Let me share with you my experiences with the kitchen fragrant ginger, jasmine rice, soy sauce, pepper and the Wok.
Well, to start with, I am not an expert but a learner and a devout follower / observer of culinary art, so would like to instill and spread those minute yet significant observations and knowledge of others who delighted the taste buds and took pride in this.
Now, let’s begin.
Who wants to have fun in cooking Chinese cuisine, should obtain the two relics indispensable in Chinese dishes that are Wok and cleaver.
Let’s start from the wok.
China Wok: What we refer to as frying pan, is called wok in China. You can do everything in it. It is used in other Asian countries as well. In Indonesia and Malaysia, it is called kuali and so on.
You must know that apart from the difficulties of “what to put into the wok” , there was also trouble with what to put into the wok, especially in certain regions of the country.
This forced the Chinese to devise such a heat treatment which does not consume too much fuel. Hence, the products are very finely cut, hold at room temperature and are fried in the system that can stir-fry very quickly in a small amount of oil which is healthy and leads to saving as well.
This does not mean that the Wok cannot prepare dishes in a deep oil frying deep-technique. Although, it is yet another reason why the products are cut so carefully – but I will say about it when we talk about eating with chopsticks. Guess why?
The vessel most suited for the China Wok, frying pan or oriental, is made of the best of good steel or cast iron. Well distributed in the warm so as not to lose temperature, While in the middle part, you can still cook something else.
Technician cooking in the Wok
can go up to roasting and blending (most popular), frying in the marinade, in a large amount of fat, frying products encased in batter, fry by pouring sauce, cooked in water, brew by pouring and boiling, steaming, and frying, stir-frying and so on…
In the supermarket, you can buy a wok at an affordable price. These pots should be lightweight, with strongly flattened bottom, covered with Teflon or enamel.. so where to look? Certainly not in the supermarket, though … Most shopping centers have booth with branded kitchen accessories. You can buy good pots, kitchen knives, cutlery sets and good cast iron China woks.
Its diameter should be approximately 33-36 cm. It must have lid, because you will need it for cooking and preparing delicious soup. And not necessarily, you need to go for goodies super-hyper surfaces, multiple layers of mysterious steel, etc. The simpler, the better. I managed to buy a cast iron wok that has a flange at the bottom for easy placing on the stove gas or electricity. The inner part is a beautiful semicircular without flattening. As for the microwave, China wok translate live fire more than the electricity.
Personally, I use a cast iron China wok for cooking soups and deep-frying. They have often semi-circular steel-mesh grate, fixed used spinning, which you can place for pre-frying vegetables or pieces of meat. Cast iron China woks are unfortunately heavy, even though cook excellent food.
And what about steel?
A good source to purchase steel China wok is Allegro. .
In large cities, one can obtain China woks at wholesalers such as Vietnamese or Decade Stadium in Warsaw. But beware, these woks are round and perfectly adapted to the special high-power burners.
- Better to focus on good technique and proper wok frying.
- When you finally buy the China wok, wash it to clear any dust and dirt.
- If you can, unscrew the wooden handle. Wash it thoroughly with warm water and liquid and let it be the its first and last meeting with detergent.
- Wipe the wok thoroughly, pour into it a spoonful of oil and rub thoroughly the entire interior with a paper towel or small cloth.
- In the meantime preheat the oven to a temperature of about 200 – 220 C and put China wok on it. If you could not unscrew the wooden handles, encapsulate it with a damp cloth and cover with plastic wrap.
- The strange odor coming from the oven is normal. After 20 min. open the oven and carefully take out the China wok vessel carefully.
- Now with a metal sink, try to wipe off as much formed inside the raid. It was as if to revert to its original state.
- Then wash it with water only, wipe dry, rub with oil again, enforce the wooden handle again and again in the oven for 20 minutes.
- And so four times. After the fourth time darken the interior of the wok and cover with a layer of patina, which will be increasingly difficult to rub off on his firing. This will protect it from sticking to the fried products of its bottom. After the fourth washing the wok with water and drying, rub the inside with oil and leave it to the shelf
- Try to fry something. But remember, the ceremony after finishing cooking in a China wok is a constant: wash your wok in warm water only.
- Dry, rub the inside with a spoon until the oil and set aside on the shelf.
But a wok alone is not enough. You may need stirrer (wood), scoop, slotted spoon and sieve into a steamer.
When you gather all these things we take for slow cooking.