Wok Star Eleanor Hoh

Be a Wok Star!

Easy Weeknight Dinners

How to make boring Rotisserie Chicken into a Delicious Coconut Curry

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Here’s how to make boring rotisserie chicken into a delicious Coconut Curry! Rotisserie Chicken = one of the EASIEST and TASTIEST weeknight dinners you’ll ever make! Good for singles, couples or family of four.

Scroll down for Reels at bottom!

Coconut Curry Rotisserie Chicken

About Rotisserie Chicken

Grab a $4.99 rotisserie chicken from wherever you shop at, mine is Costco. You can’t beat that price. Use whatever vegetables are hanging around your fridge, and dinner is ready in about 30 minutes.

About Coconut Milk

Coconut milk is one of my favorite pantry staples and instantly makes a dish tasty. It’s creamy, plant-based, packed with flavor, and instantly transports me back to Asia. I like Trader Joe’s brand cause it’s pure coconut milk not just “coconut flavored milk”! There’s coconut milk and coconut cream. I get both and sometimes mix.

Trader Joe’s Coconut Milk & Coconut Cream
Always check Ingredients Label
Look at all the gunk in this coconut milk!

What is Rempah?

Rempah is a Malaysian word for aromatics and seasonings. Typically use shallots but yellow or red onions are good.

About Curry Powder

I mix my own spices that are most commonly found in curry powder: chili, turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, cumin, anise, cardamom, ginger.

My favorite ready made curry powder is a Malaysian brand my mom used: Baba’s. Finally available on Amazon. Here’s my affiliate link.

You can also find many Curry Powder on Weee, not an affiliate yet.

Cook with what you have

The beauty of this dish? There are NO rules. Cook with what you have, the Wok Star Way! Whatever vegetables you have will work! OR add frozen peas near end of heating, this will add pop of color & get your vegetable fix!

All you really need:

🥥 1 can coconut milk

🍗 2 bowls chicken stock

🌿 2–3 tbsp good curry powder

🧂 Salt to taste

Optional if you like a bit of tang: 

I added torn kaffir lime leaves and squeeze of lemon to taste for extra brightness. 

Directions:

• Shred the chicken (freeze the carcass for bone broth!)

• Wok-fry your vegetables

• Fry the rempah (onion, ginger, turmeric & curry powder)

• Add the chicken

• Mix everything in the pot with coconut milk, stock & salt to taste

• Heat through and dinner is served!

• Garnish with Fried Shallots (also from TJ’s in the coconut milk section! See photo)

Why cook in a wok?

I love cooking vegetables in my lightweight cast iron wok. The wide opening gives me plenty of room to toss everything together without making a mess. More about this soon. 

I’ve decided to make one coconut curry dish every week using different proteins and vegetables. Let’s see where this delicious challenge takes me!

🥥 Are you a coconut curry lover? What ingredients would you add?

PS I haven’t figured out how to remove caption from Instagram! But blog has a lot more helpful information!

Grill & Fry: Easy Weeknight Dinner Idea #2

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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:

  1. Preheat that broiler till it’s sizzling hot.
  2. 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.
  3. Coat portobello mushrooms and tomatoes with avocado oil and salt in separate grill tray.
  4. 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.
  5. Check the ribs and flip them over when they’re golden.
  6. Next, toss in the red bell pepper and shimeiji mushrooms in. Add more stock if it’s evaporated.
  7. 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!

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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.

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Delicious Duck Soup in under 30 Minutes!