Woks are very useful cooking tools because you can use them to prepare all kinds of different dishes, from stir-fries to soups. Before you use a wok for the first time, you’ll need to learn a few basic skills. The tips below will help you to ensure that the meals you cook in your wok will be delicious and appetizing, worthy of your table setting.
Woks Need Intense Heat
High temperatures are essential for the food to cook quickly, and rapid cooking is the secret to stir fry meals, allowing veggies to keep their color and firmness and preventing meats from loosing their natural flavor. Make sure to raise the temperature each time you add an ingredient to the wok.
You can tell that your wok is hot enough to start cooking in it when it begins to smoke. Correct stir-frying may fill your kitchen with smoke, but cooking over low heat will result in a mushy, pale and limpid mess.
Wok Varieties
You’ll find that woks are available in several varieties. Electric woks are available in the West and many cooks are satisfied with them, but a classic round bottomed wok is best if you are cooking on a gas stove. Most woks today are made of carbon steel. They are durable, inexpensive (a good one should cost around $20) and excellent heat conductors.
You can buy a wok support ring to place over your burner to keep the wok stable. This is essential to avoid accidents if the circular bottom of your wok won’t stay in place on the top of your cooking range.
Wok Cooking (Stir Fry)
Always prepare your ingredients before you start heating the wok. Woks are versatile and you can cook many foods in them, including all kinds of vegetables (peppers, onions, corn, squash, green beans, peas …) and meats (chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, crab etc). Cut meats and vegetables into tiny pieces so they will cook rapidly and thoroughly over high temperatures. Avoid overcooking meat, as this will toughen its texture.
Before you put ingredients in a wok, add a drop of cooking oil and wait for the wok to heat. When it starts to smoke, put in your meat and cook until it is almost done then remove it from the wok. Now bring the wok back to high (smoking) temperature and add your chopped vegetables. Cook a few minutes (the vegetables should be crisp) then add the meat and continue cooking for another minute or two; season to taste with a sauce of your choice, stir and serve.
Food Presentation
Stir-fry meals are typically served with rice, so don’t forget to cook the rice before you start the stir fry. You could cook rice in a wok, but only use rice that’s been cooked a day before. Adding freshly cooked rice to a hot wok will make it sticky. Using a rice cooker will ensure that the rice is perfect every time. Stir-fries and other food varieties prepared in woks are inspired by Asian cuisines. Using an Asian table setting to serve your meal will add an authentic touch to your presentation.
Woks Need Intense Heat
High temperatures are essential for the food to cook quickly, and rapid cooking is the secret to stir fry meals, allowing veggies to keep their color and firmness and preventing meats from loosing their natural flavor. Make sure to raise the temperature each time you add an ingredient to the wok.
You can tell that your wok is hot enough to start cooking in it when it begins to smoke. Correct stir-frying may fill your kitchen with smoke, but cooking over low heat will result in a mushy, pale and limpid mess.
Wok Varieties
You’ll find that woks are available in several varieties. Electric woks are available in the West and many cooks are satisfied with them, but a classic round bottomed wok is best if you are cooking on a gas stove. Most woks today are made of carbon steel. They are durable, inexpensive (a good one should cost around $20) and excellent heat conductors.
You can buy a wok support ring to place over your burner to keep the wok stable. This is essential to avoid accidents if the circular bottom of your wok won’t stay in place on the top of your cooking range.
Wok Cooking (Stir Fry)
Always prepare your ingredients before you start heating the wok. Woks are versatile and you can cook many foods in them, including all kinds of vegetables (peppers, onions, corn, squash, green beans, peas …) and meats (chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, crab etc). Cut meats and vegetables into tiny pieces so they will cook rapidly and thoroughly over high temperatures. Avoid overcooking meat, as this will toughen its texture.
Before you put ingredients in a wok, add a drop of cooking oil and wait for the wok to heat. When it starts to smoke, put in your meat and cook until it is almost done then remove it from the wok. Now bring the wok back to high (smoking) temperature and add your chopped vegetables. Cook a few minutes (the vegetables should be crisp) then add the meat and continue cooking for another minute or two; season to taste with a sauce of your choice, stir and serve.
Food Presentation
Stir-fry meals are typically served with rice, so don’t forget to cook the rice before you start the stir fry. You could cook rice in a wok, but only use rice that’s been cooked a day before. Adding freshly cooked rice to a hot wok will make it sticky. Using a rice cooker will ensure that the rice is perfect every time. Stir-fries and other food varieties prepared in woks are inspired by Asian cuisines. Using an Asian table setting to serve your meal will add an authentic touch to your presentation.
