Wok this Way! (Part 1 of 5)

Introduction

Woks have been synonymous with Chinese cooking since the emergence of Chinese cuisine. They have been used for some 3000 years in China for a variety of cooking methods, including stir frying, boiling, and steaming. A wok is a large, thin-walled, round-bottomed, metal cooking pan, and shaped like a shallow bowl with handles. The addition of a wooden rack and cover transforms the wok into a steamer. Although woks come in sizes ranging from 10 to 32 inches in diameter, a wok that's 11 to 14 inches should suffice for use in a household kitchen.

With the increasing popularity of Chinese cuisine, there are now many "Westernized" versions of the wok. There is the addition of a metal ring, which is set on top of a gas or electric stove to hold the wok to prevent tipping. Some have a small flat bottom instead of the traditional round bottom, for the same reason. The new versions will get the job done, but the "traditonal" large round-bottomed woks are still, by far, the preferred wok of choice.

Since the essence of Chinese cuisine is to achieve food tenderness through quick cooking to retain the natural taste, flavor, and color of the ingredients, the wok's ingenious unique design makes it a perfect fit in Chinese cooking. Its bottom concentrates heat to achieve 2 objectives: 1) to direct the heat at the food, while sealing in the flavors and allowing food to be cooked evenly, and 2) to allow cooking food quickly with very little oil. The stir fry cooking technique shifts food around the wok quickly, coating it with oil during cooking, as opposed to using a flat frying pan where a lot more oil is required. Consequently, cooking with a wok is essential for a healthy diet. It also has curved sides to keep in food that is being tossed and flipped during stir frying. Food, when cooked, may be moved up the sloping side of the wok to stay warm without cooking further, while other food is cooked at the bottom. It is also ideal for deep frying as it requires less oil than any other kitchen cookware to do the job.

Next, in Part 2 of Wok this way!, we'll go over selecting a wok.

Helen Fan grew up in a family that has owned various Asian restaurants all over North America, from Vancouver (Canada), Houston (Texas), Decatur (Illinois), to Chicago (Illinois). She, and the rest of the Fan family are now sharing their decades of knowledge on the art of Chinese cuisine at http://www.ChineseHomeCooking.Com

---

Making Homemade Pasta for Dinner Tonight

Homemade pasta cooked al dente (to the teeth), is a... Read More

Dutch Oven Cooking Basics

Pioneer CookingWhen you think of a cast iron Dutch oven,... Read More

High Altitude Baking - A Cooks Guide

High altitude baking can be a real adventure for the... Read More

The World of Cornbread

We're partial to cornbread. We like its rustic texture and... Read More

How To Eat Fresh Vegetables ? Ideas for Working More Veggies Into Your Diet

Fresh, uncooked veggies are so healthy and it's important to... Read More

Understanding Baking: How Yeast Works

Did you ever wonder why flour tastes like sawdust but... Read More

Why do We Need to Knead?

Bread dough needs to be elastic in order to capture... Read More

Kitchenaid Stand Mixers ? A Kitchen Work Horse

Kitchenaid stand mixers are very popular in today's kitchens and... Read More

6 Tips for Perfect Homemade Hard Candy

There's nothing better than the juicy, flavorful hard candy from... Read More

Wok this Way! (Part 3 of 5) Seasoning Your New Wok

Seasoning is the most important thing you can do to... Read More

Caring For Your Wooden Cutting Board

Researchers have found that bacteria have a tougher time surviving... Read More

Fine Tuning Bread Machine Mixes

Sometimes bread machines can be tricky. We were trying to... Read More

Emergency Bread: Can you Bake Bread Without an Oven?

What would you eat if you were stranded without power?... Read More

Season Your Pans for Non Stick Cooking

Nothing is more frustrating than trying to cook a delicious... Read More

Two for One Dinners: Turkey

If you find leftovers boring, uninviting or downright "yuck," then... Read More

Do you own an AGA or RAYBURN cooker ?

The Cooker-rail....This is a novel way of increasing the drying... Read More

Don?t Poke the Chicken at Your Backyard Barbecue

You might be planning a home remodeling project and it... Read More

Family Meal Planning Made Easy

As moms, we have hectic lives. Whether we work out... Read More

Wok this Way! (Part 1 of 5)

IntroductionWoks have been synonymous with Chinese cooking since the emergence... Read More

Hot Apple Pie - The American Apple Pie Legacy

While each country might have its own preferred style, "American... Read More

Preparing Lobster Tails

Lobster, once the food of poor farmers, is now considered... Read More

Slimming Secrets From The Kitchen

To get the svelte figure, start in the kitchen. Slimming... Read More

Perfect Picnics - Frugal Food Safety Tips

Summer is finally here and for a lot of us... Read More

Weber Grills Reviewed: Quality that Lasts

Barbecuing has long been a favorite pastime for many and... Read More

Picnic Checklist

In the previous article, we suggested that you start a... Read More