Tasha Harper

Wok Cookbook for Beginners Tasha Harper

What Is a Wok?




A wok is defined as a round bottomed cooking utensil with high sides, commonly designed with two side handles or one larger handle. The round bottom of a wok allows for heat to be distributed more evenly than a saucepan, meaning food is able to cook in less amount of time. The high walls allow for food to be tossed easier, such as when cooking a stir fry, meaning the ingredients can be mixed and cooked evenly throughout.




This cookbook brings you a hundred different Chinese wok foods in one place. This book is designed for anyone who loves to eat Chinese food but is not familiar with all the Chinese cooking techniques. In this cookbook, you will discover some simple and easy ways to cook traditional Chinese meals using authentic Chinese sauces and spices. The dishes are categorized according to the variety of meals offered by this cuisine, so you will get to find a range of dumplings along with recipes for rice, noodles, soups, pork, beef, lamb, poultry, seafood, tofu, and appetizers.




Popular Chinese Cooking Techniques

Learning about basic Chinese cooking techniques is essential for cooking quality Chinese food at home.

A. WOK COOKING For wok cooking, you will have to first preheat the wok and make sure to dry it completely before adding oil. Then you can add oil into your wok in a circular motion to cover the entire base of the wok, and when you do so, make sure that the wok is only hot, not smoking. Non-stick woks can get ruined when they are heated too much. B. STIR-FRY Chinese stir-frying is carried out on high heat, so if there is a conventional stove at home, then stir fry only when your wok or pan is preheated. Once the cooking pan or pot is preheated, then add the oil and other ingredients. When you add the ingredients to the pan, make sure that they are at room temperature or not cold. Cold ingredients in a Cantonese wok will make food soggy after cooking. C. OIL VELVETING FOR STIR-FRY This cooking technique involves searing of the poultry or meat before the actual stir-frying in hot oil for a short time, until it gets lightly brown. You will also find many dishes in this book with the same method employed for beef, pork, and poultry. The meat is then taken out, and later it is added to the actual dish. For best taste, the meat is marinated prior to the velveting.