New wok cookbook provides inspiration

April 12, 2022

by Jay Kitterman, culinary and special events consultant, Lincoln Land Community College

Recently I brought home the new cookbook, “THE WOK-Recipes and Techniques” by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt. Carol’s first reaction was, “another cookbook?”

When I told her I would be wok cooking more in future, she became more positive. In short, this book has EVERYTING you would want to know about a wok.

I had the opportunity to hear the author on a New York Times podcast (while walking my daughter’s dog), and he implores us to think of the wok as the most important appliance in the kitchen. You can use a wok for the following: stir frying, steaming, pan frying, deep frying, poaching, boiling, braising, searing, stewing, making soup, smoking and even roasting nuts.

The word wok literally translates to “cooking pot” in Cantonese. The same pot is called a kuo in Mandarin and a kuali in multiple Asian languages. The book is large, some 650 pages, that begins with a guide to buying and caring for your wok. I have been a longtime stir fryer using a wok. One of the first changes I need to make, according to Lopez-Alt, is to do less stirring with my wooden utensils and do more shaking. He provides photos and step-by-step instructions

Lopez-Alt recommends a 14-inch, flat bottom, carbon steel wok with a single long handle, and helper-handle on the opposite side. “Ideally your wok should fit over your hottest burner. It should have a wide enough bottom area that the ring of flames heats mostly the bottom, with a little bit of flame riding up the sides. He advises against nonstick woks as “their nonstick coatings will begin to break down at around 450 degrees F.” This is an inadequate temperature range for many stir fries.

He provides a list of recommended wok accessories. (Carol: Father’s Day is coming up in June.)

“Chuan” or spatula. It should be at least 14 inches long made from steel or wood with a wide head and gently curved lip.
Lots of bowls. I have written before about mise en place (French for having everything in place). Cooking with a wok requires lots of ingredients, and it is important to have them premeasured and ready to add. I have a set of small metal bowls that nest and do not take up a lot of room to store.
A bamboo brush for scrubbing your wok.
Wire-mesh spider for deep frying or simmering. He recommends a stainless-steel spider with a basket on the side “to tend to little nuggets of fried chicken or a big mess of noodles.”
Bamboo steamer baskets will “convert your wok to a multilevel steamer.”
Small plastic squeeze bottles and pour spouts for commonly used sauces.
Rice cooker which ensures consistent prepared rice at the touch of a button.

Sauces: Carol and I have reduced the amount of soy in our diets. He recommends avoiding many grocery store soy sauces for they are made with hydrolyzed soy protein, corn syrup and artificial colors. Look for “naturally brewed” on the label. A substitute for soy sauce is koikuchi shoyu which can be used in sauces, marinades, dips, stir-fries or for seasoning soups and broths. He recommends keeping a bottle of Kikkoman’s All Purpose in your refrigerator. He also writes that fish sauce and miso are mandatory to have in the pantry. Fish sauce is made by fermenting anchovies with salt. “Incorporating fish sauce into dishes will bring out a level of flavor you never knew existed.” He adds fish sauce to meaty western style beef stew, chili or even ragu.

“The Wok” is a fantastic cookbook for anyone wanting to incorporate wok cooking into their repertoire. The recipes are well written and straightforward, with lots of helpful tips and colorful photos. I recommend it highly, and I see myself making more trips to Asian markets. My thanks to Will at Norton Publishing for providing permission to include the following recipe. Enjoy!

Korean stir-fried shredded potatoes (gamjachae bokkeum)

Yield: Serves 4 as a small side dish

Time: 10 minutes

You can easily scale this recipe up by 50 or 100 percent. Increase the cooking time after adding the potato by a minute or two to account for the increased volume. If your tap water is particularly soft (low mineral content), you might find that the potatoes soften or turn mushy during cooking. You can fix this issue by boiling your potatoes in acidic water. Add 2 tablespoons (30 ml) distilled white vinegar to 2 quarts (2 l) water and bring it to a boil in your wok. Add the shredded, rinsed potatoes and cook for 30 to 45 seconds (it’s OK if the water loses its boil during this process), drain, spread on a rimmed baking sheet to steam-dry and proceed with the recipe as directed.

Ingredients

1 large white or Yukon Gold potato (about 8 ounces/225 g)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) peanut, rice bran, or other neutral oil
½ small yellow onion (about 2 ounces/60 g), thinly sliced
½ medium carrot (about 2 ounces/60 g), peeled and cut into fine matchsticks
2 teaspoons (10 ml) roasted sesame oil
Sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds (optional)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Peel the potato and cut into fine matchsticks (see “How to Shred Potatoes for Stir-Fries, page 187). Rinse in several changes of cold water until the water is completely clear. Spin the potatoes dry in a salad spinner or blot dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels.
Heat a wok over high heat until lightly smoking. Add the oil and swirl to coat. Add the potatoes and stir-fry until translucent and just beginning to turn pale golden brown in spots, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onions and carrots and continue to stir-fry until the onions and carrots are lightly softened, about 30 seconds. Add the sesame oil and sesame seeds (if using) and season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss to combine, transfer to a serving platter, and serve.

Lincoln Land Community College offers credit programs in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, Baking/Pastry and non-credit cooking and food classes through LLCC Community Education.

Cooking or food questions? Email epicuriosity101@llcc.edu.

Categories:

Epicuriosity 101