Posted on 05/29/2020 6:22:30 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
We recently went looking online for a wok - we wanted to try and become expert at stir-frying. It surprised me that everything we liked best was sold out everywhere. Then, I realized that lots of people have been stuck at home and doing more cooking for themselves. (I saw a recent cooking video on YouTube, in which a man stated that he had gone all over to find simple 8-inch layer-cake pans, and they were sold out everywhere that he was able to look; and I noticed last weekend that the baking section in my grocery – flour, sugar, baking mixes, leavening agents – was almost bare.)
We finally found a nice wok, and went through the process of curing it. We haven’t cooked in it yet (busy week) but we did some shopping for ingredients. In the process, I found in the local health food store something called Chinese ‘Forbidden Black Rice’, which I’d heard about but had never tried.
This rice is amazing! and the strangest thing about it is that it tastes like it’s full of butter, right out of the pot – with no butter added. It’s also lower on the glycemic index than ‘regular’ rice, and very rich in antioxidants and other nutrients.
I first tried this in a traditional ‘Carolina Rice Steamer’, which is sort of like a double boiler; but it took forever. You may be able to do it in an electric rice steamer (I pitched mine when it broke down) but I would suggest doing this on the stovetop as you would do brown rice.
The product we purchased was not ‘sticky’; so I’m assuming it’s the one referred to in this article as the actual Chinese Forbidden Black Rice:
Grace Young is one of the best instructors I’ve found on stir-frying; her various books are full of history, traditional Chinese culture, and information, and the recipes are very interesting and different from the heavy food that we call 'Chinese' in restaurants in the US. Here is her video on seasoning a new carbon steel wok:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZjkTPWBOf8
And here is her blog, with her recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken:
http://www.graceyoung.com/recipes/sweet-and-sour-chicken/">
I saw this cooking-coloring book for kids, on the Dover website today; it looks like a great way to keep the young ones occupied and also learning a skill that will be valuable throughout life:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZjkTPWBOf8
-JT
If you have a major grease issue use some in the hot rinse water as well.
“I always figured a nuclear powered wok was important.”
Actually you nailed it. The concentric jets that the Chinese cooks use pulls so much has so fast that it would trigger the flow restrictor in a residential installation. That is your gas hookup would act like the line blew out and it would shut down.
Cooking with one of these things is a,whole ‘nother thing carmalizing and taste wise. Cooking is really just chemistry and it makes a difference in the taste of the final product.
MAYBE you can approximate the effect by using the most heat possible and a tiny amount of food but for me that didon’t work too well either.
Gosh, we don’t even get pizza delivery. It’s too hot in TX or it sits too long even for Thanksgiving/Christmas food sent through the USPS. Cheesecakes get delivered leaking out the packaging.
I like the idea of doing it over a charcoal grill.
You can get those good and hot.
First go into the nearest inner city where's there a protest going on and a supermarket that's not touched yet.
When the supermarket gets looted, grab 2 pounds of beef (since it will be free, get grade A), 2 pounds of green, red, orange and yellow peppers, a pound of onions, salt, pepper and a bottle of wine (if supermarket has a wine department, if not find a looted liquor store and grab a bottle of the best wine they have left.
Be sure to wear a mask, not for Covid-19, but to keep from being identified... 😋
DeplorableAmerican1776 is not responsible for the recipe... make it at your own risk... 😋
I’ve got some soba noodles & I’m going to make that sauce. I always add toasted sesame oil when I marinate beef for stir fries. The flavor is so good.
My roommate in college had a 50’s Betty Crocker’s. I’m still using a few of these recipes!!!
I've used a wok in the past but NOT the expensive "real" ones that need seasoning like a good cast iron skillet. I imagine it takes a gas stove or burner that can put out very high temperatures. A few days ago I made chicken pad thai in the Instant Pot and it was SO good - even better the next day.
I think that black rice might do very well in an Instant Pot. I made the mistake of making a chicken and rice dish in mine and should have used plain white rice instead of basmati as it turned out mushy. Live and learn.
I've used a wok in the past but NOT the expensive "real" ones that need seasoning like a good cast iron skillet. I imagine it takes a gas stove or burner that can put out very high temperatures. A few days ago I made chicken pad thai in the Instant Pot and it was SO good - even better the next day.
I think that black rice might do very well in an Instant Pot. I made the mistake of making a chicken and rice dish in mine and should have used plain white rice instead of basmati as it turned out mushy. Live and learn.
You can mimic the carmelization by adding a little grade B maple syrup, or even a little molasses.
Dang it with the double posting again!!!
Our supermarkets were almost wiped out of rice and dried beans, in the early weeks of ‘lockdown’. I’ll see tomorrow if they have come back.
I got the black rice at a health food store - I’ve never seen it in the more ‘mainstream’ stores.
(On the upside, there was lots of toilet paper at my Lidl today ;-)
LOL!
I heard a quote from some woman in Brooklyn who ventured out to see what was going on with the protesters. She came back saying, ‘These people aren’t from Brooklyn!’.
I think the best things we’ve made in the Instant Pot have been pulled pork, and Indian Butter Chicken - and that ‘Mississippi Pot Roast’. (My husband swears he has only done the pot roast in the slow cooker, but I’m sure he has done it in the Instant Pot- and his rememberer isn’t as good as mine :-) If you look around, there are specific Instant Pot recipes for adapting the pot roast:
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mississippi-pot-roast-3517283
I haven’t tried doing rice or beans or anything starchy in it - I’ve been worried about clogging the vent.
Ours is a ‘Duo’, which makes yogurt; haven’t tried that yet, either.
Tell us what you’ve made - there aren’t any rules about monthly themes or subject-matter, here. We like it when you post whatever you’re cooking.
I’ve seen ads for that, and looked for it at the supermarket. Haven’t found it yet.
You use relatively little oil; once you get the wok really hot, you swirl a little oil down the sides - don’t dump it in all at once, that will reduce the temp of the pan.
One of the ‘Ancient Chinese Secrets’ is just the smoky flavor that a seasoned wok gives, increasingly, to everything that is cooked in it.
The Chinese call this, phonetically, the ‘Hay’ - the breath, spirit or energy - of the wok. (Which, if you actually pronounce the word, makes a lot of sense ;-)
Grace Young has written a very good book entitled ‘The Breath of a Wok’:
Thank you. I see some good tips here.
The second thing was the rice and chicken dish that I should have not used basmati rice in the recipe. The flavor was good but the rice was mushy from cooking too long.
Then the Chicken Pad Thai which I really liked. I'm still eating it as my husband decided he didn't like the flavors even though he LIKES Pad Thai Shrimp.
Lastly, I made a cheesecake today and it turned out GREAT. I'm sure it will be even better tomorrow after it chills thoroughly. My 7" springform pan was not quite deep enough but it still worked out okay. I'm doing a pot roast tomorrow.
I've been watching YouTube videos (Pressure Luck, for example) and bought a 500 recipe cook book. I'd love to hear of some more recipes y'all have enjoyed. Thanks!
The best carrot I ever ate was only seconds out of the soil on a friend’s farm, when I was walking around one early morning and poking at things I saw growing. I think I may have swished it in water a little, before eating ;-)
I haven’t tried cheesecake yet, but it’s on the list. (It’s hard to find an 8-inch springform pan in the thrift store - but if I think I can eventually find something there, I’ll wait instead of paying twice or more elsewhere :-)
I think we got the ‘burn food’ notice on one of our first forays, too. There’s a slight learning curve, but after that, lots of good results. We especially like it because it’s so fast; we’ve often used it on weeknights to make things we’d never otherwise make until the weekend.
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