New Year, New Site!

Hi, if you've landed here, I've moved my blog to my new and rebranded website, so PLEASE visit me at wokstar.us/blog!

This will be the last post here...
I was invited by NBC Miami to celebrate Chinese New Year with their audience and thought you might enjoy some funny things that happened and the three lessons I learned:
– check lists are only good if you actually check them
– sisters are helpful except when their shots are of producer’s backs
– you can’t always trust your GPS

Thanks to Betty Yu, news reporter for NBC Miami for hooking me up with the producer for the Today Weekend Sunday Show to celebrate Chinese New Year!

Jennifer Reeves, meteorologist made my cooking segment so much FUN! She’s the BEST, got right to my cooking classes and Wok Star Kit, what a STAR!

I got Jennifer to stir fry and had to apologize because she had to use a plastic spatula, yuk! While packing for the TV appearance, I forgot to repack my spatula even though I checked it over & over, so thank goodness there was one in the studio drawer! This goes to show the IMPORTANCE of a good tool and why my spatula is so perfect.

Uh the spatula wasn’t the only thing I forgot, I also forgot the dish to put my prepped vegetables prior to the stir fry. Good thing I can think fast and used the red paper plates!

Sharon Lawson, news reporter had a taste of the Sizzling Shrimp dish and asked about my Chinese New Year table setting before winding down the news show. I can’t wait for them to join me in a Wok Star class.

After the show, we were chatting and Sharon thought she was supposed to sprinkle the contents of her red packet into the Shrimp dish! Good thing Jennifer stopped her cause she knew it was a buddha inside!

It was fortunate my sister, Valerie was visiting and was able to help me. It’s not easy to drive, work the GPS, setup and take photos as well as focus on my message, ha, ha!

Thanks to Yari, the floor producer for all your help. Sorry, my sister only got your back! Wow, you were fantastic running the whole show. I love how the reporters and producer would say, “oh, 15 seconds is a long time!” Really?

Thanks NBC Miami for inviting me!

Tasty Wok Dinner Using What's In Fridge

I had all the ingredients to make a dinner: broccoli, penne, grape tomatoes, cured salted pork I used to experiment with seasoning a new cast iron wok! Lime to give broccoli some zest & Yuzu Pao chili sauce to spice it all up.

I fried these slices of pork till slightly crispy and all the fat was rendered. This pork is so similar to bacon except it's meatier which I prefer (definitely use this again.) Then used fat to fry the broccoli with garlic & ginger.

Fried grape tomatoes with scallions using Tea Seed Oil.

Combined the broccoli, chopped pork, grape tomatoes, scallions and penne, added Yuzu Pao chili sauce.

Dinner ready with side of my Easy Kimchi!

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www.wokstar.us

Buy tix to Common Threads Fundraiser

Excited to announce chef lineup for Common Threads healthy eating demos at Jungle Island! Iron Chef contestant, Chef Dena Marino will be headlining this Saturday at 2pm. Posting schedule soon.

The Common Threads kids and I will be wokking up a healthy, easy, sizzling one dish dinner for busy weeknights: beef with baby bok choy. And if they can do it, so can you!

Bring the kids, head out to Jungle Island, there'll be lots to see and do. $10 off usual entrance of $35 for a good cause plus you can visit Jungle Island!

Kudos to all the organizations for joining up to help on this important issue to fight childhood obesity and nutrition.

You must buy your tickets AHEAD, click to KidsEatMiami for details and find out more about Common Threads and why you should get involved!

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www.wokstar.us

Healthy, Easy Wok Stir Frys

"Gourmet Goodness with the Wok Star"
My cooking demo setup at Whole Foods Market, Pinecrest today.
It's not hard to do a beautiful setup:
I 'borrowed' gorgeous yellow & purple orchids.
Eye popping colorful, fresh veggies.

It's always thrilling to show healthy, easy Wok Stir Frys and today, I got the chance to do just that! It was great to see more kids shopping with their parents and were lured by the delicious smells from my wok cooking. Parents were constantly surprised their kids wanted to taste my veggies since they won't eat them at home. They're even more surprised to find with just a dash of tamari and sherry, veggies can taste so GOOD.

A mom was so excited to tell me that EVERYTHING I used in the dish had NO GLUTEN! Her son had many allergies and she was looking for new ways to make his dinners more palatable and she found the ticket. I had another lady write down all the veggies I used so she could replicate the exact stir fry for her husband. When I explained that there were no rules and you could combine any veggies, she said she didn't want to take any chances because her husband was a very picky eater. She ran around the store and bought the exact same veggies and seasonings I used and was so proud to show them to me.

Many smart moms are bringing their college bound teenagers to my cooking class. They've realized they don't want them to go out to eat every night. It's expensive and probably doesn't involve healthy choices. I must track down numerous articles where college kids take turns to cook on campus instead of clubbing and is the new trend.

I've not finished reading this article: Produce by "Prescription" Seeks to Address Childhood Obesity but I know many kids who stop by my demos really enjoyed my veggies! Flavor is of utmost importance to kids but they also love veggies that are colorful, crispy and crunchy!

Aromatics included scallions, ginger, garlic.
Kick it up with Fresh shitake mushrooms.

Purple curly kale, Shanghai Bok Choy, Nappa cabbageDifferent textures: eggplant, daikon, carrots, red bell, napa, bok choy.

Chopped veggies ready to go straight into wok. Daikon, red bell, eggplant, purple curly kale.

Whenever I do these demos, I simply use all leftover ingredients for that evening's dinner.
I had some cooked red quinoa and firm toufu (Leasa brand) which is my fav, less watery, so you can really crisp it up when you stir fry it. Cubed toufu and marinaded with Stubbs BBQ sauce, such a time saver. It's spicy and tangy, just hits all the right notes.

Stir fry of purple curly kale, turnip, carrots, scallions.

Dinner was ready in minutes. So, when you run out of meal ideas, just remember that you can make a quick dinner with just ONE veggie, a protein like toufu and red quinoa. It doesn't have to be a big production.
Get your kids to help by cutting up the veggies, cubing the toufu, marinading. They love participating in the act of cooking and let them do the stir frying. Believe it or not, they really enjoy putting the dinner on the table if you let them. I know I was always fascinated watching our 'amah' cook when I was growing up in Hong Kong. Little did I know that I would be showing others how to cook in a wok!

Italian in a Wok!

Italian in a Wok!

THREE INGREDIENTS: chicken sausages, rapini, pasta.

This is such a simple, quick, easy dinner that I'm surprised I don't make it more often! Italian in a Wok. YES, you heard right. It's perfect for a hot summer night.

I know I'm constantly trying to encourage you to use your wok to cook everything, not just an Asian stir fry but really, it works so well because of its shape and wide opening so food don't fall out.

So, here's my Italian dinner:
Just THREE INGREDIENTS: chicken sausages, rapini and pasta.
Well, you can't count garlic, ginger, chili flakes, dried tomatoes. Those are ingredients you always have, right? I prefer chicken sausage (Aidell's or similar) which are not so fatty but so tasty, no MSG or tons of preservatives.

I use my cast iron wok and portable gas stove which sits on top of my electric coil stove. This is the BEST setup and works like MAGIC!

Start with boiling pasta in pot. Drain and keep some of the juice.

In your wok, boil water with drop of oil. Add your washed rapini with pinch of salt. It doesn't take long, so give a taste and when it's just tender, it's done. Drain but keep some of the juice.

Yes, it's fine to use liquid in your wok, once you start frying with oil, your patina will build back up immediately, don't worry.

Dry your wok. Heat your wok on medium high, add little oil, add diced garlic and ginger, add chopped sausages.

Plate your pasta, add rapini with juice from rapini and pasta. Top with sausages, chopped dried tomatoes and sprinkles of chili flakes, dinner is ready!

This is such a tasty, easy, quick dish. It's what being a Wok Star is all about...enjoy.

Fairchild's Food and Garden Festival

What a lovely way to spend a weekend!  I was invited to give a cooking demonstration and blog about Fairchild Garden's 2nd Annual Food and Garden Festival.

Schedule included a wide variety of cooking demos.

Banana nut cake for Ralph from Native Conch.

By the time I got there, nothing was left in the way of savory food!

I hope you'll make it to this event next year, it was a lot of fun meeting people who also enjoy fresh local produce and getting to know the farmers.  In the meantime, I encourage you to shop at your organic and farmer's market or visit Redlands if you live in Miami before it gets too hot!  My post on Seasonal Foods has lots of meal ideas and tips.

Nothing excites me more than seeing and smelling beautiful, fresh produce. 

I was a bit upset I didn't end up buying any produce because I'd just given a cooking class and always have  leftovers.  My parents went through a war so we were always taught never to waste food.  It drove me crazy to see all the food and not get any.

Selection of colorful and interesting combination of teas!

There was a lovely variety of farm produce.  I will be posting a series since there is so much to share. This first one will give you a little peak.

I had one of Gaby's Tropical Ice, cold, yummy and creamy mango.

She grows her own fruit to make these desserts!

What I love about giving live presentations is that it gives me a chance to interact with people. It's a great way to find out the problems people have with stir frying in a wok!

I prepped in Fairchild's lovely kitchen and practiced what I preach, see the chopping board with grocery bag for the trimmings?

Here's swiss chard, red bell peppers, mustard greens, zucchini and carrots.

My produce were generously sponsored by Whole Foods Market in Coral Gables.

Shrimp were rinsed and dried with paper towels. A very important step, so you don't dilute your marinade and also prevents your shrimp from getting tough and chewy.

 I didn't realize my friend, Irene took this picture behind me. 

My demo was very well attended with over 60 signed up for my free newsletter, thank you for your interest!  There were a lot of questions posed mostly by guys! Thanks to Fairchild staff and volunteers.

 

See Peter Kastan's Miami River Wall video who was a speaker at this event.  Miami River Wall's new living, hydroponic herb, chili, edible flower wall will be hosting a series of my Wok Star cooking class so I hope to see many of you there!

Hani Khouri cooking up a fresh batch of falafel.

He was featured in Edible South Florida's Spring Issue with his cute kid goats and online. Do subscribe or pick up your copy from your nearest Whole Foods Market. It's full of stories, resources and has a calendar of all things edible and organic. Thanks for listing my cooking classes.

Katie, Edible South Florida publisher/editor and Annie, Special Events, Fairchild Tropical.

 My lunch: Falafel with pickled radish and 

hummus wrap from Hani's Organics.

In an upcoming series, I'll share a video of Food Network Celebrity Chef, Simply Delicioso Ingrid Hoffman making a fabulous mango and papaya dish as well as many more wonderful food stalls.

One-Dish Wok Meals

Wontons and toufu with lettuce, straw mushrooms in soup.

In this post, I want to focus on weeknight dinners. Hence the One-Dish Wok Meals.

There are so many beautiful food blogs to get recipes from (see sidebar), so what I want to do is share a different approach to cooking. It's stress free because you don't have to run out for special ingredients, follow a recipe and there's very little cleanup. Cook the gourmet dishes when you have more time.

Yes, I cook my wontons in my wok.

Single guys tell me they enjoy showing off their wok cooking to their dates! This made me laugh especially when they said it makes them look like they know what they're doing.

My posts: Keep Cooking Simple and Tasty, Wok Up Your Own Creations and Stir Frying Without Recipes will give you the complete scoop on how to achieve this.

Why a wok? Because it heats up fast, cooks fast and washes up fast and best of all, you can use this one pan for cooking EVERYTHING, not just Asian stir frys. Less clutter, less oil, less washing up.

Toufu, green beans, cherry tomatoes, straw mushrooms cooked in CurrySimple's Green Curry Sauce.

(I won't repeat what I've already said in other posts about my preseasoned, lightweight cast iron wok. On my website, I explain in great depth and discuss different types of woks as well as technique to be successful.)

Simple stir fried bok choy and red bell peppers with dash of tamari and sherry.

Buy Char Siu (Chinese roast pork), mix with bok choy dish, dinner!

One-Dish Wok Meals is how my husband and I eat most weeknights and we never get tired of them. It's really a no-brainer, it gives you the right balance of protein and carbs.

That's how I was brought up, lots of veggies, less meat. I cut out eating starch a while back because I'm on the cusp of Type II Diabetes, I discuss this in Healthy and Delicious Snack Ideas. When my doctor first told me to cut back eating so much rice, I thought she didn't realize I was Asian! Asians eat rice at every meal. I cut back a little at a time and finally didn't miss not having it at all. When I understood starch drives up sugar levels, it was easy to give it up and see my energy soar. As mentioned, we'll have quinoa more often than rice or noodles. I get into more depth about Diets on my website.

I hear amusing stories from many husbands who are relegated to washing dishes, so you'll be pleased to know it takes less than two minutes to wash up for a One-Dish Wok Meal.

A typical washup takes less than 2 minutes.

As you can see, I use my cast iron wok for cooking many different things! I'd love to hear what you cook up in your wok?

Yummy Asian meatloaf steamed (ground turkey and omboshi plums)

Tilapia with veggies in soup.