A wok is a versatile bowl-shaped pan used for cooking. It originates from South China, and is one of the most common cooking utensils in the whole of Southeast Asia. Woks are mostly used for deep frying and they provide stiff competition for modern day skillets and pans. Many culinary experts have started to develop a liking for woks as they have proved to be the best tool for stir frying.
Woks go along nicely with both, medium or large flames. It is the easiest cooking method which takes only a few minutes to cook both vegetables and proteins. Apart from a Wok, there are just two other instruments that are needed; a metal spatula and a kitchen towel. With these in place and the ingredients ready, you can cook like an expert. Wok cooking requires the food to be moved around quickly so all the ingredients get heated equally. While considering the convenience of Wok cooking, I find it to be the most suitable cooking method for bachelors living on their own. Especially those who do not like spending long hours in the kitchen.
There are a few basic things one should take care of while cooking food in a wok. Make sure the wok is really hot before you start cooking anything in it. You must have all the ingredients ready and within your arms reach. As the cooking method is quick, one cannot rely on preparing an ingredient while cooking. The shape of the Wok makes sure that the heat is equally spread from the bottom to the walls. Make sure you do not let the ingredients sit in the center for long, unless you leave the red meat under the lid to cook properly, but keep them evenly moving around in the wok.
Recipes:
Thai Green Vegetable Curry
Ingredients:
Coconut Milk 225 ml
Thai Green Curry Paste 1 Tablespoon
Green Chillies 5 or 6 – sliced from the center
Fresh Thai Basil Leaves 3 or 4 leaves
Food green color 3 drops (if needed)
Onion – sliced 1 medium
Carrots – sliced 1 medium
Green Capsicum – diced 2 medium
Salt
Black Pepper powder
Oil 150 ml
Sesame seed oil 5 ml
Finely diced ginger 1 tablespoon
Crushed garlic ½ teaspoon
Method:
Pour the coconut milk in a heavy base pot and put it over medium heat till it simmers. Put a medium size wok on high heat. Pour the oil in the hot wok and add garlic to it. Then add the green chilies, half of the sliced onions, half of the sliced carrots, half of the sliced green capsicum, the Thai basil bouquet and the finely diced ginger to the hot oil. Keep stirring it and make sure the ingredients do not sit in the center of the wok for more than 30 seconds. Once you have stir-fried all of them together for around 6 or 7 minutes, or when they start to darken in color, pour the simmering coconut milk in the wok. Let it all simmer for another 10 minutes while stirring slowly. At this point strain the coconut milk mix into another bowl while going through a fine sieve. This will give you an aromatic and flavorful coconut milk. Pour this coconut milk back into the wok along with the remaining vegetables and the Thai green curry paste. Stir the milk quickly so the paste gets evenly mixed in the milk and gives a nice green color to this curry. You can use food green color if the color is not according to your liking but at the most just a couple of drops. Keep stirring it when the milk turns into curry with consistency. Before removing the curry from the wok, add some salt and pepper to your taste. Mix the salt and pepper well. Pour the sesame seed oil on the curry and serve this over Jasmine boiled rice or noodles. Serve while hot.
Low Carb Beef and Vegetable
Ingredients:
Undercut Beef – sliced 200 grams
Green Chilies – finely sliced 3 chilies
Sliced Onion 1 medium
Red Kidney beans – canned ½ can
Soya Sauce 2 tablespoon
Crushed garlic 1 clove
Oil 2 tablespoon
Salt
Pepper
Method:
In a sealable plastic bag, put the slices of beef along with the soya sauce, crushed garlic and a pinch of salt & pepper. It would be ideal to let it marinate overnight in refrigerator but if that is not possible then at least 4 hours should be given to this mix. Heat the wok over a medium flame and pour the oil in a wok. As soon the oil gets hot put the marinated beef in the oil while discarding any marinade that is left in the bag. Quickly stir the beef so it does not get over cooked from one side. Once the beef starts changing color put in the sliced green chilies and cover the wok. Let it rest for a maximum of 1 minute. Remove the lid after 1 minute and add the onion and the beans. Stir quickly so that everything gets evenly glazed with beef juices. At this point you can taste it to check the flavor. If the salt and pepper are okay as per the taste, let it cook for another couple of minutes to achieve the right temperature of beef. For a slight variation in this dish, you can add some frost beans or any green vegetable which you like. If you like to have some gravy in the dish, you can add thickly chopped tomatoes before putting the lid over the beef.
Desi Chicken Karahi
Ingredients:
Karahi Cut Chicken 1.5 Kgs
Thickly sliced tomatoes 1 Kg
Green Chilies – Sliced 125 Gms
Fresh Coriander – Chopped 125 Gms
Ginger fine julienne 50 Gms
Crushed garlic 1 Tablespoon
Crushed dry cumin ½ teaspoon
Red Chili Powder 1 Tablespoon (adjust as per taste)
Coriander Powder 1 Teaspoon
Garam Masala Powder 1 ½ Teaspoon
Salt As per taste
Method:
Put the wok over high heat and pour the oil in it. Add the crushed garlic once the oil is hot and before the garlic turns brown add the chicken. Quickly but carefully stir the chicken in the karahi. Gradually the chicken will change its color to white. Once it turns white add the thickly sliced tomatoes into the chicken and stir again. Lower the flame from high to medium and keep stirring the tomatoes with the chicken. By now the chicken should be in a lot of tomato liquid. At this point add the garam masala powder, the red chili powder, the coriander powder, the dry cumin and half of the green chilies into the karahi. Cover the wok and let it rest over medium heat for 7 minutes at least. Take the lid off the wok and stir from sides to inward. Your spatula should slide under the chicken from the sides and then fold them in the center. Keep doing it from all the sides for a couple of times, when you feel that all of the ingredients have been turned over well at least twice. Now bring the flame back high and start stirring the chicken. This time, while firmly holding the wok from the side, move the chicken quickly from the center to the outer sides. Keep rotating the wok clockwise so you get to do this all over. At this point, the oil should start separating from the gravy if you let it sit for a couple of minutes and the color gets a deeper shade of red and brown. Check if the chicken is done well. Add some salt according to your taste and mix it well. Let the karahi sit for a couple of seconds so that you can see the oil separating from the gravy on the top. Add the ginger, the remaining sliced chilies and the chopped coriander over the karahi. Serve it with fresh naan and karahi in the wok. Bon Apetit!!
Contributed by Jehanzeb A Khan.
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