Award-winning cookbook author Grace Young was in Chapel Hill, N.C., promoting “Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge: The Ultimate Guide to Mastery, with Recipes and Stories,” in which she details common mistakes by home cooks who turn out gloppy braises in their woks, instead of crisp, intensely flavored stir-fries. Demoralized by their lack of success, their woks languish, unused and rusting.
Grace Young shared a few more tips during our stir-fry lesson:
Get everything ready before you start to heat the wok. You won’t have time to stop and chop anything.
Mince ginger with a knife; don’t grate it on a microplane. Grated ginger creates too much liquid, which can be hazardous when you add it to hot oil.
Don’t stir-fry with a wooden spoon. Wooden utensils can’t get under stuck food as well as a fish spatula, which Young recommends.
Pat dry unmarinated meat or seafood before stir-frying. Any water can lower the temperature of the wok.
To clean the wok: Rinse with hot water and wipe out with a soft sponge. Dry by placing back on the burner over low heat; never dry a wok with a paper towel or cloth.
To do a wok facial: Heat wok on high heat until a drop of water evaporates in 1 to 2 seconds. Remove from heat. Add 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon peanut or vegetable oil. With three paper towels folded into a thick pad, scrub the wok with the salt-oil mixture. The salt will rub off any food debris and the oil will moisturize the surface. Wipe the wok clean. Rinse with hot water and a damp soft sponge. Dry the rinsed wok on a burner over low heat until totally dry.
By: Andrea Weigl. Read Full Article.
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