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wok cooking

7 Reasons for using a Cast Iron Wok!

May 1, 2014 By Eleanor Hoh 1 Comment

The most rewarding part of giving cooking classes and marketing my Wok Star Kit is hearing success stories.  And every time this happens, I’m thankful to my mother who introduced me to using a cast iron wok.

When I started teaching, I bought every ‘wok’ I could find to make sure I knew what was out there and what problems people were having and there were many. It took years for me to narrow down the reasons why the lightweight, thin walled cast iron wok my mom introduced to me was the best choice for wok cooking!

The best success stories are those who’ve been converted from using a frying pan with a handle and high sides they called a ‘wok’ on a flat glass electric stove, to using my cast iron wok with a portable gas stove setup.  It gives me so much pleasure to hear people’s feedback when they realize it’s not just the right wok but the right technique, right heat and good ingredients.

Bill having fun cooking in his "Eleanor Hoh Wok Star System" (love this) on their kitchen island!
Bill having fun cooking in his “Eleanor Hoh Wok Star System” (loved that he renamed it) on their kitchen island!

This feedback from new Wok Star Bill gave me such a tingle,”We are going to bring our Wok System to Wisconsin when we return to our Northern Home in June. In the summer we have awesome farmers markets with wonderfully fresh vegetables. We will make your Wok System the center of many dinner parties as we catch up with our old friends.
Every time we cook “The Eleanor Hoh Wok Star System” ( I just named it ) we are at awe with how well it works. It is not just the Cast Iron Wok or Butane Stove, it is the entire System that you have so thoughtfully put together. The tips on prep and clean-up, the laminated guide sheet, the first “recipes” and Cooking Class CDs, the basket with each specialized container for oil, sherry, corn starch, etc., the wok pot holders, the spatula, and of course the awesome cast iron Wok and specialized stove. All work perfectly but much more as a System. We see your years of training and experience in each thoughtful element. Thank you again for your care in putting this together. You have added a wonderful new element to our routine cooking and dining as well as a bump to our many dinner parties.”

Judy says, "We are wok stars!!! We used the wok the very next day. We made lettuce wraps with vegetables. Came out great. Your class was excellent. We would drive to the Miami area anytime you have an Asian restaurant night."
Judy says, “We are wok stars!!! We used the wok the very next day. We made lettuce wraps with vegetables. Came out great. Your class was excellent. We would drive to the Miami area anytime you have an Asian restaurant night.”

Here’s feedback after Judy and Bill had their wok party with neighbor, “Our dinner in Fort Myers with our neighbor was a huge success and even more fun. We will certainly do this again. These simple to prepare dishes are perfect for an informal dinner party. We did all the prep as a group with probably a little too much wine. Our neighbor Marla is a very accomplished cook and loved the entire event and mostly the food.”

When they see me in action during a cooking class or stumble onto my website, it’s like an ‘Aha‘ moment. The latest of these converts are Judy and Bill whose son and daughter-in-law gave them a Christmas cooking class gift certificate even though they live in Fort Myers, a two and half hour drive!

They finally came last Saturday and it was a blast to watch Bill (the cook) nod when I pointed out the following:

1)  electric stoves take a long time to heat up and cool down so you need to manually lift your pan off and on the stove to control your heat.
2)  materials ranging from carbon steel, nonstick, nonstick with enamel exterior so it looks pretty but not functional, stainless steel, heavy cast iron with/without enamel exterior, the list is endless don’t heat as evenly as a lightweight, thin walled cast iron wok!

Cast iron woks give you the texture/sear, flavor and bright colors! It’s not fun cooking if it looks beautiful or it’s a weight lifting exercise because it’s so sturdy or you’ve paid a fortune for it but it doesn’t function well?

Bill realized why he hadn’t had success, “Finally, we have two Emeril Stainless Steel Wok/Frying Pans, one in Wisconsin and one in Florida. They work on an electric stove for a simple pea pod stir-fry. They work better on our zillion BTU gas burner in Wisconsin. They are essentially heavy frying pans with deep sides. We have used each one once in the last 10 years. We used our new cast iron wok twice last week. These usage patterns will likely continue. The SS pans cook slowly and heat up at the end of the cooking cycle. The Wok Star System will get this done right in seconds.”
3)  when I switched off my gas stove mid stream while I was stir frying the vegetables, there was no liquid at the bottom of my wok. For Bill, there was always a puddle so his vegetables were never crispy, crunchy.
4)  it’s not a ‘wok’ if it has a flat bottom with high sides, it doesn’t function the same as a wok! An authentic wok is round bottom because it’s a natural stir fry motion and the wide opening prevents food from falling out of the pan.
5)  a wood or silicon spatula and in Bill’s case, a wooden spoon is not an efficient tool to scoop under the food because it’s too thick!  So, basically you’re pushing your food around the pan, not stir frying!
6)  Judy and Bill couldn’t stop saying how delicious every dish was!
7)  I’ve already ‘seasoned’ the wok so it’s ready to start using right away and everything they need to be successful is in the Wok Star Kit Bundle!

Best part was showing them my easy-to-follow visual roadmap so they never need to use a recipe for weeknight cooking.  They loved the idea of using only 4 basic seasonings to marinade their protein and for making sauces.

If you have any of the woks listed above and not had much luck with wok cooking, take a look at the full explanation of why you need ALL 4 elements to be successful.

Feel free to ask any questions in comment below with problems you’re having in wok cooking, I’m happy to help.

Filed Under: blog, cast iron wok, cooking class miami, wok cooking, wok star eleanor hoh, Wok Star Kit Tagged With: "miami cooking class", cast iron wok, wok cooking, Wok Star Eleanor Hoh

Proper Sausages, Support Local Artisans

April 20, 2014 By Eleanor Hoh 8 Comments

Happy Easter!  Today’s breakfast of champions was a  joint effort! My hubby wok fried the cheese, scallion omelet while I grilled The Dub sausage, plum tomatoes and coordinated the plating. Wok cooking is a brilliant way to spend time with your loved one in the kitchen.  You must have seen my numerous postings on Instagram and  Facebook of my hubby’s weekend breakfast extravaganzas!
WokStar-Easter-breakfast-500I like to support local entrepreneurs/chefs so I was excited Chef Freddy & his lovely Brit wife, Danielle opened their new butcher store, Proper Sausages right on the main drag in Miami Shores. Even the store front with black & white stripe awning, swaying tree reminded me of butcher shops in England. Their logo with two piggies oink, oink are adorable, my fav protein! They pride themselves as being Miami’s Only Artisan Sausage Maker. Congratulations Freddy and Danielle, I know it’s a LOT of work, so nice job!
ProperSausages-meats2-500Yesterday, when I stopped into the store, there was Berkshire bacon, Florida Jackman Ranch Skirt Steak, Filet Mignon and Rib Eye, you can request specials by calling ahead! There was a nice selection of organic wines. It was later in the afternoon when I went, so there was less choice and I didn’t see any eggs but they do carry them. Lesson learned? Go early! Click here for more.
They also stock Berkshire bacon, Wagyu beef and a variety of locally sourced meats! Excited they make so many different and interesting flavored sausages like The Lamb and Date, The Prune & Cognac, The Fig & Blue Cheese, The Dub. I had a hard time deciding, so I bought all these to try! They are so organized, the label not only lists ingredients but how to prepare the sausages. Click here for full selection and descriptions!
ProperSausages-meats-500There was a special Easter Lamb Burger which we’ll have for lunch today. Dreaming up ways to use bacon that will sop up all the fat. I can’t wait to devour all the goodies and run back to try other offerings from this super store! Go check it out and support our local artisans, enjoy!
Come back to check out what else I cook up with the rest of the stash! I’m already thinking sausage, bacon and shrimp fried rice tonight, yum!

Filed Under: Artisan, blog, Local, Miami Shores Tagged With: "Miami Shores", artisan, Breakfast, local, sausages, wok cooking

Curry Quinoa

December 28, 2013 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

Curry Quinoa was a dish I made up out of desperation because I’d forgotten I was bringing a dish to a friend’s party! It was a good challenge and exercise in ‘what’s the thought process?’ when creating a dish.  Since I don’t follow or teach using recipes in the sense most folks use them, I want to show how easy it is to make up a dish with what you have!  The more you make up dishes, the easier it becomes.  It’s like anything in life, practice makes perfect.

servingbowl-wokstarThe 4 things to focus on when creating your dish are taste, texture, color and presentation in that order.

quinoa-wokstar-1
Ingredients:
3 cups quinoa (4 cups water)
big bunch of multi-colored mini sweet peppers, chopped
3 medium size yellow squash, sliced in quarters
1/2 onion chopped
3 scallions chopped
big bunch of cilantro chopped
3 garlic gloves, diced
Seasonings:
dash of tamari
dash of sherry
curry powder to cover quinoa and veggies completely
tablespoon of organic ghee
oil for stir frying (canola, coconut oil, grapeseed oil, avocado oil)
I use a lightweight, thin walled cast iron wok and portable butane gas stove setup because I have an electric stove! Please don’t use a nonstick wok because you cannot use it above medium heat!
You can substitute with any veggies you like instead of squash and peppers but make sure you have some bright colors to make your dish POP!
Method:
1.  While quinoa is cooking, chop all the veggies on a big chopping board and leave there.
2.  Fry veggies in batches so you don’t overload your wok and they become soggy.
3.  My stir fry process guarantees success everytime…
– heat wok till you see first wisp of smoke
– add 3 swirls of oil around wok
– add garlic and added squash, plate it
– do same process for mini sweet peppers and onions
4.  Quinoa should be cooked by this time, fluff it up, add ghee and keep fluffing!
– add quinoa and all veggies back into wok and combine well
– sprinkle enough curry powder to completely cover quinoa and veggies and combine well
– last, sprinkle scallions and cilantro and combine, give it a taste and see if you need to adjust flavors like a bit more tamari or curry powder
5.  Transfer to serving bowl, admire, take photos and enjoy!
No. 1 – taste
Lately, I’ve been experimenting with ghee, a clarified butter Indians like to use when making curries etc.  I added a tablespoon to the dish which gave it a very creamy texture and so tasty.  So now number 1 & 2 are in place.
No. 2 – texture
Initially, I thought I’d just bring a big platter of stir fried veggies but on their own, they looked very wimpy. I found quinoa which bulked up the dish and made it more substantial plus gave it texture, there’s no.2.
No.3 – color
I found yellow squash and a big bag of multi-colored mini sweet peppers in the fridge and started panicking thinking, well, that’s not very interesting. Yes, colors are bright and lovely but it’s not enough. However, after stir frying them in my wok with just a dash of tamari and sherry and added in quinoa, the dish started coming together.  I must say, a wok is a great pan to mix up large quantities of food (but please don’t stir fry large quantities in one batch because it lowers the heat of the wok and results in soggy veggies!)
It’s a good idea to have scallions and cilantro around because they add a whole new dimension to a dish.  They give a nice finish and pop of freshness, color and flavor! I didn’t stir fry them, just added right at the end, so the heat from the dish gently cooks them and stayed bright green. No. 1 and 3 at work.
It still needed something else because I didn’t have many red sweet peppers so the dish looked a little beige.  I spied curry powder, now we’re talking!  Curry has tumeric in it and what a difference it made.  I just sprinkled enough to give the quinoa and veggies color and Curry Quinoa was born.  I didn’t make it spicy though because I didn’t want folks who couldn’t eat spicy not be able to try my dish. Whenever I make a quinoa dish for pot luck, all the guys tell me they‘ve never had quinoa and wouldn’t have liked it if it was ‘healthy’, ha, ha, well, not only did they like it, they finished it.

MySpiceSage350
MySpiceSage curry powder gives any dish a pop of color and flavor! So many ways to use it too, just sprinkle at the end of a stir fry, yum!
No. 4 – presentation
My foodie chef friend, Kyra gifted me this beautiful intricate patterned steel Thai rice bowl with serving spoon years ago.  Anything you put in this serving bowl makes a wonderful presentation. It’s so unique and stands out, doesn’t take up much space and so elegant.  If you’re going to make a contribution to a pot luck, make it memorable!
quinoa-wokstar-2The dish was a big hit and when I wanted to take the bowl home, Michelle wanted me to leave her the last bit! I was so tickled she liked it.
To all the Wok Stars out there, just keep practicing and you’ll be rewarded with loads of compliments.  I’d love to hear your ‘thought process’ when you put a dish together!
 
 

Filed Under: blog, cast iron wok, curry, pot luck Tagged With: cast iron wok, curry, pot luck, quinoa, wok cooking

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