You’re already used to using the wok for stir-fries, but did you know you can cook so much more in a wok, including using it for deep-frying and steaming?
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The wok is an extremely versatile frying pan that can easily substitute your standard pans when cooking potatoes, vegetables and burgers, not to mention it is an ideal instrument for indoor smoking.
The history of the wok
Used as a primary cooking utensil throughout East Asia and Southeast Asia for hundreds of years, the wok originates in China, although historians can’t agree exactly when this cookware was invented, whether 2,000 years ago or merely 500 years ago.
Nevertheless, it is a commonly accepted fact that the wok has become one of the most popular utensils in a kitchen and is a cooking item that allows for so much more than stir-frying.
All the things you can accomplish with a wok
Although this cooking pan is used primarily for making stir-fries, you can also use it in many other ways.
- Steaming in a wok
You will need to use a traditional Chinese bamboo steamer insert or a metal steaming rack to steam using a wok. The first is an ideal choice, as this is a cooking tool that will help absorb excess moisture so much better.
If using a metal steaming rack, preferably use one with hooks to hang over the edge of the wok, although steaming racks with legs will also get the job done just fine. Remember to bring the liquid to a boil before adding the food to the steamer.
- Pan frying in a wok
The reason so many people prefer to fry in a wok than a standard pan is that food cooks so much better and in a much shorter time. Pan-frying or sautéing in a wok is easy and the technique is most often associated with French cuisine.
How you sauté food is you shake the pan back and forth over intense heat, with no utensils so that you cook all sides and keep the food from burning. Sautéing is done using butter or oil, usually oil for cooking over very high heat and butter for sautéing over medium high heat.
- Deep-frying in a wok
You will get the advantage of needing to use less oil when deep-frying in a wok, about 2 inches of oil usually sufficing. Also, you will get to fry more food in a single batch, because there is more room in a wok than in a standard pan.
Note that you should use a deep-fry thermometer and check the oil’s temperature before adding the food, one piece at a time to have them fry evenly.
- Making soup in a wok
Soups also cook a lot faster in a wok that in a traditional pot, including classic soups, so it doesn’t have to be an Asian recipe.
To make soup, start by sautéing the aromatics, then add the meat if you’re using, deglaze, finally adding the stock. Bring everything to a simmer and let it reduce. Soups will reduce faster in the wok.
- Indoor smoking with a wok
Smaller foods are great to smoke indoors using a wok. The procedure is to line the wok with aluminum foil 2 to 3 inches over the side to help make a lid.
Then add the smoking ingredients, which could be wood chips from hardware stores or kitchen supplies stores.
Take another piece of aluminum foil and shape it into a circle to cover the wood chips. Than place a round cooling rack in the wok and add the food on top. Cover with aluminum foil so that there is enough air circulating inside and make sure to crimp the edges so that no smoke gets out.
Place it on the stovetop and smoke over high heat until you start noticing some smoke, then turn the heat down to medium and let the food smoke.