Wok Star Eleanor Hoh

Be a Wok Star!

stir fry

Simple Kale and Mushroom Stir Fry

By 1 Comment

2012 is Year of the Dragon, for Chinese New Year, this easy curly kale & oyster mushroom stir fry is perfect and can accompany your other festive dishes! Kung Hei Fat Choy.
Just a little oil in hot cast iron wok, added garlic & ginger, cook down with mushroom juice from rehydrating dried oyster mushrooms, a dash of tamari & sherry, squeeze of lime & poof, it’s done! Less than 10 minutes!
Here is the Grilled Pork to go with this Curly Kale Stir Fry and how to set a festive table so you can celebrate at home with friends and family no matter where you are in the world! Keep it simple and easy but always yummy.
I use only 2 seasonings for my stir fries:  San-J Intl.’s black label gluten free tamari and a dash of medium drinking sherry, DELISH!

Rehydrating dried oyster mushrooms from Earthy Delights, I keep juice to cook down Curly Kale!

Stir frying Curly Kale and rehydrated gourmet mushrooms using Earthy Delight’s Tea Seed Oil, it’s perfect for high heat cooking. I put in a squeeze bottle to make it easier for swirling round my wok, it’s very liberating to not have to measure!  Everyone loves the freedom of the Squirt, Squeeze, Shake of dispensing their seasonings and once you do it, you can’t go back. Always add oil to a hot wok to prevent greasy veggies.

 

Top 12 Wok Tips

By 11 Comments

As a wok enthusiast, cooking teacher and creator of a Wok Star Kit, I hear a lot of common mistakes people make when attempting wok cooking.

Anyone can be a Wok Star with the right wok, right technique, right heat!
This post was originally on rasamalaysia but I’ve revised a little. There were many wonderful comments and questions which may help you, so check it out. Ask me questions in the comment box below.
There’s a lot of very confusing information out there, so, here are my…

TOP 12 WOK TIPS

1. Cooking in a wok requires the right technique, the right heat, the right seasonings = Wok Star!
2. Declutter your kitchen: use your wok for stir frying, steaming, stewing, deep frying, smoking, searing and soups (see photos below.)
3. Leave your wok and portable gas stove setup out at all times so it’s convenient. If you don’t see it, you don’t use it…
4. Getting the wrong wok & not seasoning it right can set you up for failure.
5. A traditional lightweight, thin walled, round bottom cast iron wok is BEST. Woks with exterior enamel or coating take longer to heat and transfer heat to your food! Who wants to lift a 15 lb. wok every night? I give a comparison with carbon steel woks here.
6. One handle woks tip over when you have food in it plus the handle gets in the way.
7. Round bottom woks need direct flames i.e. gas for maximum contact & to control your heat.
8. Flat bottom woks do not give you a natural stir fry motion, uses more oil because of more surface area & were made for electric stoves. See no.11.
9. Non-stick woks cannot be used above medium heat according to manufacturer’s warning but high heat is ESSENTIAL to sear meat and for crunchy veggies.
10. Gas stove owners: use the smallest burner so heat is focused for your wok.
11. Electric stove owners: a portable butane gas stove solves the problem of cooking with your wok! You’ll have the BEST of both heat sources. Use your electric for flat pans/pots and gas stove for your wok.
12. A Wok Star is someone who develops their own cooking style and thinks outside the box.

 

 
Ask me a question!
 

Easy Festive Side

By 23 Comments

Easy Festive Side Dish with all the Holiday colors!
Stir fry in 2 batches to prevent lowering the heat which can result in a 'soupy' stir fry.


When we were growing up, we didn’t celebrate Christmas as much as Chinese New Year, so no festive dish sprang to mind.  I thought this #LetsLunch theme was a festive family dish, not side. So, my dish started out as a beef shank stew but I had to quickly rework it. Fortunately, I had stir fried vegetables to add to the stew, so I only had to embellish what I had. It may not be a very typical holiday dish but to me, you can never have enough vegetables.

My beautiful, elegant & fashionable mom. That's me squatting! Still remember this dark green corduroy dress with white lace.

This post is a tribute to my mom who passed away suddenly 6 months ago. She was my inspiration and reason for my Wok Star project. I think she would be proud of this dish because she hated wasting food. I already had all these multi colored vegetables left over from giving a cooking class so it was natural for me to use what I had.  It only needed a sprinkle of curry powder for a festive touch!  A crunchy side dish that complements just about any mains.

#LetsLunch is a virtual lunch where food bloggers come up with a theme.  I’ve met the neatest food bloggers, if you want to join, post a comment below or on Twitter using #LetsLunch.  Do visit other #LetsLunch posts below for a delicious variety of festive sides.
Ingredients:
orange, yellow, red, green bell peppers
1 zucchini
handful of sugar snap peas
handful of grape tomatoes
2 cloves of crushed garlic
thumb size of crushed fresh ginger
2 tablespoons of oil (canola, safflower or EarthyDelight’s tea seed oil)
Put your oil in a clear squeeze bottle for easy dispensing
Seasonings:
Squirt of San-J tamari
Squirt of sherry
Squirt of lime juice
Dash of MySpiceSage curry powder
Note 1:  Fry your vegetables in 2 batches if there’s a lot of vegetables.  This prevents lowering the heat in your wok which can result in a ‘soupy’ stir fry.  
Note 2:  Don’t use a non-stick pan or wok, you’re not meant to use above medium heat according to manufacturer’s warranty. Your veggies never get that lovely crunchy texture!
Heat a cast iron wok or skillet on high heat.  Squirt 3 rounds of oil down sides of wok, add 1/2 of your garlic and ginger.  I fried my first batch of vegetables (bell peppers and zucchini) and plated them. Then did the second batch with sugar snap peas and grape tomatoes. Recombined both batches in the wok and squirted tamari, sherry, lime juice and sprinkled curry powder while the heat was still going strong! That’s IT! It’s a technique you can use for
Charissa‘s Coconut Date Balls at Zest Bakery
Ellise‘s Lime-Chipotle Carrots at Cowgirl Chef
Felicia‘s Chinese Butterfly Cookies at Burnt-Out Baker
Grace‘s Fruitcake at HapaMama
Joe‘s Maine Homestead Holiday Dishes at Joe Yonan
Linda‘s Baked Salad at Free Range Cookies
Linda‘s Trinidadian Baked Pastelles at Spicebox Travels
Lisa‘s Potato Latkes at Monday Morning Cooking Club
Lucy‘s “Not My Mama’s” Black-Eyed Peas & Greens at A Cook And Her Books
Maria‘s Grandma Dorothy’s Deviled Eggs at Maria’s Good Things
Patrick‘s Baby Pecan Pies at Patrick G. Lee
Steff‘s Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Crumble at The Kitchen Trials
Victor‘s Roasted Parsnips, Carrots & Delicata Squash Tossed With Sauteed Mustard Greens at The Taste of Oregon