Wok Star Eleanor Hoh

Be a Wok Star!

roast duck

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?

Chinese New Year – simple home dinner is best!

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The best way to celebrate Chinese New Year is a simple dinner at home with your family. You don’t have to get stressed with a big production.

Earlier in the day, I had given a Wok Star cooking class to celebrate Year of the Tiger, so I didn’t feel like going to a crowded, noisy restaurant that evening or pay the high prices usually jacked up on these occasions.

A red tablecloth is important because it signifies good luck. My friend, Irene had given me some beautiful napkins with “chopsticks”, so appropriate for the occasion, thanks.
My brother-in-law is Italian, so he picked out a Chamarre Shiraz Merlot which went very well with everything.
I noticed my sister had snuck a duck leg on her plate!

I had bought a whole roast duck (everyone’s favorite), already carved and just needed crisping up under the grill.
It was so much fun to cook with my sister, reminded me of our childhood, cooking, laughing with our mom and two other sisters.

I also fried up a plain veggie dish of Chinese broccoli and bok choy.
A dish of plump shrimp with a spicy, zesty brown bean sauce, asparagus and carrots. This is a dish I actually made in class earlier so I had all the fixings already so no big deal. Everything was ready in about half an hour!
This was my plate with the duck leg, yummy.
For dessert, a few Chinese cakes like almond cookies, coconut tart and melon pastry. My sister brought some Vosges chocolates. They have the most amazing and strange combinations but so good, it perks up your taste buds.

We even went to the Wynwood/Design District Art Walk after dinner. I’m not sure how I managed it as I’d already been on my feet for about 6 hours! We walked probably 2 miles, popping into all the galleries was fun, many had Valentine themed art and gifts.

My brother-in-law bought me a lovely bangle from Ecoist.
It was made out of recycled sweetie wrappers, so cheerful.

What a lovely way to celebrate Year of the Tiger and Valentine’s Day!
Love to hear how you spent your Chinese New Year?
More Chinese New Year Celebrations:
Celebrate Chinese New Year with the Wok Star – 2010:
Year of Ox – 2009:
Year of Rat – 2008: