This is my go to Easy Wok Dinner that I make frequently! Wok Stars, I know you get excited to show off your new found wok skills to friends, however, don’t pressure yourself with a big party on your first attempt. It takes the fun out of it and you’ll get put off. Take baby steps and you’ll reap HUGE flavor and rewards!
Nah, better to do a simple stir fry bok choy with just a dash of tamari, sherry and squirt of lime and grill a whole fillet of salmon sprinkled with Earthy Delight’s Moroccan Spice Rub. There’s enough grilled salmon leftover for the hubby and my lunch for the next day, how handy is that?! Other great meats for grilling are skirt steak, pork chops, chicken thighs, limitless. Vegetarians can grill a whole slab of tofu or tempeh.
Keep it SIMPLE and enjoy the journey, you don’t need recipes for weeknight cooking! Try it, you’ll love it and everyone will love you…
stir fry
Easy Skirt Steak Stir Fry
The Chinese horoscope says Year of the Snake will be a roller coaster year, but for me 2013 started off with a NICE BIG BANG! Everything is flowing smoothly and seamlessly. Three little new words will be my new focus for Year of the Snake: Simplify, Eliminate and Delegate (SED.) These can apply to everything you do in life starting with cooking!
When cooking during weeknights, stick to simple one-dish dinners like this Beef Stir Fry so you can enjoy with family or friends or even on your own! This simple beef stir fry can be made in less than half an hour. Flap Steak or Skirt Steak are reasonably priced and good cuts for stir frying, there’s a little marbling to keep it succulent. ‘Marinade’ your thinly sliced steak with squirt, squeeze, shake of TSPC. No sauce, otherwise you’ll want rice or a starchy carb to mop it up. This simple beef stir fry can be made in less than half an hour. You can substitute with a variety of other meats like chicken, pork, lamb, shrimp or tofu and swap the veggies but use this same technique, you can’t go wrong and you’ll be able to build ‘hundreds’ of yummy weeknight dinners.
Watch out for a Chinese New Year Feast post, I’ll be having a second Feast this Sunday so I can celebrate with my sister and more friends. Happy Year of the Snake everyone, hope your year will bring you luck, good health and wealth.
Ingredients:
1 lb. Skirt Steak marinaded in TSPC
2 cloves garlic
thumb size ginger, shredded
1 medium size ripe tomato cut into wedges
2 scallions, sliced diagonally
handful of cilantro, roughly chopped
Tea Seed Oil for frying
Marinade:
TSPC: T=tamari, S=sherry, P=pepper, C=cornstarch
1/4 tsp. of Sambal Olek
Practice the following stir fry technique and you’ll succeed everytime:
1. Heat your cast iron wok till you see first wisp of smoke.
(Do NOT use teflon nonstick for stir frying, it can’t handle high heat and you’ll damage the material).
Add 3 swirls of oil, quickly add garlic and ginger so they don’t burn and turn bitter. Add beef and spread out in one layer so they all get some heat.
2. Flip the steak as soon as you see color turning! This doesn’t take long, otherwise you’ll overcook and becomes chewy.
3. Add wedges of tomatoes and swish around with beef till a bit wilted. Last, top with scallions and cilantro right before plating. Viola!
My dad was born in year of the snake! If you’re a snake, see if you share his characteristics!
Some celebrity Snakes: Audrey Hepburn, Jacqueline Kennedy, Oprah Winfrey; John F. Kennedy, Chris Rock, Marlon Brando
Snake traits: Acute, aware, charming, cunning, elegant, mysterious, passionate, proud, serene, and vain.
Best match: Ox, rooster. Avoid: tiger, pig
Forecast:
career: self improvement to make great achievements at work
wealth: financial fortune will come second half year
relationship: married folks prevent extra marital affairs, singles will meet loving ones.
health: control your emotions in case of unexpected hurt
Ancient Chinese wisdom says a Snake in the house is a good omen because it means that your family will not starve. People born in the Year of the Snake are keen and cunning, quite intelligent and wise. They are great mediators and good at doing business. Therefore, you should have good luck if you were born in the Year of the Snake.
This is a year of water Snake, and all things will be possible. Saving money and being thrifty should be your top priorities. Delusion and deception are common in the year of water Snake. Stay alert! To gain the greatest benefits from this year, you must control spending and use your talents wisely. If you are planning to get married or to begin a business partnership, be sure to thoroughly investigate the other person’s finances and background before you legalize the alliance.
Here’s more.
Thanksgiving Leftovers with Asian Spin
What to do with all the leftovers from Thanksgiving? Give them an Asian spin and wok them! I often do that. It’s fun to repurpose food.
Leftovers like turkey, boiled or roasted brussel sprouts, chestnuts that didn’t make it into the stuffing, even stuffing and calabaza, squash or sweet potatoes are perfect candidates for a wok stir fry. I like a mixture of crunchy with different textures. You can make something delicious with any leftovers by adding a dash of tamari, sherry and squirt of lime juice. Instantly transforms any leftovers into a totally new and delicious dish.
The trick is to do them in batches so they’re not a big mish mash. Same concept as any stir fry. Cook different textured veggies separately. Cook veggies first before your meat because they don’t stick to your wok like meat does.
A wok is the most versatile pan for frying anything (use a stainless steel pan or even a pot if you don’t have a wok, please don’t use non-stick, they’re useless for stir and not supposed to use above medium heat.) So, get all your ingredients lined up so your stir fry takes only minutes from beginning to end.
Happy Thanksgiving! Oh, one year I did duck instead of turkey, it was totally memorable. Another year, I gave turkey an Asian twist and slathered my fav 3 seasonings on turkey thighs and grilled them, slurp.
Love to hear how you repurpose your Thanksgiving leftovers.
Ingredients:
Directions:
- Heat your wok till you see first wisp of smoke, squirt 3 rounds of oil down sides of wok, quickly add 1 bashed garlic and half of shredded ginger. Immediately add cubed calabaza, they cook faster than you think. Turn down heat if they start burning and keep turning them. Taste for doness and plate.
- Heat your wok till you see first wisp of smoke, squirt 3 rounds of oil down sides of wok, quickly add other bashed garlic and rest of shredded ginger. Immediately add brussel sprouts and fry till you see burn marks, add in chestnuts. Add to plate of calabaza.
- Heat your wok till you see first wisp of smoke, squirt 1 round of oil down sides of wok. Immediately add turkey pieces and fry till warm, add back all the veggies, add dash of tamari, splash of sherry and squirt of lime juice and give one last quick fry with the seasonings. Done!