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Solis Gourmet Wok preparation methods
Originally, the wok comes from China. For genera-
tions, it has been used to prepare delicious, healthy
dishes in a simple way. Delicious and healthy
because thanks to the short cooking time, the
ingredients remain appetizingly crisp and the
valuable vitamins and minerals are preserved.
Marinating (yan)
Before cooking, meat, fish or vegetables are mixed
with rice wine (or sherry as a substitute), soy sauce,
spices and/or further ingredients to give them a
special flavour.
Covering with a coat of batter (guahu)
Hu is a mixture of starch and water or eggs. The
batter's consistency should be such that dipped
ingredients are thickly coated. With this method,
the food will be crispy on the outside while tender
on the inside. By the way, gua means coating or
covering.
Covering with a coat of starch (shangjiang)
As opposed to the guahu method, this batter made
from egg whites, starch and water is much thinner.
Ingredients are only covered with a thin coat of
batter. They retain their shape and stay perfectly
tender.
Stir-frying (chao)
Within only minutes, ingredients are cooked in a very
hot wok containing warm oil. It is important that the
contents are constantly flipped and tossed and that
ingredients are cut into small pieces of even size to
ensure that everything is heated the same.
Meat, fish and vegetables are prepared separately to
preserve their characteristic flavour. Before serving,
all ingredients and the sauce are mixed together and
briefly heated up again.
Wet-frying (liu)
Similar method as stir-frying, the difference being
that the ingredients are heated with a small amount
of liquid, for example stock.
Braising (shao)
Ingredients are braised in stock in a covered wok. At
the end, the broth is simmered over high heat until it
thickens.
Frying (zha)
Ingredients are cooked swimming in hot oil. In
Chinese cuisine, two methods are commonly used:
frying in warm oil (in Chinese when you), in which
the ingredients retain their relatively light colour, and
frying in hot oil (in Chinese re you), which results in
crisply fried ingredients.
The most important ingredients in Asian
cuisine
Ginger
Fresh ginger is an ingredient that is found in almost
every Asian dish. Nowadays, it is readily available in
the Western world. The exotic tuber is peeled and
then processed for cooking as specified in the recipe.
Soybean sprouts
Soybean sprouts are added to many Asian dishes and
are exceptionally rich in vitamins. They are available
fresh or canned in our stores.
Bamboo shoots
These young shoots of certain kinds of bamboo are
an integral part of numerous Asian recipes. Here,
they are only available canned.
Soy sauce
The extract of fermented soybeans has become a
standard ingredient also in Western cuisines. For
Asian cooking, it is indispensable. Dark soy sauce is
saltier than the light variety.
Kecap manis
This thick dark sauce is also known as sweet soy
sauce and is used mainly in Indonesian cooking.
Hoisin sauce
This thick red-brown sauce is also known as Asia's
ketchup. It is made from soy sauce, garlic, sugar and
spices and has a sweet-spicy taste. It is used as a
dip with meat and poultry dishes.
