> From: "Barbarisi, Karen R." <Barbarisi.Karen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: baked beans and woks
> also, what are the advantages of cooking vegies in a wok? I regularly
> use a saute pan and wanted to know the difference.
Chinese cooks swear by their old seasoned woks. The ones most Chinese
households use are the traditional "cheap" black iron(?) woks. It takes a
long time to season the wok. I know my mom began by coating the wok with a
layer of oil, and left it overnight. She NEVER scrubs her wok. She cleans
it (after cooking) by merely rinsing it under running water and running a
smooth sponge (sometimes with a little detergent) over it. There is a thick
layer of tar (?), or whatever it is, on the under side of the wok.
It is believed that a good seasoned wok improves the flavour of food cooked
in it. Sometimes I feel that the technique of stir frying is more important
than the cooking equipment used. But then again, my stir fried vegies
tasted different (i.e. not as good) when I cooked them using a saute pan
while backpacking in Australia. Hmmm..
I have more control with my vegies using a wok. The sides are higher, so
it's easier to toss the vegies around while the heat is on. Well, I guess
they shouldn't call it STIR-frying. Most people misunderstand and just STIR
the food in the wok, it's really tossing the food. You never press the food
onto the base of the pan/wok.
Enough rambling! 8)
Karen
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Look your best, who said love is blind? - by Mae West
KAREN LIM koombana_TheGreat@xxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.bigfoot.com/~koombana_TheGreat
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