Used correctly, a wok can be the saviour of weeknight dinners. I need to emphasise used correctly here, because the way so many of us have been taught to cook with a wok is the exact opposite of how they are best used. A wok isn’t a big pot. Its main purpose is to cook small quantities of food quickly.
The giant woks over fire-breathing wok-burners in restaurants turn out a single plate at a time, but at home, we try to load enough ingredients to feed the whole family into a wok and wonder why it turns out soggy.
If you have eight ingredients, make four smaller wok-fried dishes using two ingredients each, instead of one big one that uses all eight. You’ll have a greater variety of servings, and they’ll turn out like proper wok-fried dishes instead of one big stew.
Prawn and corn fried rice
(Pictured above)
Many fried rice recipes take their cue from the classic Yangzhou fried rice (often seen on Australian menus as special fried rice), where small amounts of different ingredients give the rice a multi-coloured confetti appearance – but fried rice doesn’t need to be made up of a lot of things. This version simply uses prawns, corn and spring onions, and makes for an amazing meal.
Using cold rice from the fridge will allow you to separate the grains with a squashing motion of your spatula, without turning it into mush. Make sure you use plenty of oil, as the oil should coat the grains. Not using enough oil is one of the most common mistakes people make with fried rice.
Serves 4
Prep 10 min
Cook 10 min
¼ cup (60ml) vegetable oil, plus extra if needed
12 large raw prawns (about 400g meat), peeled and butterflied
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 corn cobs, kernels stripped
3 eggs
4 cups (740g) leftover cooked jasmine rice, refrigerator cold
Salt and ground white pepper, to season
3 spring onions, finely sliced
Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the oil. Add the prawns and fry for about two minutes until not quite cooked through. Toss the garlic through the prawns.
Add the corn kernels and cook for a further minute or two until they brighten. Remove the mixture from the pan.
Add a little extra oil to the pan if needed. Add the eggs and mix vigorously until the egg is cooked and starts to break into small pieces.
Return the prawn and corn mixture to the pan and add the rice. Fry, tossing, until well combined and the rice is heated through and lightly toasted. Season well with salt and pepper.
Stir the spring onion through and serve.
Scallops, asparagus and bacon
This is a western stir-fry, and why not? A few ingredients tossed together in a frying pan and seasoned is exactly what a stir-fry is – you don’t even need to do it in a wok. You can call it a sauté if you prefer.
We don’t talk about vinegars enough. Most chefs I know spend a lot of time finding good vinegars to finish dishes with, and are even more specific about the vinegars they use than they are about oils. Salad dressings aside, a quick splash of vinegar is an excellent way to finish sauces, stews or even stir-fries like this one.
Serves 4
Prep 5 min
Cook 10 min
25g butter
8 large scallops, roe off
80g bacon or speck, cut into lardons
½ brown onion, finely sliced
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 5cm lengths
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Salt and black pepper, to season
Soft bread rolls, to serve
Heat a large frying pan or wok over a high heat and add a little of the butter. Sear the scallops for a minute or two on each side until just barely cooked through. Remove to a plate.
Add the bacon to the pan and fry until lightly browned, then remove and add to the scallops.
Add the onion and remaining butter. Toss the onion for a minute until softened, then add the asparagus and toss for about two minutes until the asparagus is just cooked. Add the vinegar and season generously with black pepper and a touch of salt, if needed.
Return the bacon and scallops to the pan and toss to combine, then remove to a plate and serve with bread to mop up the buttery juices.
Cashew nut chicken
The origins of this dish go back to the Chinese classic, gong bao ji ding – often Anglicised as kung pao chicken. Sichuan peppercorns are left out, hot dried chillies are replaced with capsicum, spring onions with regular onions, peanuts with cashews, and black vinegar with white. I love both versions.
Note: Adding a little cornflour slurry (cornflour mixed with cold water) at the end is a vital step in many stir-fried dishes. It thickens the pan juices and sauces and helps them coat the ingredients. It’s as important to wok cooking as turning a fond into a sauce is to French cuisine.
Serves 4
Prep 10 min
Cook 10 min
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 250g), cut into 2cm cubes
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
2 tsp cornflour
¼ cup (60ml) vegetable oil
3 slices of fresh ginger, bruised
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 small brown onion, cut into 3cm chunks
½ red capsicum (bell pepper), cut into 3cm chunks
½ green capsicum (bell pepper), cut into 3cm chunks
1 cup (150g) unsalted roasted cashew nuts
For the sauce
2 tbsp chicken stock or water
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1½ tsp sugar
½ tsp sesame oil
Combine the sauce ingredients and set aside.
Place the chicken, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and one teaspoon of the cornflour in a bowl and mix well to coat the chicken. Blend the remaining teaspoon of cornflour with ½ cup (60 ml) cold water and set aside.
Heat a wok over a high heat until very hot. Add two tablespoons of the oil around its edge, letting it run down into the centre of the wok. Add the chicken and fry for about three minutes until browned and separated. Remove the chicken from the wok.
Add the remaining oil to the wok, then add the ginger, then the garlic, and toss for about 30 seconds until the garlic is browned. Add the onion and capsicum and toss for a minute or two until just starting to soften. Add the stir-fry sauce and bring the sauce to a simmer.
Return the chicken to the wok and toss through the sauce. Drizzle in some of the cornflour mixture, shaking the wok and using only as much as is needed to thicken the contents to a silky consistency.
Toss the cashews through and serve.
This is an edited extract from Tonight’s Dinner by Adam Liaw, published by Hardie Grant Books and SBS, RRP $45. Available in stores nationally. Photography: Steve Brown; Set photography: Bruce Walters
