I’ve cooked having a wok for lots of years but never bought a cast iron wok till just recently. I’ve frequently employed carbon steel and have been content with that. The wok above I bought as a kit from wokshop.com. It’s a 14 inch cast iron wok and also the kit included, a metal spatula, wok ring, lid, and bamboo cleaning brush.
This wok is currently proving itself to be an indispensable piece of cookware in my house.
A couple of months ago I came across a book known as The Breath of your Wok by Grace Young and Alan Richardson, suddenly I was amazed by a cuisine that I believed I previously knew so a great deal about. The Chinese talk about “Wok Hay” which translates into “The Breath of your Wok”. This refers for the fantastic flavor that’s infused into food by a properly seasoned wok. If you’ve ever wondered why you couldn’t accomplish the flavors you locate at your favorite Chinese restaurant at dwelling, you most likely ought to think about the pan or wok you’re stir frying in, and whether or not it can be effectively seasoned.
In this book I discovered a seasoning method that I had not seen prior to. Truly it’s much more of your recipe than method and it truly is 1 of quite a few techniques described within the Breath of the Wok to season a cast iron wok. This approach worked so properly for me that I believed I will need to share it here.
Seasoning a Cast Iron Wok with Pork Excess fat and Chinese Chives
Adapted from “The Breath of your Wok”
Ingredients:
10 ounces of pork unwanted weight cut into 1 inch cubes
9 ounces of Chinese Chives (Do not substitute Western chives like garlic or onion chives. Chinese chives are broader and longer and possess a significantly stronger flavor)
1 cup of drinking water
Directions:
In case you are making use of a rounded wok and possess a gas stove, you may choose to position a wok ring in your burner to support the wok. In case you are utilizing an electric stove you can want a flat bottomed wok.
In advance of you season your new wok you have to wash it with hot drinking water and soap, scrubbing it which has a steel wool pad (this is only time you need to ever soap a cast iron wok) to remove any metal residue. This may likely take a handful of washes.
Turn in your exhaust fan and keep it on large, you could quite possibly also prefer to open up a handful of windows for this as stir frying so very much chives in unwanted weight will produce strong aromas.
Spot your wok on the burner and turn the heat as much as increased. Heat the wok more than great heat till a drop of drinking waterh2o vaporizes within 1 to 2 seconds of contact.
Add the pork body fat and decrease heat to low. Stir using a metal spatula and permit the extra fat to liquefy.
As the body fat cooks, bring the extra fat up the sides from the wok for the edge to coat the interior surface on the wok with the extra fat. When the unwanted weight is no longer releasing liquid turn the heat as much as higher and add the chives.
Stir fry this mixture on higher for 10 to 15 minutes spreading it all along the interior surface within the wok, really don’t neglect the upper edges. Very carefully add 1 cup of drinking water (this could perhaps spatter) and cook for an additional 5 minutes continuing to spread the mixture around the interior and up the sides. Very carefully pour the mixture into an old can or other vessel where it can cool in advance of you discard it correctly.
Wash the wok in cold drinking water and dry with paper towels. Position it back in your stove top and permit it to dry more than low heat for 1-2 minutes. Your wok is now seasoned and ready to use.
Should you locate that that is a little daunting for you, please don’t let this stop you from trying to obtain an amazing Chinese meal at property. It is possible to buy a pre-seasoned wok from an amazing web site for example Eleanor Hoh’s who also has some remarkable instructional videos and seasonings included with her kits.
As often I hope you just have a terrific time cooking!