Wok Wednesdays | Yangchow Fried Rice

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

by Grace Young

This is my new favorite. Unbelievably simple, healthy, and delicious! 

Mise en place.

Bowl 1: Shrimp

Bowl 2: Rice, peas

Bowl 3: Ham, scallions

Bowl 4: Salt, white pepper

I was skeptical while making this stir-fry - with no seasonings other than salt and white pepper - and as hard as it was, I did refrain from adding that little bit of garlic, and soy sauce that is typical of fried rice recipes. 

This took me by surprise - it really was full of flavor - no other seasonings are needed, and the white pepper added the perfect amount of heat. No wonder in China, Yangchow fried rice is prized for its clean and fresh flavors (perfect description btw). I have said before, simple can be best, and it rings true with this recipe.

This was so simple to prepare: the shrimp is stir-fried in a small amount of oil just until it turns color, add a little more oil, and the rice and peas, stir until heated through, throw in the ham, scallions, and seasonings, mix all together, and it's done. A most delicious meal in mere minutes.

This also would be utterly delicious made Catonese style, with Chinese barbecued pork in place of the ham. 

Do give this recipe a try; you'll be missing out if you don't.

We as a group do not post the recipes on our blogs, but lucky for you, the recipe is published on Fine Cooking's website, and of course, you can always find it on page 259 of Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, by Grace Young.

WW: Velvet Orange Scallops | A Birthday Celebration

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

I made this stir-fry for Andy's birthday dinner, a few days before the new recipe schedule was up. Much to my surprise it was picked for our second recipe in January. This puts me ahead of the game - and that is always a good thing.

Scallops. I can take 'em or leave 'em - Andy, he loves scallops.

This is the first time I used the velveting technique (marinating the scallops in a mixture of egg white, cornstarch, rice wine, and salt, then a quick poaching in oil laced water) for seafood. I have only used it for chicken recipes. At first I was not sure if it would make much of a difference, being scallops are so succulent on their own, but after one taste, I found they were even more tender than the ones I have made in the past.

Andy liked the scallops, but not the orange flavor from the zest, which seemed to be most concentrated in the carrots - those were left on his plate (my orange was really large, maybe I should have used less zest - I love citrus - more the merrier I thought). Me, I loved the carrots - I finished off his share. Our daughter seemed to enjoy this as well, for her plate was clean.

 

 Mise en place.

Bowl 1: Oil

Bowl 2: Garlic, ginger

Bowl 3: Carrots

Bowl 4: Scallops marinating in egg white, cornstarch, dry sherry, salt

Bowl 5: Broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, orange zest, red pepper flakes, dry sherry

Bowl 6: Salt (Oops! the salt should be #4 - added after the carrots.)

Bowl 7: Scallions

Since this was a birthday celebration, I just took a quick picture - nothing fancy. Didn't want to keep the birthday boy waiting!

While I was wokking away, our lovely daughter made the cinnamon rolls (another favorite of Andy's) for our next day's breakfast.

The cinnamon rolls had an overnight stay in the refrigerator - this makes for quick bakery goodness in the morning.

(source)

No picture of the finished cinnamon rolls - completely forgot - our minds were on getting to the airport on time. I can attest that they were delicious! It is an Emily Luchetti recipe after all.

We are asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 157 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: Chinese American Shrimp with Lobster Sauce

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

This stir-fry was delicious!

I had reservations as to whether I wanted to proceed with the recipe after reading the directions. I had purchased peeled and deveined shrimp to save on preparation time; only to find out that you need the shells to make the lobster sauce.

I have mentioned several times on the importance of reading a recipe completely - and I did! Only by the time I went to the grocery store, I just jotted down what I thought I needed. It's a good idea to re-read the recipe in its entirety, right before going to the grocery store.

I commented on the Wok Wednesdays Facebook page that I did this, and Grace (yes, the Wok Goddess Extraordinaire herself responds to our never ending questions) says that using only clam juice, the recipe would still turn out just fine - though the shells "add an amazing layer of rich flavor".

I'm looking forward to making this again using the correct ingredients. Seriously, can it be better than it was? I can only imagine~ till next time.

 Mise en Place

1. Shrimp

2. Soy sauce, pepper

3. Pork, ginger, garlic

4. Serrano pepper (The recipe called for Thai red chili)

5. Fermented black beans

6. Clam juice, soy sauce, pepper

7. Clam juice, cornstarch

8. Egg

9. Scallions

Are you asking yourself as I did, "Where is the lobster?" After a quick Google search (what would we do without Google?) this sauce is typically served "over" lobster, not made with lobster. And boy is it tasty! (Even with my omission of the shrimp shells.)

I served this over brown rice which was made with a mixture of leftover chicken and vegetable stock from our Thanksgiving feast. I wish I could remember what stock I used more of, for the rice was really good too.

The leftovers were equally delicious the following day. Good for me, that the hubby forgot to take it in with him for his lunch. ;)

We are asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 179 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 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.

Book Ninety-Two: Sunset 2003 Recipe Annual

by the Editors of Sunset Magazine

For me, the new year brings encouragement to get back to routines and the hope to accomplish more than the previous year.

I have let the sole purpose of this blog - to cook through all my cookbooks - to go by the wayside. Last year I joined two online baking/cooking groups which take up a lot of time - each group posts two recipes a month.

I could easily drop the baking group if it was not for all of the wonderful bakers from all over the world that I bake along with. Reading their blogs and comments makes it like we know each other personally, not to mention all the pointers and ideas you get from reading all the different variations of the recipes. However, the recipes have been less than ideal in my opinion. We have made twenty-two recipes and I can honestly say only a handful (if that) were worth it. Still, to drop this group would be like losing a best friend.

I'm hoping to post on two of my books a month - if not more - in addition to the four recipes a month for the groups I'm in. It may not sound like much (we do have to eat everyday, after all), but it's setting up the scene, taking the pictures, and writing up the post that is so time consuming, not to mention I also host a blog on my hiking adventures each week.

A picture from one of our hikes.

Well, this was not what I was hoping for for my first post of the year. I was wanting something with WOW factor - a knock-my-socks-off recipe to rave about. Not only did I run out of time for a recipe like that and went for simple, yet tasty, this was a disappointment. The salad was surprisingly good (recipe from the same book) and that is all I ate aside from two bites of the spaghetti. When the hubbs started on the pasta (after devouring the salad) his first words were, "it's fishy.."  We both agreed to toss the rest because, as he said, "It was a little off..."

You can't win them all. On the bright side, it was a super easy recipe and at minimal cost. When it fails, best it not be a costly, complex, and time consuming recipe.

The year is still young, and there are better recipes out there. Hope to share them with you soon!

Success meter (1-3): DUD!

Boil the noodles while you make the sauce.

Add clams to reduction.

Add pasta, parsley and hot chili flakes.

Simple ingredients for salad dressing.

This was the only tapanade available at my local large chain grocery.

I did not care for the taste on it's own, but it made for a great salad dressing!

Tapanade, balsamic, and olive oil.

Simplicity.

Surprisingly tasty.

Down the garbage disposal it goes...

Though I do not recommend the pasta dish, and you insist on wanting to try it yourself, you can find the recipe along with the salad recipe after the jump.

WW: Classic Dry-Fried Pepper and Salt Shrimp

Wok Wednesdays cooking thru Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
By Grace Young




Very few ingredients cooked in a flash!

I make shrimp fairly often but have always sautéed them in a fry pan over medium heat. What a difference it makes to stir-fry them over high heat in the wok. The shrimp turned out moist and succulent; so much so I kept looking to make sure they were indeed cooked through - and they were.

I made one deviation in regard to the ingredients. I used a serrano pepper in place of the jalapeño. For me, I could have used more than the one teaspoon the recipe called for. (I like my food spicy.) One other change I would make with this recipe as well as others is to use less oil for these were a tad on the oily side.

The shrimp has good flavor attributed to the Sichuan peppers. You really need to go get yourself some if you haven't tried them. They have a unique flavor that I just can't explain. They would make a great addition to your spice collection.

Success meter (1-3): 3

Rinsed in a salt water bath and dried before stir-frying.

So few ingredients:

Shrimp, ginger, garlic, serrano pepper, oil, and

a spice mixture made up of Sichuan peppercorns,

salt and sugar.

Check out Wok Wednesdays LYL link to see the results of my fellow wokkers!

You will not find the recipe here on my blog or within the Wok Wednesdays community. We encourage readers to go and purchase this book at their local independent bookstore or on-line.