Wok Wednesdays | Stir-Fried Squid with Black Bean Sauce

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

by Grace Young


I'm beginning to think I need to change the title of my blog to Wok This Way or something, for the last ten posts have been a WW recipe. One day I'll get back to cooking from the many cookbooks that I own. Maybe.

There is an ongoing joke amongst the WW members about snow peas. This is the second recipe from Chef Danny Chan where he has specified an exact amount of snow peas to use (twelve for this recipe), rather than by weight.

Using extra snow peas (as I have done here, and I know your counting them Bob - to clarify, I halved the recipe) or deviating from a recipe in other ways, has earned a member or two (or three), the chastening of wearing their wok on their heads, and the embarrassment (or not) of posting a photo of such on our group FB page.

 (photo used with permission )

The above photo reflects the punishment for a dried chili infraction; though he has also been placed on probation for a snow pea violation.

I'm thankful Danny did not make us count out the frozen peas he uses in his Hong-Kong-Style Silky Stir-Fried Minced Beef recipe. They're may have been even more of us wearing the wok!

 Mise en place.

Bowl 1: Garlic, scallion, fermented black beans

Bowl 2: Onion, ginger

Bowl 3: Red bell pepper

Bowl 4: Salt, pepper

Bowl 5: Dry sherry

Bowl 6: Squid (blanched), snow peas

Bowl 7: Chicken broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce

Bowl 8: Sesame oil, cornstarch, chicken broth

The blanched squid.

I think I like cooking squid more than I like eating it. It becomes so artistic looking after its bath.

Here is a photo from an older post - showing what cleaned squid looks like, before prepping it for a stir-fry.

You need to set aside a little extra time to prepare the squid for stir-frying. If you are unable to get pre-cleaned squid as I did, here is a great tutorial on Food52 on how to clean it yourself.

After the squid has been cleaned, the tentacles are cut into bite-size pieces (I just left them whole, myself), and the bodies are cut in half lengthwise and gently scored with a crosshatch pattern on the inside, then cut into 1 1/2-inch squares. The squid is quickly parboiled for ten seconds, just until it curls; now it's ready for stir-frying.

Once the squid is prepped, this stir-fry is quick to get on the table. The beans, scallion and garlic are added to the wok first and stir-fried just until fragrant. Add the ginger and onions, stir until the onions start to wilt, then the bell pepper, and s&p is added and cooked until they start to soften. The rice wine is added and stirred in, then the squid, snow peas, and soy sauce mixture is added and tossed until the peas turn bright green. Swirl in the cornstarch mixture and stir until the squid is just cooked.

Be careful as to not overcook the squid, for it can become tough if you do. 

This was enjoyed by other members of our group, though not so much by me; sorry, Grace (said with a scrunched face). The squid came out tender, and I loved the texture of the vegetables; the flavor just did not wow me - which surprised me, for I love the taste that fermented black beans lend to a dish (as in the Stir-fried Chicken with Black Bean Sauce), and the sauce components... broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil - and garlic and ginger! I don't understand... maybe my taste buds were off this evening; or even it could have been the fact I hadn't tasted it until after it was reheated. I made it early on (an hour or so) for the best possible lighting. I reheated it ever so gently in the wok, as to not overcook the squid - I'm guessing that may have had an effect on the taste.

As I said, this was enjoyed by others in our group - if you would like to give it a go yourself, the recipe can be found at  The Global Gourmet or on page 170 of Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, by Grace Young.

I think we have only eight more recipes before we are done wokking our way through Sky. But stay tuned, for there's talk about moving on with one of Grace's other books. So you can still join in on the fun ~ it's quite the lively bunch over at Wok Wednesdays.

 

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

Wok Wednesdays | Stir-Fried Chicken with Black Bean Sauce

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

The black bean sauce in this recipe is not made with your typical black beans (think Latin cuisine), but with fermented black beans (aka douchi or salted black beans) which are actually black soybeans that have been fermented and preserved in salt. You will find these beans at your local Chinese or Asian grocery. 

The beans have a musky scent, and an earthy, oaky, raisiny (without the sweetness) flavor, not to mention salty, which you can rinse the beans to remove some of the saltiness as we did for this recipe.

Mise en place.

Bowl 1:  Red onion, red pepper flakes

Bowl 2:  Chicken, cornstarch, dry sherry, soy sauce, salt

Bowl 3:  Carrots

Bowl 4:  Fermented black beans, garlic, ginger, dark soy sauce

Bowl 5:  Chicken broth, dry sherry

Bowl 6:  Salt

Bowl 7:  Scallion

As I was consuming this wonderful meal (I served this with jasmine rice and steamed zucchini), I thought how comforting this is. It's one you'll want to have in your repertoire, filed under comfort foods.  

Next time I make this, I'm going to toss in a few whole fermented beans as well, and up the red pepper flakes for I do like my food on the spicier side.

The recipe can be found here, but I highly recommend you get the book - the recipes are fabulous.

We have been asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. You will find the recipe on page 137 of  Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library. 

Book 110: Blue Ginger | Beef and Shiitake Stew with Garlic Mashers

by Ming Tsai

I became familiar with Ming Tsai, from watching the Food Network station which I watched on a daily basis, until they went rogue on me.

Now a days, it seems they are either traveling from restaurant to restaurant, having showdowns, food wars, or crazy competitions. Not my thing. I prefer to watch and learn from the cooks working their magic in their kitchens, like Ming's show, East Meets West, which unfortunately no longer airs. I cannot remember the last time I tuned into the FN. I used to love that show.

I had Ming's book on my counter for a week or so, several pages bookmarked from long ago. I finally decided on this recipe for it simplicity, and the fact I actually had the hard to find ingredients (fermented black beans and dark soy sauce  - not available at your local Safeway) on hand, thanks to being a member of the Wok Wednesdays cooking group, where we are stir-frying our way through Grace Young's book, Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge.

Another plus to making this recipe, I was able to use up the heavy cream I had, being I forgot to add it to this recipe.

This was an easy dinner to throw together - and perfect timing. We have been having beautiful spring-like weather this winter (in a midst of a drought, unfortunately) until this weekend. The temps have dropped considerably - we actually had snow on our local mountain, which is only 3800+ ft. in elevation.

Ming even notes in the book that this is "hearty cold-weather fare". 

The recipe calls for hanger or skirt steak. I had flank steak in the freezer and used that. Flank steak does not have as much fat as skirt steak. This, I am sure is why my meat had a bit of a "chew" to it. I wouldn't go as far as to say it was tough, just chewier than I expected it to be. I also added about a third of a red bell pepper I had sitting in the fridge.

 

After browning the meat, and sautéing the vegetables you add enough water to cover, and cook for about two hours, until the meat is tender. Next time I would add less water, I like my stews to be more gravy-like, this was a tad on the watery side.

 

This does make for great cold-weather comfort food, and was just as tasty, if not more so, the next day when I had it for lunch. 

You will find the recipe on page 156 of Blue Ginger, or click here to be directed to the Food Network site.

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