What can you cook with the wok? Some basic techniques

There wok it is a very ancient cooking container which in recent years has become a sort of archetype of ethnic preparations for Western cuisine. This object with a simple and minimal design fully reflects the philosophy of oriental cuisine: simplifying things in order to obtain a great effect with limited effort. This is why the wok will be a pan, a pot, a fryer, a saucepan from time to time. This essentiality allows us to obtain a lively cuisine, made up of strong flavors and aromas and which often loves to be accompanied by hints of coriander, cardamom and anise.

Wok cooking methods are quite varied. The most obvious and natural, at the basis of Kitchen with this tool, it is certainly to roast and sauté. This cooking has the advantage of being able to act on the temperature to which the ingredients are subjected: in fact, most of the heat is concentrated on the bottom of the wok, in the smallest part, and the food is prepared very quickly, remaining crunchy but tender inside. For this purpose it is useful to grease the wok twice, once cold and once once it has been placed on the flame. The cooking oil must be hot.

There brazing It's another technique for which the wok is perfectly suited. Once greased, the ingredients should be sautéed and watered with the chosen broth or sauce, and then adjust the flame to a much gentler setting. The conical shape allows you to use less liquid than a traditional saucepan. Obtaining a thick sauce at the end of cooking will therefore be easier.

The same principle of economy applies in the case of frying real. A minimal amount of oil will be enough to obtain the same frying as a traditional fryer or pan.

The last large family of wok cooking techniques is perhaps one of the most interesting ones. There steam cooking it is in fact a less well-known aspect of the potential of this container but it is instead one of the most relevant in terms of healthy eating. Cooking usually takes place in a bamboo basket - it can also be cooked on special steel baskets, but bamboo alters the flavors less - which is placed in the wok. The water at the bottom must not come into contact with the basket and must be brought to the boil, checking the level from time to time. The ingredients can be placed directly in the basket, or better yet on an aromatic base of spices from which they will absorb the aroma and scents.