seasonal

Stir Frying without recipes

March 4, 2009 By Eleanor Hoh 9 Comments

Stir-frying without recipes
© February, 2007
“Easy Style” with Wok Star, Eleanor Hoh, first published in ibeyond magazine, an active lifestyle magazine
People are constantly asking me for stir-fry wok recipes which is like asking for a sandwich recipe. My NO recipes, NO measuring, NO calorie counting technique eliminates many of the obstacles people hate about cooking. I approach wok cooking as a process illustrated in a simple-to-follow visual “stir-fry crib sheet”. Once you get this BIG PICTURE, you’ll find creating your own wok dishes is as easy as making a sandwich!

Cooking the “Easy Style” way is very liberating because you can combine whatever vegetables you like with your favorite protein (meat, seafood or poultry). With my “squirt, squeeze, dash” dispensing of a few choice seasonings, you’ll be able to create hundreds of your own “recipes”. Once you start cooking this way, recipes will become a source of inspiration instead of step by step routines. Try some of these dishes when you crave a Stir Fry.

The beauty of stir-frying without recipes is that it allows you to make the best use of fresh, seasonal vegetables or foods that are on special sale. This also means you can use up whatever food are available in your fridge without them going to waste.
While stir-frying is easy, mistakes are common, even among those who have been stir-frying for years.
Here are the three essential elements for a successful stir-fry:

• High Heat — It’s difficult to achieve the temperatures required for a good stir-fry on an electric glass stovetop or coils. A simple solution is to buy a portable butane gas stove. It’s cheap, safe, and sits right on top of your electric stovetop (you’ll have the best of both heat sources plus it’s handy if there’s a power outage).

• Fresh Ingredients — Once you start cooking by “smelling, seeing, touching, and tasting”, your senses will become heightened. When you develop a taste for fresh, seasonal, flavorful, colorful, crispy, crunchy veggies, you’ll no longer settle for frozen, canned, boiled or veggies steamed to death.

• A Good Wok — I use and recommend a round bottom, cast-iron wok because I find it gives the best flavor and texture, acts like a natural non-stick surface and it’s easy to maintain. It’s like the old cast-iron skillet our mothers (and grandmothers) used but it’s light (about 3 lbs.) and easy to handle (I can lift it with one hand with food in it).
To learn more about my Wok Star cooking kit (with cast-iron wok set and instructional disks, so you can learn and start cooking right away and be a Wok Star). Watch “What’s a Wok Star?” video in sidebar.
Wok Stars, share your favorite stir fry riffs?

Seasonal Foods (Updated)

February 23, 2009 By Eleanor Hoh 2 Comments

Source: The Miami Herald Business, 2.13.09

Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services new website lists fruits, vegetables, seafood harvested in Florida and which are in season. Also, there are tips about how to choose, store and prepare fresh seafood.

Currently, celery, radishes, tomatoes, spiny lobster and stone crab.

Fry it, you’ll like it…

I love Ralph’s(my hubby) phrase, it never gets old.

Now you know what’s seasonal in veggies and seafood, it’s easy to make tasty dishes with them. I’ve listed many Organic Farms and Markets in S. Florida as well as out of state. Mark Bittman, The Minimalist, New York Times columnist wrote a great article about “Eating Food that’s Better for You, Organic or Not” that reflects so much of the same philosophy I have – “that the organic question is a secondary one” when we don’t eat enough vegetables in the first place!

Light stir frying keeps the veggies crispy, crunchy and with just a dash of tamari and medium drinking sherry, you’re good to go.

Here’s a potluck veggies dish of Curly Kale with Bell Peppers I made for my Movie Club buddies recently. The main course was Ina’s delicious mahi mahi with cream sauce done two ways, one with spinach and other with dill. Stephan, a professional chef made an exquisite warm salsa verde appetizer. Unfortunately, I was so eager to eat, I forgot to take photos, sorry. I think everyone was relieved because they’re sick of me saying, “don’t eat yet, gotta take photos!” Anje kept asking for the recipe, so here it is.

So Frugalicious, it’s my favorite new word…

what you’ll need
1 whole bag of ready washed and cut curly kale (easy and convenient)
1 orange bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
handful of cooked quinoa (I love this nutty grain, so light, great replacement to rice)

dash canola oil
smash 2 cloves garlic
shred 2 thin slices ginger
dash tamari
dash medium drinking sherry or white wine

cast iron wok or skillet (failing that, stainless steel, NO non-stick pans please)
Serving platter
(you can see my wonderful silver turin (that Kyra of Theine tea salon gave me). It’s perfect for potluck, it’s lightweight with a slot for serving spoon and a lid and it looks beautiful and exotic, thanks Kyra! I think you can get at Thai markets, I know Thai restaurants usually serve their rice from this).

Heat your cast iron wok or skillet to high.
The minute you see wisp of smoke, add oil, add garlic and ginger (g&g).
Add whole bag of kale, quickly stir fry around and cover with lid. This will immediately shrink down. It will be quick, so get ready to dish out to platter.

Next, do same process, add oil, add g&g, add orange and yellow bell peppers and fry till the texture you like. Add kale back in and the quinoa, add dash of tamari and sherry to taste and PRESTO!

Cool the dish in the wok prior to adding to turin. Eaten at room temperature. Perfect with any main course. Try it with tons of different veggie combinations, just keep it simple with not too many veggies in one dish. More about this topic in Stir Frying without recipes.

Many have tasted my simple veggie stir frys in classes or at presentations. It really takes just a good wok, high heat and fresh ingredients with a dash of tamari and sherry to bring out the flavors of your veggies. Even if you do not have my preseasoned, lightweight cast iron wok yet, I’d rather you use a stainless steel than non-stick to fry. You will really notice the texture and flavor.

Non-stick is the kiss of death for stir frys, read my comments and join this hot topic on Green Living’s forum. Beware bird owners…