Clearing fridge to accommodate food for my cooking class came up with a surprise stir fry! I had mostly salad vegetables: snow peas, radish, Persian cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, onion & red bell peppers. So, I decided to fry them in duck fat & sprinkled black sesame seeds right at the end. Just goes to show, you can stir fry any vegetables!
The rosemary slow roast lamb shoulder
a la Jamie Oliver has been so handy. I warmed up in its own juice & added chopped cilantro. Went well with my salad stir fry, seaweed salad and quinoa lentil.
cast iron wok
Wok 3 Ways: Steam meatloaf, Fry and Boil
Have you ever had a craving that needs to be satisfied like immediately? I had one of those earlier this week. It’s a dish my mom used to make with ground pork and Tianjian preserved vegetable, it’s so moorish. I call this dish ‘Chinese steamed meatloaf’ because it’s a similar concept to meatloaf: densely packed meat.
Steamed Chinese meatloaf and rapini is such an easy, weeknight dinner!
Both cooked in my wok using three different methods, steaming, parboiling and frying.
Apart from minced pork, Tianjian preserved vegetables and rapini, I always have garlic and ginger, scallions and my handy caddy basket with seasonings and oil for stir frying. This dinner came together quickly. Always prep everything prior to turning on wok and stove!
I usually use ground turkey but fancied pork for a change. The butcher ground about a pound of pork butt fresh for me. I “seasoned” the minced pork with my usual TSPC: tamari, sherry, pepper and cornstarch, then sprinkled 1/2 of shredded ginger on top. My blue and white ‘fish’ motif dish was a perfect steaming dish and can be found at Asian markets. A coup dish is good too.
Tianjian preserved vegetable comes in a lovely ceramic jar. You can recycle those jars to use as a vase or pen holder, I love them. If you aren’t able to get Tianjian preserved vegetable or don’t want to use it, the “seasoned” pork on its own will still taste SUPERB.
Cooking is about making your own rules and having FUN and that’s what Wok Stars do!
When you open the jar, PONG! it’s strong smelling cause it comes from the you guessed it, cabbage family! It’s chopped up already and preserved with salt, so rinse in a little tap water to get rid of some of the salt, then drain well. Because I don’t measure, I used just enough vegetable so you get a bite in each mouthful but not too much! Use chopsticks or a fork to fold the vegetable gently into the pork, the pork should be chunky and intact, not mushy.
Rapini (also known as broccoli rabe) has a slight tang like Chinese broccoli and complemented the steamed meatloaf perfectly. When chopping bottom of the stems, I noticed they were a bit pithy, so parboiling rather than stir frying would make them more tender. This is a good example of my thought process and how it determines what cooking method I use. It’s also one of the reasons why you should not just follow a recipe blindly because if an ingredient doesn’t look good, you should substitute it and not feel like you cannot make the recipe!
Boil a wokful of water till bubbling, squeeze in a few drops of oil to prevent rapini going grey. If you have a lot of mouths to feed, parboil rapini in several batches. I only did one batch and kept rest in fridge. Parboil rapini till a little wilted, test for doneness the way you like to have it, then drain. Place on plate and keep warm. Return wok to stove, wipe very dry. Heat your wok, then add 4-5 swirls of oil into wok and quickly fry squished garlic and rest of shredded ginger. Fry & swish around with spatula till slightly golden. Don’t burn them otherwise they become bitter. Pour this goodness all over the rapini. This dish is DONE.
Yes, another great use of a wok is steaming. My mom showed me how to use wood chopsticks and lay them across the wok as a platform to steam the plate of minced pork and then put the wok lid on, such a clever idea! No steamer rack necessary and the plate used for steaming goes straight to the table. So, make sure you use a plate that’s big enough to spread the pork and has a little dip to it, cause there’ll be a little sauce from the steaming and seasoning, yummy.
Note: I got this tip from one of my favorite Wok Stars: Dr. Maritza Paz. Do NOT use disposable wood chopsticks which are not sturdy so they bend and she nearly lost her dish of food! Melamine chopsticks are O.K.
Sprinkle chopped scallions right before serving. Slice the Chinese meatloaf into wedges and eat with rapini. Notice we didn’t have any rice with this dish and we didn’t miss it, yummy.
Wok 3 ways is another illustration of the versatility of a wok, don’t waste it by using it just for stir frying! Please share ingenious ways you’re cooking in your wok in comments below!
Wok Frittata
This is truly a one-wok dish. It can be made ahead and served at room temperature as tapas, an appetizer or for breakfast or brunch. A cast iron wok shows its versatility so well in this dish! You use only one pan, first to fry (I’ve eliminated this step since I posted this, see below under step 3) and then to bake the frittata or quiche or in Spain, they call it a Tortilla!
I was so thrilled to be asked to develop Wok Fajitas (posting soon) and Wok Baked Tortilla for The Miami Herald feature story, Wok This Way. The original story was a piece I wrote for Associated Press which included Wok Picadillo.
Prep time: 20 minutes. Baking time: 35 minutes.
Ingredients:
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 medium yellow or Vidalia onion, diced
1 small or 1/2 medium green bell pepper, diced
6 mini sweet peppers (2 each red, orange and yellow), diced
6 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper
2 scallions, cut in small rounds
2 tablespoons canola or other high-heat oil, divided
Sprigs of mint, parsley or cilantro for garnish
Chili sauce (optional)
Method:
1) Set oven to 355 degrees and place wok stand on rack in middle of the oven. Prep the vegetables as described in the ingredient list and set aside on chopping board.
2) In a medium bowl, lightly mix eggs with sour cream, cheese, salt and pepper to taste and scallion slices.
3) Heat wok on high. Add 1 tablespoon oil, and immediately add garlic, peppers and onions. Fry them just a little; they should still be very crisp and colorful. Remove to a plate and set aside to cool. (I’ve since experimented and don’t skip frying the veggies! Just add raw veggies to egg, sour cream and cheese mixture in a bowl. What a time saver and not necessary.)
4) Off heat, wipe out the wok with paper towels, and coat with remaining tablespoon of oil. Combined cooled vegetables with egg mixture and add to wok, spreading evenly with a spatula.
5) Set wok on the stand in oven and bake for about 35 minutes, until tortilla is golden brown. Use a sharp knife to test the middle where it’s thickest. If still a little runny, switch off oven and let it set for another 5 or 10 minutes.
6) Remove tortilla from oven and let cool it before cutting into wedges or small squares. Garnish with herbs and serve with a dish of chili sauce for those who like it spicy. Makes 12 servings.
Present tortilla, frittata or quiche in the wok and stand especially for a pot luck. It’ll give it a WOW factor.
Per serving: Per serving: 145 calories (73 percent from fat), 11.8 g fat (5.4 g saturated, 4.4 g monounsaturated), 114 mg cholesterol, 7.7 g protein, 2.4 g carbohydrates, 0.5 g fiber, 146 mg sodium.