Wow stir fry is going to be a weekly thing, it was so easy and delicious.
Now I need noodle recommendations or any wok tips or tricks
One wok tip is to cook your food in small batches. Woks look so big, but you really just want all the food to be able to fit in the bottom and have room to get tossed around and stuff. Because the get so hot, you should be able to cook those smaller amounts of food very quickly, and then just do a final mix of everything together at the end.
Tonight’s stir fry was teriyaki marinated b**f, 1 red bell pepper, 1/2 yellow onion, green beans, some instant udon noodles, and sesame seeds
Heat the oil first, then cook the spices in it for a minute or two to infuse the spices into the hot oil, then throw in food.
I hope you have a gas range, not electric.
In China they do not hesitate to turn the gas up all the way. Blowtorch it.
The real reason I quit using a wok is because it's 90% prep work. The actual cooking is fast and doesn't last long enough. I like to cook my food, leave it on for a while, come taste it, etc. With a wok you spend all your time chopping, putting the chopped bits in bowls, preparing teaspoons of spices in bowls, so that you can pour it all together without waiting, because if you wait you'll overcook the food. Plus instead of making a meat and a vegetable, you've got to make like 5-10 dishes depending on how many people you're cooking for. I gave it up.
All valid points to consider. I’m only cooking for 2 and I already enjoy having everything prepped when cooking most things so that’s not a big deal for me.
I fully agree sometimes is great to have that time to relax and have a drink while you smell your dinner cooking.
Ikea sells woks for $10 and it's one of my most treasured items
I started to soak my noodles in room temperature water instead of boiling them after seeing a tip from a thai restaurant worker. Seems to work well, dunno why, just got to think ahead of time.
Look up "egg roll in a bowl." I love it and it's also low carb friendly. Easy to swap out a few ingredients to make it Vegan. I make all my stir fry now with cabbage in place of noodles cause the crunch is so god damn satisfying. Ferment your own sauerkraut and kimchi and add a little to it it you like the sour flavor.
Heat distribution. The high walls cause it to get hotter and the shape makes it easier to mix food.
I bought a wok and prepped it following a guide (heating it til blue and oiling it)
Still get food sticking when cooking - what am I doing wrong?
if it's stainless steal, you'll always get food sticking. If it's cast iron or carbon steel, you'll need to keep using it and a patina layer will develop that will make your food not stick. Don't ever use soap when cleaning your wok (or any steel cookware for that matter), just use hot water and scrub, dry it and heat it a bit and apply a thin layer of cooking oil (cast iron/carbon steel).
It's carbon steel so I guess I just need to keep building it up. Thanks
Heat the wok up all the way before adding oil. Before heating, the wok still has moisture on the surface from the air, so you have to burn it off. You can check if it's hot enough by flicking a little water on it. The water droplets should dance and sizzle. Then you can add the oil (plenty of oil, don't be stingy) and it should work(wok?) like a charm.
I'm probably being too stingy with the oil I imagine. Thanks for the tips!
