Wok Star Eleanor Hoh

Be a Wok Star!

Eleanor Hoh

Sakaya Kitchen, Midtown Miami

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Richard Hale’s Dim Ssam A Go Go Food Truck debuts at Food Truck Fest

Celebrating Sakaya Kitchen’s second anniversary! Hail to Hale!  I so remember when he burst into the Miami midtown scene two years ago today (it’ll be 18th by the time I finish this.)  I met his parents on his first day and his dad told me he started experimenting with food at 9 years old. Well, he’s done a nice job of experimenting cause I’ve liked everything I’ve tried!

I love this concept – GOOD Asian fast food, we need to have MORE IN MIAMI!!!  It has a modern look with a wall chalk board filled with daily specials, many are Korean street food items.  Richard uses many locally sourced ingredients and has the flavors DOWN! His slant is towards Korean flavors even though his mom is Filipino.  There’s never a dish where the pickle is too sour or spicy, the balance is perfect. I never mind paying when the food is good, some of the dishes are on the expensive side but so worth it especially when you consider it’s all made from scratch.

From what he’s told me, many of his cooks didn’t even go to culinary school, he trained them.  They must have good taste buds or Richard must have good quality testing. I think I must have tried nearly everything on the menu at Sakaya except for daily specials and taken way too many photos to be able to include in one post.  People have asked me if I know his famous honey ginger brussel sprouts recipe, why bother, just go eat it there! Pork belly baos, soft shell crab or Calamari baos, everything in a bao is good even though we’re not fans of carbs.

Left: Richard’s wife, mother-in-law & first baby girl, adorable. Middle: menu board kept getting crossed off cause food ran out.

Right: Lines were ridiculous at first Food Truck Fest at Adrienne Arsht Center, downtown Miami.

Here’s my first attempt at shooting video outdoors but great audio of Richard at the Fest.


Random photo gallery from the last 2 years which includes the debut of Dim Ssam a Go Go, at the first Food Truck Fest(above.) He’s now got 2 food trucks and just opened a Sakaya Kitchen, downtown Miami which I must try out. Waiting for South Beach location.

Left: Pork belly buns.  Right: my husband and my all-time favorite is the Angus Bulgogi Burger.

Tater tots are delish but too much carbs for us.

Left: Honey Orange Ribs, slurp.  Right: Koren Beef on bed of salad and pickled sprouts.

Left: Chef Richard Hales, Chef Michael Schwartz of Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink paid a visit to congratulate Richard on his first anniversary!  Right: Shirt promoting Dim Ssam a Go Go.

I practically ran to Sakaya Kitchen when I got back from my Hong Kong trip in July, so homesick for Asian food! Richard sent over my favorite Korean Banchan! We also had another of our favorites, Dae Ji Pork Tenderloin with buttered broccoli and coconut rice which is so addictive, the balance of sweet, savory and spicy, here’s the post.
For other reviews that give much better background about Richard (I’m just all about the food), check these:
New Times: Serious Asian food with no frills
Food for Thought: Sakaya Kitchen Midtown Miami
Sakaya Kitchen: Eater Miami
Burger Beast

Me. Egg with tater tots. Waffles & wings. Sakaya Friends came out to celebrate 1st anniversary.

 

Top 12 Wok Tips

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As a wok enthusiast, cooking teacher and creator of a Wok Star Kit, I hear a lot of common mistakes people make when attempting wok cooking.

Anyone can be a Wok Star with the right wok, right technique, right heat!
This post was originally on rasamalaysia but I’ve revised a little. There were many wonderful comments and questions which may help you, so check it out. Ask me questions in the comment box below.
There’s a lot of very confusing information out there, so, here are my…

TOP 12 WOK TIPS

1. Cooking in a wok requires the right technique, the right heat, the right seasonings = Wok Star!
2. Declutter your kitchen: use your wok for stir frying, steaming, stewing, deep frying, smoking, searing and soups (see photos below.)
3. Leave your wok and portable gas stove setup out at all times so it’s convenient. If you don’t see it, you don’t use it…
4. Getting the wrong wok & not seasoning it right can set you up for failure.
5. A traditional lightweight, thin walled, round bottom cast iron wok is BEST. Woks with exterior enamel or coating take longer to heat and transfer heat to your food! Who wants to lift a 15 lb. wok every night? I give a comparison with carbon steel woks here.
6. One handle woks tip over when you have food in it plus the handle gets in the way.
7. Round bottom woks need direct flames i.e. gas for maximum contact & to control your heat.
8. Flat bottom woks do not give you a natural stir fry motion, uses more oil because of more surface area & were made for electric stoves. See no.11.
9. Non-stick woks cannot be used above medium heat according to manufacturer’s warning but high heat is ESSENTIAL to sear meat and for crunchy veggies.
10. Gas stove owners: use the smallest burner so heat is focused for your wok.
11. Electric stove owners: a portable butane gas stove solves the problem of cooking with your wok! You’ll have the BEST of both heat sources. Use your electric for flat pans/pots and gas stove for your wok.
12. A Wok Star is someone who develops their own cooking style and thinks outside the box.

 

 
Ask me a question!
 

Easy Festive Side

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Easy Festive Side Dish with all the Holiday colors!
Stir fry in 2 batches to prevent lowering the heat which can result in a 'soupy' stir fry.


When we were growing up, we didn’t celebrate Christmas as much as Chinese New Year, so no festive dish sprang to mind.  I thought this #LetsLunch theme was a festive family dish, not side. So, my dish started out as a beef shank stew but I had to quickly rework it. Fortunately, I had stir fried vegetables to add to the stew, so I only had to embellish what I had. It may not be a very typical holiday dish but to me, you can never have enough vegetables.

My beautiful, elegant & fashionable mom. That's me squatting! Still remember this dark green corduroy dress with white lace.

This post is a tribute to my mom who passed away suddenly 6 months ago. She was my inspiration and reason for my Wok Star project. I think she would be proud of this dish because she hated wasting food. I already had all these multi colored vegetables left over from giving a cooking class so it was natural for me to use what I had.  It only needed a sprinkle of curry powder for a festive touch!  A crunchy side dish that complements just about any mains.

#LetsLunch is a virtual lunch where food bloggers come up with a theme.  I’ve met the neatest food bloggers, if you want to join, post a comment below or on Twitter using #LetsLunch.  Do visit other #LetsLunch posts below for a delicious variety of festive sides.
Ingredients:
orange, yellow, red, green bell peppers
1 zucchini
handful of sugar snap peas
handful of grape tomatoes
2 cloves of crushed garlic
thumb size of crushed fresh ginger
2 tablespoons of oil (canola, safflower or EarthyDelight’s tea seed oil)
Put your oil in a clear squeeze bottle for easy dispensing
Seasonings:
Squirt of San-J tamari
Squirt of sherry
Squirt of lime juice
Dash of MySpiceSage curry powder
Note 1:  Fry your vegetables in 2 batches if there’s a lot of vegetables.  This prevents lowering the heat in your wok which can result in a ‘soupy’ stir fry.  
Note 2:  Don’t use a non-stick pan or wok, you’re not meant to use above medium heat according to manufacturer’s warranty. Your veggies never get that lovely crunchy texture!
Heat a cast iron wok or skillet on high heat.  Squirt 3 rounds of oil down sides of wok, add 1/2 of your garlic and ginger.  I fried my first batch of vegetables (bell peppers and zucchini) and plated them. Then did the second batch with sugar snap peas and grape tomatoes. Recombined both batches in the wok and squirted tamari, sherry, lime juice and sprinkled curry powder while the heat was still going strong! That’s IT! It’s a technique you can use for
Charissa‘s Coconut Date Balls at Zest Bakery
Ellise‘s Lime-Chipotle Carrots at Cowgirl Chef
Felicia‘s Chinese Butterfly Cookies at Burnt-Out Baker
Grace‘s Fruitcake at HapaMama
Joe‘s Maine Homestead Holiday Dishes at Joe Yonan
Linda‘s Baked Salad at Free Range Cookies
Linda‘s Trinidadian Baked Pastelles at Spicebox Travels
Lisa‘s Potato Latkes at Monday Morning Cooking Club
Lucy‘s “Not My Mama’s” Black-Eyed Peas & Greens at A Cook And Her Books
Maria‘s Grandma Dorothy’s Deviled Eggs at Maria’s Good Things
Patrick‘s Baby Pecan Pies at Patrick G. Lee
Steff‘s Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Crumble at The Kitchen Trials
Victor‘s Roasted Parsnips, Carrots & Delicata Squash Tossed With Sauteed Mustard Greens at The Taste of Oregon