cast iron wok

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.

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!

Malaysian Chicken Curry on banana leaf and newspaper setup — Malaysian Chicken Curry served Street Food Style on newspaper and banana leaf.

I can make my Mom’s Malaysian Chicken Curry blindfolded. It’s so easy and fast. A simple “one dish meal” I make in my cast iron wok. Open cover and VOILA, done. You never get tired of it. It’s so delicious, typically served with basmati rice, I prefer brown jasmine rice but entirely your preference as always. It’s also great with naan or paratha or both rice and paratha for carb overload. Yes, I like to mix with other country’s way of serving, why not. And always with an ice cold beer.

HOW TO VIDEOS FOR MALAYSIAN CHICKEN CURRY AND CUCUMBER PICKLES

Watch step by step how to Youtube videos for Malaysian Chicken Curry and Cucumber pickle.
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This Malaysian Chicken Curry never fails to please me and guests! Best part? You can make curry and pickles AHEAD of time so you can enjoy your friends’ company.

Mom's Malaysian Chicken Curry with naan and ice cold, Tiger Beer — Mom’s **Malaysian Chicken Curry** with okra, naan (front), chipati and ice cold Tiger Beer.

Mom always served curries and spicy foods with a cucumber pickle to “cool” down the spicy curry, yin and yang. She also served it street food style on a banana leaf and we ate with our hands. I love serving it this way for special occasions so I can take friends on a “trip to Malaysia”.

When I was growing up in Hong Kong, my mom got my sisters and I pounding all the spices for curry by hand in a HEAVY stone mortar and pestle. I’m now the proud owner of that mortar and pestle. I had fantasies of how wonderful it would be to have freshly pounded spices. It didn’t last more than a week, it’s just not very practical for a small person to haul around a 60 pound mortar (exaggerating but really heavy). I now use a food processor to grind the “rempah” (see explanation below).

Stone mortar & pestle — Mom’s stone mortar & pestle I lugged back from Hong Kong.

Curry is basically many spices ground into powder. There are many different ways to make curry. I always choose the EASY, SIMPLE way, that’s what we, Wok Stars do.

Curries differ in spices used in India, Malaysia and Thailand. These are the 3 main countries that I associate curry with. I don’t necessarily agree with Wikipedia’s explanation of “curry”.

You can get good curry powder from Indian stores or Asian markets but I’ve never seen Malaysian curry powder, you can order from here.

Rempah
Malaysian curries usually start with “rempah” to kickstart the dish. Rempah can include spices like coriander, tumeric, chili powder, galangal(yellow ginger), blachan (dried shrimp paste). My personal preference is NOT to add the spicy stuff in the rempah because when you fry it, it’s extremely pungent and makes you cough and sputter. My simple version of a Rempah is just garlic, ginger and shallots. Since the curry powder already has many of the spices like tumeric, coriander, cumin, chillies in it, there’s no need to add any more.

Rempah and curry paste for Malaysian Curry Chicken — Rempah: garlic, ginger, shallots

Curry Powder
My mom started using Baba’s Curry Powder when we all left home, ha, ha. Baba’s is the BEST brand, best stored in freezer to preserve potency. It’s all mixed and ready to go, no grinding required. I like EASY and CONVENIENT.

Baba's Curry powder. Add a little water to make a paste. — Baba’s Curry powder. Add a little water to make a paste.

I absolutely love the smell of curry powder when it hits the hot wok. Yes, I cook curry in my cast iron wok. It’s the perfect shape and size, makes it easy to turn chicken around. If you’re worried about the acid from tomatoes or strong spices hurting your wok, I can assure you that once you wash it out and cure with a bit of oil and start using it, your patina will build up IMMEDIATELY.

You can HALVE this recipe if you just want to cook one tray of chicken (6 thighs) but curry is always better the next day. So, I like making a BIG batch since I’m doing the work already.

Share your feedback in comments if you make tried making this Malaysian Chicken Curry.
Or post on Instagram and tag @wokstar #wokstarway

Note 1: Just a word of warning, curry powder has tumeric, it turns everything yellow! So, cover your countertops if you don’t want any stains.

Note 2: I used Nuwave Mosaic Precision Induction Wok Stove to cook this curry. This is not a sponsored post. I wrote a review about this stove here. If you cannot have open flame where you live, this is a GREAT ALTERNATIVE!

Fresh ingredients:
2 trays of chicken thighs, drumsticks or quarters (skinless if you want)
1 large onion, cubed
1 large beefsteak tomato, sliced into wedges (or 4-6 plum/round tomatoes)
1 large potato, cut into large cubes (precook but still firm)
2 tblsp. grape seed oil for frying
enough water to just cover chicken

Spices:
1 small stick cinnamon
4-6 cloves
5 tblsp. curry powder
5 tblsp. cold water

Blend rempah in food processor:
4-6 cloves garlic
4-6 slices fresh ginger
4-6 shallots (if you can’t get these, don’t worry, still good)

Directions:
1. You know the stir fry drill, heat your cast iron wok, squirt oil, fry onions. Set aside.
2. Clean wok, always start with a clean wok otherwise you’ll get a hard fond forming at the bottom of your wok and you won’t be able to “brown” anything. Turn on low to medium heat. Fry rempah and dry spices (cinnamon stick and cloves) for a bit. Don’t let it burn. Add the curry paste and immediately add the chicken and onions. Use spatula and coat chicken and onions with the paste as best you can, don’t worry if it’s not completely all over.
3. Add just enough water but not completely cover chicken. Once the curry starts to boil, turn down heat to simmer. Time it takes to cook depends on quantity. At this time, add in tomato wedges and potatoes so they have time to absorb the curry flavor before you serve. Cook till chicken is tender.