bit because of its volume and size, which lowers the temperature. It also acts as a buffer for the minced garlic, keeping it from hitting the thin, super-heated walls of the wok en masse. This also protects minced garlic from burning.

Try these tips, and if you have any other questions, do not hesitate to ask.

]]> Comment on Stir Fry Technique: Ten Steps to Better Wok Cookery by: Kat http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2006/01/16/stir-fry-technique-ten-steps-to-better-wok-cookery/#comment-51650 Mon, 11 Feb 2008 01:07:18 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2006/01/16/stir-fry-technique-ten-steps-to-better-wok-cookery/#comment-51650 I have tried stir-frying twice so far and have trouble on two points....first, if I heat my wok and then add the (peanut) oil, the oil begins to let off huge amounts of smoke instantly, and I have to reduce the heat quickly. Second, I tried adding the garlic at the point you (and every other set of stir-fry instructions I've ever seen) recommend, and it almost immediately turns into little blackened bits that must be thrown out...so now I add my garlic along with the sauce at the end. What am I doing wrong in these two cases? As far as I can tell, I'm following instructions... I have tried stir-frying twice so far and have trouble on two points….first, if I heat my wok and then add the (peanut) oil, the oil begins to let off huge amounts of smoke instantly, and I have to reduce the heat quickly.

Second, I tried adding the garlic at the point you (and every other set of stir-fry instructions I’ve ever seen) recommend, and it almost immediately turns into little blackened bits that must be thrown out…so now I add my garlic along with the sauce at the end.

What am I doing wrong in these two cases? As far as I can tell, I’m following instructions…

]]> Comment on Stir Fry Technique: Ten Steps to Better Wok Cookery by: Sprouts Fried Rice - Indo-Chinese Fusion Cooking ¦ IndiaKnows.com http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2006/01/16/stir-fry-technique-ten-steps-to-better-wok-cookery/#comment-49282 Wed, 26 Dec 2007 22:00:30 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2006/01/16/stir-fry-technique-ten-steps-to-better-wok-cookery/#comment-49282 [...] Sprouts Fried Rice is a prepared using sprouts,basmati rice and red chilli paste.Each grain of the cooked rice should be seperate and rice should be cold.Chinese wok-cooking is all about the timing of the ingredients and the proper tossing and mixing and maintaining proper temperature(flame).Barbara of Tigers & Strawberries has written a very interesting and in-depth article on home-style Chinese cooking,“Stir Fry Technique: Ten Steps to Better Wok Cookery”.A must-read for those who love to cook Chinese.Here’s how the recipe goes: [...] […] Sprouts Fried Rice is a prepared using sprouts,basmati rice and red chilli paste.Each grain of the cooked rice should be seperate and rice should be cold.Chinese wok-cooking is all about the timing of the ingredients and the proper tossing and mixing and maintaining proper temperature(flame).Barbara of Tigers & Strawberries has written a very interesting and in-depth article on home-style Chinese cooking,“Stir Fry Technique: Ten Steps to Better Wok Cookery”.A must-read for those who love to cook Chinese.Here’s how the recipe goes: […]

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