Recipes in a wok.

October 17, 2006 2:00 PM

What are your favorite recipes for cooking in a wok?

Inspired by a previous question about pasta recipes.

Bonus points for being cheap, as I'm an art college student, but I like to treat myself sometimes so it is by no means a requirement.

Thanks everyone!

posted by ztdavis to food & drink (7 comments total)

Broccoli with ginger & garlic.

Broccoli into florets & slice the stalk 1/8" slices.

Tsp or so of ginger (freshly & finely chopped)

A few cloves of garlic (ditto)

Tamari (waaay superior to soy sauce) & chilli sauce to taste.

Heat the wok. Add a tbsp or so of peanut oil. Swirl to coat the wok & wait until hot. Add florets & stir fry for a min or two. Add sliced stalk, garlic & ginger & stir for a bit more until broccoli is still a little crisp but tender too.

Serve with tamari & chilli.

So simple, so quick & so good it's unreal. You can also serve as a side dish or use as a base for a stir fry with smoked tofu, mushrooms, green beans (and others - experimenting is good) & a miso marinade or soup (miso paste (heaped tsp or 2), warm water (more water makes it more soupy of course), touch of tamari, touch of fresh ginger, garlic & chilli, a bit of honey for a sweet alternative - shake 'em in a jar and add at the end as you take the veg off off the flame). I eat this a few times a week and I never get bored of it.
posted by i_cola at 2:42 PM on October 17, 2006 [1 favorite]

BTW, non-stick woks are evul. Season a proper one and it will give you great service.

BTW II, madman is the main man round these parts when it comes to wok cookery IIRC.
posted by i_cola at 2:43 PM on October 17, 2006

I like to make this simple stir-fry with leftover meat (dealer's choice of chicken, beef, or pork), but you can use tofu instead of the meat if you want.

Ingredients:
Some leftover cooked meat, cut into cubes
1 bell pepper, sliced
3 large white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 inch blob of ginger, grated
1/4 medium onion, cut into big chunks
1 handful of snow peas, bean sprouts, or a mix of both
(optional) 3-4 chopped hot peppers
Sesame oil
Soy sauce and rice vinegar
Cornstarch

Combine the soy sauce and rice vinegar in a small cup. The relative quantities are up to you -- taste it as you go, some people like more soy and some more vinegar -- but you'll want about 1/2 cup of sauce, total. Add 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch to the sauce, stir it thoroughly, and let it sit. Next, heat the wok until it smokes, then add a few tablespoons of sesame oil. Heat the oil for a minute or two. Add the onions and ginger (and the hot peppers, if you're using them) to the oil, and stir until the onions are soft. Add the meat, veggies, and soy/vinegar sauce, and stir until the green pepper is as you like it, about 5-10 minutes. Serve over rice or Chinese noodles.

If you get tired of the sauce, try adding a small handful of Chinese fermented black beans, after soaking them in water (they're available at Chinese supermarkets). These will give the sauce a whole different flavor.
posted by vorfeed at 2:58 PM on October 17, 2006

I just had stirfried broccoli and beef - cut up a head of broccoli, or however much you want, toss it in wok a fry it a bit in oil, then add a bit of water and cover it with a lid so it steams. Then cut up a piece of steak (I use cheapo beef from Kroger) into strips. Once the meat is cut up, the broccoli should be softened a bit. Uncover the wok and add the meat. Add tamari and sesame oil to make a most fabulous sauce! Cook it till the meat is doneish.

Another really simple and tasty wok dish I make is spinach paneer. I sautee garlic and onions in a big puddle of cooking oil and add copious amounts of coriander, curry, ginger powder, and pepper, and slightly less salt and cinnamon. Then a bag of frozen spinach. Then a can of diced tomatoes, drained. Then soak it all in milk, add chopped up paneer, and let it stew till it's nice and creamy. At this point I generally add more of the same spices. The end!
posted by thirteenkiller at 3:41 PM on October 17, 2006

Julienned or mandolined carrot, and zucchini(the long way)

grated garlic

green onion

yellow onion

bell pepper

fresh peeled shrimp

tamari

red pepper flakes

First in goes the seasoned shrimp, garlic, and yellow onion, then about a minute later the bell pepper and carrot, then shortly thereafter then zucchini and tamari.

If done right, the julienned zucchini works like noodles.

posted by Mr. Gunn at 3:58 PM on October 17, 2006

Kedgeree
(my version -- never had the real thing, only based on recipes)

stir-fry the following:
finely chopped 1/2 onion
a tinned kipper or some pre-cooked salmon
some leftover rice
some raisins
a spoonful of chopped parsely
spoonful of curry paste
clear a space in the center, add a little more oil and scramble an egg, then mix it all together
a dash of nutmeg, maybe some soy sauce

Serve.
(Scottish MeFites are welcome to comment)
posted by Rash at 4:16 PM on October 17, 2006

Bacon/left-over fried rice


Ideally, cook the rice in a rice cooker or saucepan the night before, and leave to cool. No hassle if you don't have the time to do this - just cook the rice before you start.

Beat a couple of eggs. It's your choice whether to put it in the wok first - resulting in scrambled egg pieces with your rice - or put it in last, resulting in a gooey egg texture to your rice. YMMV. (Of course I may be getting it wrong)

Throw all your meaty left-overs into the wok, add a few bacon pieces. Always handy. Add garlic if you wish. Cook till it's gone brown.

Throw some left-over veggies into the wok. I love frozen peas for this purpose. Add in the rice. Stir, cook, serve.
posted by badlydubbedboy at 3:39 AM on October 18, 2006