Wok

Fast bite today?

Wok this way!

Whenever I haven't got the time to cook, I wok or go for a wok. A wok is the Cantonese word for a round-bottomed frying pan, originally from the Canton region in China. Nowadays you can find wok-restaurants all over the world, either take away or on site. I even use the word wok as a verb... I wok you wok, well... we all wok!

One of my favorite take away wok-restaurants in Ghent is the Wok Away. They offer various types of stir fry dishes and besides the regular "wok" you can order Dim Sum (small steamed bites) or spring rolls. There are also tables and a bar (with view in the kitchen) available if you decide to eat your wok on the spot.

If you don't have enough with one portion you can always go "all you can eat" at Chess Cafe Gent. A wok-restaurant just outside the city center with a modern interior. The formula is simple: you choose your ingredients from various types of meat, fish and vegetables, take them to the kitchen, ask any sauce you like and the cook will prepare it in front of you. And you can do this as many times as you want.

If you are looking for wok-restaurants in Brussels you should go to the area around the Sint-Katelijnestraat, just past the "Bourse". It is an area swarming with asian restaurants and asian supermarkets where you can easily get a fast stir fry dish for little money.

"Seafood Slammer" from Wok Away

"Wokking" yourself

Of course you don't have to eat out if you feel like having wok. You can easily do it yourself! In my kitchen I have got some basic ingredients and sauces which I use for stir frying. Here are some things

you may need when "wokking":

• Stir fry oil: a wok is used on (very) high fire so you need oil which can withstand high heat. In asian shops you can find seasoned stir fry oil. U can also use safflower oil or sesame oil. peanut oil not really suited for stir frying.
• Fish sauce: if you are making a dish with fish, fish sauce is an ideal seasoning. It has a really salty, fishy taste.
• Oyster sauce: this is a sauce made by cooking oysters, and as crazy as it may sound this is best used for seasoning meat or vegetables.
• Lemon grass: it gives your wok a fresh, citrus-like taste. Perfect for fish or poultry
• Ginger: giver you stir fry dish some spicy, fresh touch.
• Red, green or yellow curry paste: a wet herb mix. Perfect to use in combination with coconut milk
• Coconut milk: can be used as a base for curry sauce or as a tastemaker.

If you have these things you can prepare a pretty decent wok.
I don't have a precise recipe for making a stir fry dish because I always add ingredients on taste. I can't stress out enough how important tasting is during cooking!
Next time I wok, i'll write it down and write a post about it.
But here is the best way to start wokking:
- Cut your meat or fish into small portions
- Cut you vegetables into small pieces
- Heat the oil
- Add seasoning (lemon grass, ginger, fish sauce, ...)
- Add vegetables and stir fry for some minutes
- Add your meat or fish and stir fry some more until the meat is done
- Season with herbs if you want
- Serve!

I hope you'll try to wok once in a while. And I'll try to upload a recipe as soon as possible!
Enjoy!

May 17, 2013