Wok Star Eleanor Hoh

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Easy Festive Side

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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

Keep Cooking Simple and Tasty (updated)

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From Martha Stewart (Everyday Food magazine and latest cookbook, Lessons & Recipes for the Home Cook) to Barefoot Contessa (new cookbook, Back to Basics) to Tom Colicchio (watch funny Diet Coke commercial on blog, Eatmedaily), many celebrity gourmet chefs are promoting simple cooking.
Why? Because they realize people cannot cook gourmet on a daily basis. We are talking about putting dinner on the table EVERYDAY and that’s what I focus on.
 
I’ve made wok cooking accessible to anyone, it’s not about gourmet/foodie/frou frou or tons of gadgets like Pampered Chef that make your head spin. Many of my friends are chefs and there are gazillion cookbooks with beautiful photos of sculpted dishes with tons of lovely recipes like Jaden Hair’s. Jaden is a food writer, photographer, TV personality and popular Twitterer. Her food blog, Steamykitchen needs no introduction. She was in Miami overnight, so I was lucky to get this photo of us at Oceanaire Restaurant in Brickell Village. I got to meet her whole family including her adorable boys, hubby included.
 
Since then, Jaden’s had her first Steamy Kitchen Cookbook published, congratulations. Oh, she also took all her own amazing food shots!! Sassy, humorous, strong minded but always have time to give advice, so when Jaden called me to talk about my Wok Star Kit, I was very honored.
Well, I didn’t realize she was going to include me in her cookbook (p.16 want to make it easy for you, ha) by name and list me as a resource (p.156) for preseasoned cast iron woks!!! She discovered my portable gas stove was more powerful than her regular gas stove! Having Jaden endorse my Kit and stove is huge, I’m doubly honored.
Jaden Hair’s Steamy Kitchen Cookbook available at Barnes and Noble or Amazon. It has all those wonderful recipes of simple Asian dishes that are easy to make that you all keep asking for.
And now you have my NO-RECIPE technique down, you can adapt it to any of her recipes.

When she comes to Miami for her book signing, I’ll be sure to let you know cause I want mine signed. Now, run out and get her book!
What I offer are solutions to many modern day issues, so I came up with a simple recipe-free technique to cooking and show how EASY it is for anyone to be a Wok Star! It’s all about changing your mindset and repurposing your time, so why not make it FUN and TASTY so you’ll look forward to it instead of dreading it?
Top Chef Judge, Tom Colicchio on Keeping Cooking Simple and Tasty
Tom Colicchio is my favorite chef because he is down to earth, has great values and doesn’t have an “attitude”. I told him as much when we had our photo taken together. He laughed and said, “I try,” (my husband’s favorite phrase.) By “attitude”, I mean chefs tend to use gourmet ingredients that us mere mortals cannot afford, find or have time to figure out what to do with.
The interview by Top Chef contestant Jeff McInnis (Dilido Hotel) at Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami last week was a clever spin because Jeff was voted off from the show, so he got to ‘turn the tables” and ask awkward questions. Tom handled it like a gentleman. The stage production was a bit disappointing because there were all the multi-media screens but were never used to show any footage to illustrate their points or gave me any reason to be there than what I could have viewed from my home (same thing with Anthony Bourdain’s interview.)
During the cooking demo, he stressed we should not be told what we should or should not eat by someone in a “white coat”. We should eat what we like and how we like it (what a Wok Star is all about!) He also mentioned to leave the food tossing in pans for TV and not focus on recipes. It was music to my ears when I heard him say to use just a few fresh ingredients and good seasonings.
Mark Bittman, The Minimalist, New York Times
I’m a big fan of Mark Bittman, especially when he responded, “actually very smart and good idea” to my solution for electric stove owners. My suggestion is to use a portable butane gas stove ontop of their electric stove for wok cooking. It’s how Asians cook at home and what I do in my cooking classes. It’s like an “AHA” moment when people see this simple solution.
I’ve posted several comments on two blogs recently. One is about “Chinese Cooking from Cookbooks” by guest blogger, Edward Schneider about Chinese cooking: “I tend to overdo things — too many ingredients, too many flavors, too much of this aromatic or that…” Read my comment #9.
Another comment #8 was a funny story about Ralph (my hubby) who loves my shrimp in their shells dish.
Here are some easy TIPS for cooking simple and tasty dishes:
Stir Frying Without Recipes
 
 
 
 
Use Seasonal Foods
 
 
 
 
Wok Up Your Own Creations
Most importantly, just start…
I encourage you to post your comments and share your trials and tribulations.
Your take on Tom Colicchio and Mark Bittman?

Stir Frying without recipes

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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?