Wok Star Eleanor Hoh

Be a Wok Star!

Eleanor Hoh

Wok Star's Thanksgiving Duck

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Breaking Thanksgiving tradition with Crispy Roast Duck…
Baby bok choy, sugar snap peas, red bell pepper, scallions.
I cheated and microwaved sweet potato.

 

Just leave all your veggies on a large chopping board,
saves washing up dishes.Go straight from board to wok.

 

I love my cast iron wok and portable butane gas stove setup.

I leave these out permanently so it’s EASY
to use my wok for cooking EVERYTHING.

Start off with oil, garlic and ginger.
Use oil that tolerates high heat like canola or
a new oil I’m trying: Tea Seed Oil

Tip: Don’t overfill your wok, it lowers the temperature &
makes your veggies ‘soupy’! I started
with just frying baby bok choy.
Next, I fried sugar snaps and red bell pepper.
Combined veggies and topped with scallions.
Add dash of tamari, sherry, squirt lime…DONE!
Bought Roast duck , stuffing and gravy which are
time consuming to make.

 

Plated sugar snap & red bell.
Dessert and dinner plates ready.Here’s a ‘before’ shot of ready cooked roast duck.
Warmed in oven 325, then under broiler to crisp skin.
So pleased with result, see nice crispy golden skin!
Notice I put duck on a rack so it wouldn’t be swimming in fat.
This is the leanest duck I’ve ever had, hardly any fat.
Another reason to buy store bought, no smoke or fat drips.

 

This is my husband’s plate. I actually took OFF
my sweet potato, too much carbs!
No-sugar chocolate cheese cake (bought)
with fresh blueberries and strawberries.
Nice to have a 2 hour break before dessert!

This Thanksgiving Dinner goes with my whole philosophy of being a Wok Star! Cook stuff that’s EASY and FUN, leave the time consuming stuff to others!
Wow, glad Thanksgiving is over, my body craved something light and soupy.

How did you use your leftover Thanksgiving turkey or whatever?
What was your first meal after all the leftovers were used?

Pre-Thanksgiving Twist

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I’m not sure why I bought turkey just before Thanksgiving, I think in my head I had set my heart on Roast Duck but got turkey for some Pre-Thanksgiving with a Twist: Asian flavors on the turkey and a stir fry veggie side.

I never buy a whole turkey, it’s too overwhelming to deal with and you’re stuck with all the white meat. So, I bought turkey thighs and drumsticks because we like dark meat. In my fridge was ready cooked penne with some leftover red bell peppers. So, that was the basis of our dinner.

When I go food shopping, I don’t like having any preconceived ideas until I see what’s available. So often, you set your heart on something and it’s not in season or they don’t have it and is very disappointing.

I love to experiment using different spices and seasonings on grilled meats. Instead of having just one flavor, why not have more! The turkey thigh was HUGE, we shared one. It’s a really economical meat to use.

I used ‘broad bean chili paste’ on some thighs and drumsticks and My Spice Sage curry powder on others.

I saw some very fresh rappini (similar to Chinese broccoli) and I had some wonderful dried porcini mushrooms from Earthy Delights. They are a great stir fry combination.

I also like using Earthy Delights’ Tea Seed Oil which doesn’t smoke on high heat, perfect for stir frys.

Subscribers to my free newsletter get a special code when you order from them (you can subscribe from my website.) I love their cute packaging with beautiful drawings of their gourmet mushrooms and chilies. On the back there’s a little history of where they come from with handy instructions on how to best use them. I’m just sorry I didn’t get this out earlier so you can get them for Thanksgiving but there’s still time for Christmas, yay!

Lately, I’ve been supplementing with a bit of toufu to cut down on eating so much meat. I had enough to make my husband’s lunchbox.

I can’t believe a whole year has passed, here’s our Thanksgiving Dinner from last year!

I’ll share what we had for the actual Thanksgiving Dinner tomorrow. Apart from roast duck, I got ready made gravy and sage, chestnut stuffing, no sugar chocolate cheesecake for dessert. Making fresh veggies, got some snap peas, already had red bell, baby bok choy, spaghetti squash and a cutie pumpkin.

Safe travels and Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Thankful my sister is in Hong Kong to spend time with my 87 year old mom, they’re probably having Peking Duck, my fav. Take a look at my post on Hong Kong Market, full of fresh Asian goodies!

Oh, I’m also THRILLED to finally launch my Facebook Fan page so folks who’ve been to my class and especially Wok Stars who have my Kit can share their unique creations, tips, photos. Click badge in sidebar to visit me, help spread the word, see you there…

Do share any unusual dishes you’re having for Thanksgiving?