How to Cook in a Wok

Do you love going to your favorite Chinese restaurant and watching the chef cook in a wok? The meals go together so quickly. That woman on TV hasn’t got anything on this chef. Who needs thirty minutes when this guy can prepare a great meal in less than five? If only you could prepare your meals that quickly at home. Actually, you can. All you need to do is learn the steps so that you to can cook in a wok.

Instructions

1. Prep the ingredients. Cooking in a wok requires high heat. For this reason, it’s important to properly prep your ingredients on they could burn. Your aromatics should be finally minced so that they quickly flavor the oil. Meats should be finely sliced so that they cook quickly. Vegetables on the other hand should be cut into bite sized pieces so that the cook without being overdone.

2. Heat the wok before coating with oil. It’s important to get your wok screaming hot before you cook in it. Afterwards, you can then add oil and swish the pan around until the oil coats the pan evenly. This ensures that your ingredients don’t stick during the high heat cooking process.

3. Add the aromatics. The aromatics, such as garlic and ginger, flavor the oil so that the other ingredients will soak up the flavor as they cook. This is also the time to add any other seasonings your recipe calls for.

4. Cook the meat. Because the meat is so thinly sliced, this process will go quickly. All you need to do is cook the meat until it is cooked through and then remove it from the wok. This ensures that the wok stays hot enough to cook the vegetables.

5. Sauté the vegetables. Vegetables will take a bit more time to cook, but you must remember to not overcook them. The vegetables should still be crisp, but not raw.

6. Place the meat back in with the vegetables. Right before serving, you will toss the meat back in with the vegetables. Stir long enough for the meat to get hot and not a moment longer.

Tips & Warnings

• The most important tips for wok cooking are to keep the pan hot and the ingredients moving.

• Keep the meat warm by placing it in a dish covered with aluminum foil.

• If your dish needs to be thickened, add a cornstarch slurry after the meat goes back into the wok.

• While it’s important to add the aromatics first, do not let them brown. Once garlic turns brown the flavor is ruined and you will have to start over.

• Remember to keep the ingredients moving or they could stick to the wok and burn.