Wok Wednesdays | Chicken Chow Fun

WW wokking through Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge

by Grace Young

 

I had way better success with this recipe than I did when I made the Beef Chow Fun, where I had unfavorable results with the noodles. It certainly helps to have the right stuff. :)

 Mise en place.

Bowl 1: Salt

Bowl 2: Fresh rice noodles

Bowl 3: Ginger, garlic

Bowl 4: Chicken, garlic, ginger, dry sherry, oyster sauce, soy sauce, cornstarch, pepper

Bowl 5: Dry sherry

Bowl 6: Bok choy, shiitake mushrooms

Bowl 7: Chicken broth, sesame oil, oyster sauce, soy sauce, cornstarch

The recipe calls for a one pound sheet of rice noodles to be cut into half-inch-wide strips.  I was fortunate enough to find them pre-cut.

The noodles are stir-fried in salted oil - salt that is added to the oil in the wok - this disperses the salt more evenly than if you sprinkled it over the noodles, says Raymond Leong who taught Grace this recipe; as well as requiring less salt by doing it this way, according to Joyce Jue, a Southeast Asian chef.

The noodles are cooked just until they achieve a crusty layer, then they are removed from the wok and set aside while the rest of the ingredients are stir-fried.

The noodles can be plated and topped with the vegetable mixture as Mr Leong does, or as I did - adding the noodles back to the wok and mixing all together; this way all the noodles are sure to get coated with some of the sauce.



This recipe can be found on page 277 of Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, by Grace Young.

 

We as a group have agreed not to post the recipes on our blogs. 

 

Wok Wednesdays | Stir-Fried Bok Choy with Pancetta

WW wokking through Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young

Wow. How does one rave about another fabulous stir-fry from this awesome book, without sounding like a broken record? It's impossible, I tell ya.

 Mise en place.

Bowl 1: Pancetta

Bowl 2: Garlic, ginger

Bowl 3: Bok choy

Bowl 4: Salt, sugar

Bowl 5: Chicken broth, dry sherry, soy sauce, cornstarch

Such an easy, and delicious side dish! 

The pancetta is first browned in the wok, then the aromatics are added and cooked until fragrant. The bok choy is added to the wok along with the salt and sugar, and stir-fried for a short time, then the broth mixture is swirled in and the wok is covered, and allowed to cook for about a minute, stirred, cooked for another minute, and, bam! done. 

To quote Ina Garten, how easy is that?!

And to think I almost passed on making this. I have not been a huge fan of bok choy. I like the flavor, I just find it awkward to eat; usually the stalks are left whole, sometimes, even the head is just halved. However, cut up in chunks as it is here, it is so much more pleasant to eat.

The preparation of the bok choy itself is not what changed my mind. It was the comment on the WW's Facebook page. Karen, of Karen's Kitchen Stories (if you have not visited her site, you are missing out) commented that this dish was "so good", and Grace mentioned she could not wait to read her post; Karen replied, "It's definitely a love letter for the dish!" How could one resist making it, after a comment like that?! Thank you, Karen!! So glad I did not miss out on this one.

Grace, your recipes continue to amaze me. So few ingredients, yet intense on flavor; if only all recipes could be so easy and have such an incredible outcome. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Come on. Go get the book already. You know you want it.

We have been asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 226, of  Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library. I highly recommend purchasing the book - you won't be disappointed.  

Wok Wednesdays is an online cooking group. If you would like information about joining us, click here, or visit us on Facebook. Would love for you to wok along with us!

WW: Stir-Fried Chicken with Carrots and Mushrooms

Wok Wednesdays wokking through Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young

 The BEST tool ever!! Thanks mom! I did not know the recipe called for three cups of julienned carrots till just before getting dinner started. I was reading a post on the WW Facebook page about the recipe and that is how I found out about the carrots and this awesome tool called a kinpira peeler that Grace recommended.  My mother had bought me and my siblings these garnishing kits a few years ago. Why she bought one for my brother I don't know - he does not cook. She had a shopping addiction (I say had, because she passed away two years ago) and would order all kinds of crap off of the TV. I can see it now: Order in the next hour and it's yours for only 19.99! and if you order in the next fifteen minutes we will throw in an extra one, absolutely free! Ha ha. This was a good buy mom, a good buy. :) I thought I would never use it and tossed it into a drawer (still in the box) and sworn I had recently donated it to Goodwill. Thank goodness it was still here. I was able to shred three cups of carrots in like thirty seconds! OK, maybe in forty-five. Definitely under a minute! Try doing that with a knife. In a pinch I would have used my food processor with the shredding disc - it would have made wider strands, but would be better than using a knife; which reminds me - they need sharpening.

My dried shiitakes soaking away. I placed a bowl on top to keep them submerged. The recipe called for whole mushrooms and to soak them for thirty minutes. My store only had pre-sliced and the instructions call for them to be soaked for ten minutes. They ended up soaking for thirty minutes and still some were quite tough and overly chewy. I guess I am not a fan of dried shiitakes. This happened the last time I used them as well.

 I really enjoyed the carrots in this stir-fry. Andy said he thought this would be good even without the chicken, for the mushrooms have such good flavor - if they were not so chewy. Maybe soak them even longer? I could use fresh, but then they would not have the intense flavor the dried do. Hmm...

 

Success meter (1-3): 2 - I rated this a two due to the chewy shiitakes.

You will not find the recipe here on my blog or within the Wok Wednesdays community. We encourage our readers to purchase this book at their local independent bookstore or on-line to support the publishing industry and to help keep books alive and thriving.

                                                         Yay! Paper is not dead!: http://vimeo.com/61275290

Make sure to visit my co-wokkers to see their results on this stir-fry.

Look for the LYL link on the Wok Wednesdays page.

Visit Wok Wednesdays on Facebook!

WW: Stir-Fried Chili Scallops with Baby Bok Choy

Wok Wednesdays wokking through Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young 






I am not a huge fan of scallops but will make them on occasion. Andy (the hubs) really likes them; so I was excited for him for this week's recipe.

My baby bok choy was more pre-teen than baby. I ended up using only five of the eight that I purchased and it turned out to be plenty. I also used chili garlic sauce in place of the chili bean sauce called for in the recipe, for I did not get the chance to get over to the Asian market, and none was to be had at my local grocery.

I'm curious to know, do Chinese households use dinner knifes? I have always wondered (and still do) why Chinese restaurants don't have knives on the table.  Unless the bok choy is diced into bite-size pieces, I have a helluva time eating it (imagine a raptor ripping apart its prey). Sorry for that visual..

A knife would be nice.

We have yet another successful recipe - on a roll - still. :)

Now go out and get yourself this book and wok your way to fresh, healthy and delicious meals that you can make at home in the same amount, if not less time, that it takes to eat out; and have a knife available if the need arises.

Success meter (1-3): 3

Don't you just love nature's beauty?

The two of us had no problems finishing this off.

You will not find the recipe here on my blog or within the Wok Wednesdays community. We encourage our readers to purchase this book at their local independent bookstore or on-line to support the publishing industry and to help keep books alive!

Make sure to visit my co-wokkers to see their results on this stir-fry.

Look for the LYL link on the Wok Wednesdays page.

You can visit Wok Wednesdays on Facebook as well.

Cooking In Parchment

Recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine



           Soy and Ginger Shrimp en Papillotes


Cooking in parchment is fun, easy, and makes for quick clean-up after!

I've always wanted to cook something in parchment and when I saw this recipe I jumped on it. The one drawback of cooking in parchment is not knowing when your food is done; and I need to learn to go with my gut instinct for the shrimp was a bit overdone. Whereas if you use aluminum foil you can always seal it back up easily if it is not cooked completely - but then you miss out on all the fun of making the packet, and cutting it open at the table for all to get that wonderful aroma when the steam is released. Not to mention the fun of everyone having their own little gift to open.

Success meter (1-3): 3

Start by folding a 15x24 inch sheet of parchement

 in half and draw a half heart.

Cut out the heart.

Place your food on one half of the heart.

(make sure to turn your sheet over

so that the pencil mark is on the outside.)

Starting at the top of the heart, fold over about 1/2 inch

of the edge, pressing down to make a crisp crease.

Continue making overlapping folds (like pleats), pressing

firmly and creasing the edge so the folds hold.

Twist the tip of the heart to finish.

Caution: Hot steam escapes!