Easy Weeknight Dinners

Grill & Fry: Easy Weeknight Dinner Idea #2

October 23, 2024 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

Grill & Fry is an Easy & Fast Weeknight Dinner solution if you’re tired and hungry! Imagine juicy racks of pork ribs and a quick stir-fried veggie dish that your family will love. You’ll get a delicious, home-cooked meal in just 30 minutes or less. This is what being a Wok Star is all about—cooking without recipes, using what you have, and still making it flavorful and fun. And with very little cleanup, see below.

We LOVE these wide shallow bowls and eat out of them nearly daily. So cheerful and displays my food perfectly!

Here’s the best part—no need to drag out the BBQ grill or deal with a messy cleanup afterward. Just use your air fryer or the broiler in your oven (that’s the grill at the top of the oven, in case you didn’t know!). It’s fast, efficient, and super easy.

Watch my Youtube video for more tips and tricks and you’ll see how easy it is…

This Russell Dexter knife is included in my **WOK STAR KIT** but you can also purchase it on its own. Everyone adores it.

Here’s the workflow of a Grill & Fry Easy & Fast Weeknight Dinner:

Prep is key, so get everything ready:

Pork Riblets: I like switching up my spice rubs for variety, and hey, grill extra while you’re at it. I get my pork riblets from Costco. They are St. Louis ribs but cut across so they are smaller to handle and easier to eat.
Grilled Portobello Mushrooms and Tomatoes.
Stir Fry Vegetables: Minced garlic and shredded ginger give shimeiji mushrooms and Rapini so much flavor. Add cubed red bell pepper for a pop of color.
Cook Sweet Potato

I have two of these stainless steel baking trays which fit perfectly side by side under the grill. What you see is a smaller rack which I’ve placed on one baking tray so less cleanup. I do line with parchment paper, stopped using foil for health reasons. Also same reason I switched from aluminum wok lid to stainless.

I’m using this Nuwave bowl shaped induction stove that fits my 15″ cast iron wok perfectly.

Now, let’s break down the flow:

Preheat that broiler till it’s sizzling hot.
Coat those ribs with avocado oil, sprinkle on some salt and spice rubs, and grill them on the second rack so they don’t burn so quickly and cook through.
Coat portobello mushrooms and tomatoes with avocado oil and salt in separate grill tray.
While the meat and vegetables are grilling, start frying the veggies. Fry the rapini first in ghee with garlic and ginger, then add stock and wine, cover and plate.
Check the ribs and flip them over when they’re golden.
Next, toss in the red bell pepper and shimeiji mushrooms in. Add more stock if it’s evaporated.
Check the ribs one last time and plate everything.

These unique magnetized wok mitts are also great to grab hot pot handles or a dish from the microwave. Various designs and handcrafted by Haitian seamstresses.

We adore these Laguiole Red Steak Knives!

There you have it, a quick, flavorful meal that doesn’t require hours of work or a laundry list of ingredients. Enjoy being a Wok Star and impress your family with this easy, satisfying weeknight dinner!

Drop in comment how you like this Grill & Fry Dinner Idea?

Here are some Asian dinnerware/cookware/seasonings and helpful gadgets on Amazon I’ve personally researched & selected. There are affiliate links within the blog.

Asian Dinnerware: https://amzn.to/40hF0uz
Asian seasonings: https://amzn.to/3UljLnE
Cookware: https://amzn.to/3BUOCRR
My Amazon store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/wokstar

How to Make Delicious Duck Soup in under 30 minutes!

June 3, 2023 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

How to Make Delicious Duck Soup in under 30 Minutes is the answer for a Friday night dinner! All made in one pot. If you’re not familiar with my Wok Star approach to cooking yet, I don’t use recipes or measuring, so this One Dish Delicious Duck Soup is a perfect example of that approach. Once you get this process down, you can use any protein or vegetables to make this one pot soup dinner!

**Steps for One Dish Delicious Duck Soup in under 30 minutes!**

Here’s a simple process…

Use whatever vegetables you have!

Start with your favorite stock. I use Costco Kirkland Signature Chicken Stock or Trader Joe’s Miso Ginger Broth.

Season soup…
Dash of San-J tamari, sprinkle of medium drinking sherry and white pepper and squirt of lime or lemon juice.

Add vegetables…One type of vegetables at a time.

Daikon takes most time, it gives a wonderful, sweet flavor.

Mustard greens. I was so annoyed, I overcooked them cause so focused on taking photos & videos! See how color is not bright green. I should have scooped out all the vegetables and put in soup bowls.

Enoki mushrooms & shredded ginger. Fresh ginger is readily available, cheap and is one of two main ingredients I use in most of my cooking. The other is garlic. You don’t need to peel it, just wash and slice thin, then shred. A thumb size is all you need, it can be quite “spicy”, otherwise.

For health benefits of ginger, check what functional doctor, Dr. Josh Axe says about the wonders of ginger!

Last, halve ready cooked duck legs and add to soup and warm through on low heat. Don’t overcook to prevent them getting tough and dry. Add in white sliced scallions.

Add duck to vegetables and reheat soup so it’s piping hot and pour over everything. Garnish with chopped green part of scallion. Done!

Best served with kimchi, this is radish kimchi by Angry Booch I get from Legion Park Farmer’s Market in Upper Eastside Miami or order online.

ENJOY! Do you have a similar one pot soup dinner you like to make? Share with us.

Join me on Instagram @wokstar for DAILY updates in my stories, posts or reels!

**Delicious Duck Soup in under 30 Minutes!**

Slow Cooker Pork Rib Stew, Served 3 Ways

September 18, 2020 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

This Slow Cooker Pork Rib Stew, served 3 ways means you don’t have to cook from scratch for 3 nights. I’m a huge fan of using a Slow Cooker, I cannot get used to the Instant Pot mentality, more about this later. A Slow Cooker is so practical and efficient in getting dinner on the table. It’s a huge time saver, locks in the flavors and keeps meat moist and tender.

Pork Ribs, Stir Fry Mixed Veggies, homemade Kimchi

Instead of ‘recipes’, I like to focus on Flavors, Textures and Colors. So, here’s how to tackle the Slow Cooker Pork Rib Stew.

About Ingredients…
1 Onion, chopped or half moons
4-6 cloves garlic, thwacked
Thumb size ginger, thwacked
1- 2 carrots, chopped biggish chunks
4-6 dried shiitakes (from Earthy Delights in your Wok Star Kit) directions how to rehydrate is on the label.
Chicken Broth, halfway up the meat

About Pork Ribs…
3-4 lbs. of pork ribs.
They will be your favorite cut of meat, it’s juicy, meaty and so versatile. I get them cut across the bones so they are smaller and easier to handle and they’re called riblets. Available from Costco or Asian markets. Cut the riblets into individual pieces, see photo below. Fill slow cooker half way.

About Flavorings…
Basic Seasonings: TSPC. Wok Stars, you know what these are. Newbies, it’s Tamari, Sherry, Pepper, Cornstarch
2 tsp. each of Brown Bean Sauce (from Koon Chun in your Wok Star Kit) and Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce.

Here’s HOW…

Set slow cooker on LOW before prepping. This will give it a head start. Set your timer for 3 1/2 hours.
Add pork riblets at bottom then veggies, garlic & ginger and broth into slow cooker.
In a bowl, mix TSPC and extra flavorings. Add into slow cooker. I LOVE the smells wafting through my apartment. This is what the Insta Pot doesn’t allow, no smells and you cannot peek in there for tasting and adjusting flavors. For me, cooking is about LAYERING flavors. You can’t do anything until you’ve released the pressure which takes another half an hour.
When time is up, test a piece of pork riblet and adjust flavorings, to see if it’s the texture you like, if you like softer, let it cook for another half hour.

Add pork riblets, then onions, garlic & ginger, carrots, mushrooms. Then chicken broth, flavorings.

Serving suggestions…
You’ll just need to serve reheated pork riblet stew and stir fry or blanche some veggies. So easy, dinner in about 15 minutes or less.

Allocate about 3-5 pieces of pork riblets per person. Spoon onions, carrots and sauce over the riblets.

I like to add some homemade kimchi and garnish with chili threads, chopped scallions and cilantro, they just give a pop of color and adds freshness to the finished dish.

Don’t you love the 3 ways I served this Slow Cooker Pork Rib Stew?
If you try this Slow Cooker Pork Rib Stew, please take a photo and tag @wokstar on Instagram,
I would love to see how you present yours.

Easy Weeknight Dinners

Here’s the workflow of a Grill & Fry Easy & Fast Weeknight Dinner:

Now, let’s break down the flow:

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