Take This Wok--and Season It! Tips from the Wok Doctor, Grace Young
I love Chinese food, but have never over the years even attempted to cook it for myself, preferring to order Chinese out at restaurants or to let my friends in Vermont, Zachary and Clark, make Chinese specialties for me. That is until I met Grace Young.
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet Young, the author of several award-winning Chinese cookbooks including her latest, Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge. Thanks to suggestions from Al Dente readers and some advice from Zachary and Clark, I was ready for her. I'd bought a Joyce Chen Wok Set, which included a 14-inch, flat-bottom, carbon steel wok with both a skillet and helper handle made of birch wood.
The task of seasoning a wok has always seemed daunting to me, but for Young, it's just second nature. What an honor to watch her in the kitchen with my wok in-hand. Here's what happened:
First she scoured my wok with hot water and soap, to remove the factory's temporary rust-proof coating. Then she heated the freshly cleaned wok on the stove top, slowly at first to remove any water. Once the water had evaporated, she added vegetable oil, sliced unpeeled ginger and two-inch pieces of scallions.
Young cooked them over medium heat, pressing the ingredients into the pan with the back of a metal spatula. After fifteen minutes of this "seasoning", she removed the wok from the heat. Once the wok had cooled down, she tossed out both the ginger and scallions and rinsed the wok under hot water again, this time without soap. Then she dried the wok on a hot burner, to make sure there are no residual water droplets and protect it from rust.
Now I have a seasoned wok with the beginning of a beautiful, mottled patina. Want to know the first dish I made with my new wok? You're not going to believe it! Join me tomorrow...
--Tracy Schneider
Eelectric Kettle on June 08, 2010 at 01:34 AM
Wonderful! I will have a try according to your instruction. And I think that you will love to use our electric kettle for your after dinner tea or coffee.
dick on June 08, 2010 at 07:59 AM
Got started with wok cooking using her book The Breath of the Wok. Fantastic book. I then went to Chinatown here in NYC and surprisingly the store I went to was one that was owned by a friend of hers who set me right on what I needed in the way of equipment. I have been wokking (is that a word?) ever since. Once you get the hang of it it is so easy and so good. You will wish you had been doing it for years. I love to keep trying different ingredients. I am my own Asian fusion chef with the stuff I combine.
Tracy Schneider on June 08, 2010 at 12:51 PM
Thanks, Electric Kettle. Give it a try!
Speaking of Asian fusion, Dick, you'll love Grace Young's latest book Stir-frying to the Sky's Edge, which includes stories of the Chinese diaspora and many unusual recipes like Chinese-Jamaican Jerk Chicken Fried Rice and Chinese Trinidadian Stir-Fried Shrimp with Rum. They make me want to "get wokking" right now!
Charles G Thompson on June 08, 2010 at 08:25 PM
Your timing with this article is perfect. I recently bought Grace's new book and her wok. I should have read her book before seasoning mine (I followed the directions that came with the wok). I didn't know I could, or should, actually cook food in it like she did in yours. I look forward to using both the wok and her new book.
Tracy Schneider on June 08, 2010 at 10:35 PM
Charles, what a coincidence! What was the first dish you made in your new wok? Here's mine:
http://www.aldenteblog.com/2010/06/my-popcorn-popper-my-wok.html
Charles G Thompson on June 09, 2010 at 11:54 AM
Hi Tracy- I haven't had time to cook with either the book or the wok yet. I hope to do some cooking with both very soon. Love that you made popcorn in yours. That might be my first dish too.
Tracy Schneider on June 09, 2010 at 01:13 PM
Charles, one taste of wok popped popcorn, and you'll never make it any other way!