Award-winning author Grace Young celebrates and demystifies the art of wok cooking for the Western home cook. When Gra
378 119 30MB
English Pages 253 Year 2004
Table of contents :
The Breath of a Wok
Grace Young and Alan Richardson
Acknowledgments
Contents
INTRODUCTION
SELECTION, SEASONING, AND CARE
EIGHT TREASURED TASTES
ESSENTIALS
THE ART OF STIR-FRYING
Reverence
Virtuous Wok
Wok Buying
Considerations When Choosing a Wok
Equipment Choices
Opening
Basic Steps to Seasoning a Wok
Wen Geng Lin's Chinese Chive Rub
Hung Chong Chinese Chive and Oil Stir-Fry
Julie Tay's Chinese Chive and Pork Fat Stir-Fry
Basic Oil Method
Tane Chan's Oven Oil Method
Western-Style Oven Oil Method
rhc Face ot a Wok
W Ok H 3 y The Breath of
Tastes
The Master Lesson
Florence Lin's Smoked Chicken and Eggs
Smoked Striped Bass
Smoked Striped Bass
-ftif Pan-Frying
Ginger and Scallion Oysters Lichee Garden
Virginia Yee's Dry-Fried Sichuan String Beans
Florence Lin's Tofu with Cilantro Relish
Cousin Sylvia's Drumsticks with Caramelized Onions
Auntie Bertha's Ginger Drumettes with Oyster Sauce
Che Chung Ng's Water Chestnut and Pork Omelets
Henry Hugh's Chinkiang Pork Chops
•):£ Braising
Auntie Betty's Cellophane Noodles, Mushrooms, and Barbecued Pork
Chinese Barbecued Pork
Cousin Doreen's Braised Spareribs and Asparagus
Cousin Judy's Tofu with Black Bean Sauce
Cousin Kathy's Lion's Head
Henry Hugh's Cantonese Stuffed Tofu
Curried Cauliflower, Napa Cabbage, and Carrots
Tina Yao Lu's Shanghai-Style Crabs and Rice Cakes
Margaret Loo's Braised Tofu and Mushrooms
Uncle Lang's Three Teacup Chicken
Danny Chan's Ginger and Scallion Crabs
Uncle Lang's Oyster Sauce Mushrooms
Virginia Yee's Beef Short Ribs with Scallions
Martin Yan's Mandarin Five-Flavored Boneless Pork Chops
Amy Tan tin (I the New Year’s Dumplings
\z>
Boiling Poaching
Amy Tan's Family's Jiao-zi
Jin Do's Tangy Ginger Sauce
Homemade Chicken Broth
Bernadette Chan's New Year's Poached Fish
Nevin Lim's Luffa with Gold and Silver Garlic
Winnie Hon's Silken Tofu with XO Sauce
Ray Lee's Cantonese Steamed Chicken
Danny Chan's Steamed Salmon with Lemon
is„/1,r
Dumpling Dough
Dumpling Dough Chive Variation
Scallop Siu Mai Spring Moon
Classic Steamed Fish Spring Moon
,h Deep-Frying
Scallop Crisp Spring Moon
Vegetarian Spring Rolls
Nevin Lim's Traditional Oyster Chicken
Winnie Hon's XO Sauce
Candied Walnuts
Men us
So ii ires
I ndex
The Breath of aW o k Unlocking the Spirit of Chinese W o k Cooking T h r o u g h R ec ip es a nd Lore
Grace Young
and
Alan R i c h a r d s o n
W ith Text iind Recipes by Grace Young
S im o n c\ S c h u s t e r
N e w Y o rk
London
T o ro n to
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S I M O N c\ SC I I U S T E R Rockefeller C enter 1230 A ve n u e of the Am ericas N e w York. N Y 10020 C opyright © 2004 by G race Young and Alan Richardson Text and Recipes copyright © 2004 by G race Young Photographs copyright © 2004 by Alan Richardson All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in w h o le or in part in any form. S im o n & S c h u s t e r
and colophon are registered tradem arks of Sim on & Schuster, Inc.
For inform ation regarding special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Sim on & Schuster Special Sales at 1-800-456-6798 or busm ess@ sim onandschuster com. Designed and produced by A lan Richardson for Plenty W orks, Inc., N e w York, NY Type consulting by Sm ythtype, Montclair, NJ Chinese typography by Birdtrack Press, N e w Haven, CT C olo r prints by C olor Resource Center, N e w York, NY M an u fa ctu re d in the U nited States of Am erica 10
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Library of Congress Catalogmg-m-Publication Data Young, G race The breath of a w ok: unlocking the spirit of Chinese w ok cooking through recipes and lore / by G ra ce Young and Alan Richardson p
cm
Includes bibliographical references and index 1 Cookery, C hinese 2 W o k cookery 3 Food habits— C hin a TX724 5 C 5Y593 641 59 51— dc22 ISBN 0-7432-3827-3
2004 2003070403
I Richardson, Alan II Title
1c k iio ii’lcil{linen is 4N
I his book w ould not Ilave boon possible' w ithou t
lav. Ken I o. I )r. and M rs. Kam Toa M ill, M argaret
the encouragement and lo w ol mv husband, M ichael
l oo. B e rn a d e tte C h a n , C h e f M in g T sai. I lelen
W ic rtz . w h o understood tlu- need tor .ill m v wok
( 'hen. ( 'lie f I )anny ( !han, IVipei ( 'hang.Jean Yueli.
journeys .uul good-naturedly accepted tli.it every
M illie C h a n . Florence I in. C h e f M a rtin Yan. C h et
adventure brought homo .it least
Sm ('h a h
o ik
*
new w ok tor
I ung, R a y Lee, C e c ilia C liia n g . C h e
m y collection. In the midst o f all the upheaval that
C h u n g N g. I ) r kson I lee, A m y Ian. Lou I )eM attei.
results trom creating a book, he was a paragon ot
|in I )o Hug, I ljun W an.Y u hang W ang, I long C h ang
calm. I or this and m uch more. I am grateful.
( 1110. and Yan Z h e n g Yan.
I w ould like to express m y appreciation to my
I leartfclt g ratitude and appreciation to the
parents. I lelen and D e lw y n Young, tor instilling in
cooks
me their love and passion tor Cantonese cuisine and
tie and uncle Hetty and R o y In n for hosting our
the unsurpassed brilliance ot a stir-fry w ith wok hoy.
fam ily w ok-a-thon party— w ith o u t their gracious
M a n y thanks to them tor their faith in me.
hospitality the event w o u ld never have happened.
Special thanks to Rosanna and C .Y . Shum ; my
111
m v family, w ith special thanks to my aun
A nd to all the participants: B erth a Je w ; Lillian and
visit w ith them in I lo n g K o n g in 2indulged
W illia m
J e w ; F ra n c e s a n d S h e r m a n Y o u n g ;
me in the fascinating w o rld of I lo n g K o n g —style
K ath erin e |cw L im ; D oreen and M e l Song; Sylvia,
co o k in g and in m any ways inspired the w ritin g ot
F re d , and T h o m a s C h o w ; C in d y and Z a n e
this book.
M atsuzaki; Judy, I )avid. and T im o th y Jew .
From the beginning. M artha Kaplan, m y agent
In llo n g K o n g and C h in a ; V irg in ia Y e e .T in a
and triend. has cham pioned this project and ottered
Yao Lu. M a ry C hau, N e v in L im .C h e t Kevin C ln ik ,
w ise counsel— usually over
C h in ese meal. As the
W alte r K e i, C h e f Ip C'hi C h eu n g , C h e f Lee W an
book began to take shape, m y dear friend Laura
C h in g . C 'h e f Y i p W i n g W a ll, C 'h e f L o o n C h i
C erw m sk e generously did the prelim in ary editing
C h eung , M r. and M rs.Yang Lang Ling (U n c le Lang
of m y rough drafts, helping me to set the founda
and A u n tie Y i). and Liang N ia n X iu .
.1
tion ot m y story. It was m v good fortune to have
I here are several individuals m entioned
111
the
m y uncle S u n Y u i Lun g give the C h in ese titles for
long list o f cooks w e interview ed w hose c o n trib u
each essay and section ot the book. 11e has been a
tions extended far beyond our cooking sessions. W e
constant ad viso r from the b e g in n in g , p atien tly
are profoundly grateful to Florence L in , w h o c o n
researching and consulting
sulted on numerous culinary questions w ith excep
011
any type ot Chinese
cultural question that confused me.
tional grace and generosity.
I o w e a special debt of g ra titu d e to E v ie R ig h te r, w h o cam e to my rescue
W ith o u t M illie C h a n we w o u ld have never
num erous
had the o p p o rtu n ity to meet Flo ren ce Lin . M illie
occasions, p ro vid in g invaluable ed ito rial guidance
was one ot the first cooks w e in te rvie w e d and
on the recipes and essays. I ler critiq u es always
from the start o f the project she and her husband,
illum inated the material, ottering insights and clar
L o - Y i, have been great supporters.
011
I w ill always treasure the tim e spent w ith my
ity that eluded me. In w ritin g this book. Alan and I have had the
U n c le Lang and A u n tie Y i
111
Foshan, C h in a. W h e n
e x tra o rd in a ry pleasure of m e e tin g m any great
I last saw them over tw en ty years ago, our rela
teachers w h o generously shared th eir expertise
tionship was much more formal. I was very touched
and friendship. ( )u r profound thanks to the hom e
to be w elcom ed into their hom e to spend an after
co o ks and chefs w h o g ra cio u sly w e lc o m e d us
noon co o kin g and sharing a meal. I thank them for
in to th eir kitchens.
em bracing our project and tirelessly accom panying
In the U n it e d States: C h e t Susan na lo o . W in n ie I Ion. ( ' het I le n ry I lugh, Susan I
I he lirc tiih 0) (i 11'ok-
111.
|ulie
us to the local m arkets, iloi />, and the cake flips over.
Chans words ring 111 my ears as I arrive back in
O n the stove beside him. Napa cabbage braises with
I long Kong on my way to meet C h e f Kevin Clink
Chinese mushrooms, and in the last station chicken
o f the Chinese Cuisine Training Institute. C h e f
stock simmers in a mammoth 28-inch wok.
Chuk.a native o f Sichuan province, is adamant that
C h e f Ip tells me that the Cantonese-style
nothing compares to the practicality o f a light
carbon-steel wok used by home cooks is also
weight northern-style carbon-steel wok. His style of
ideal for a professional kitchen, but in a larger size
stir-frying relies on holding the wok by its long
and preferably hand-hammered, w hich makes it
metal handle and using the /> < #< >action to keep the
more durable. A Cantonese-style cast-iron wok is
food moving in the rounded bowl-shaped wok; he
too fragile for the rough work environment o f a
The lircnth of «/ 11’«»A*
Tanc Chilli oj I 'lic Wok Shop in San I-min isco lias had orer thirty years of experience aJ rising customers oil hoir to adapt the wok to tin Western kitchen.
professional kitchen. In fact, cast-iron woks are not even manufactured for restaurant use. “ W e prefer the 19-inch Cantonese-style w ok to stirfry, pan-fry, braise, boil, poach, steam, and deep-fry. For great quantities such as banquetstyle food the Cantonese have woks as biii as 48 inches.You can't find northern-style woks larger than IS inches.The pao action would be impossible in such a wok, because it would be too heavy to lift
Chinese kitchen requires adjustment.“ explains I lom.
with its lone metal handle. A 19-inch Cantonese-
I like having the same wok that Chinese cooks
style w ok is more practical — we can easily lift the
used 2,000 years ago. T h e brilliant design o f a tra
w ok to />