Foodie Lass Budget-friendly Asian meals in 30 Minutes or less.
Ching He-Huang is an Emmy-nominated award winning TV chef and cookery book author. She has presented eleven TV shows and is the author of ten cookery books. Wok for Less is her latest amazing cookery book.
Now is the time to dig out your wok – although I have never put mine away, it has always been available to cook stir-fried vegetables.
I have always believed that the wok style of cooking was a very healthy way of cooking various styles of food – quick and easy, and just using one pan. It encourages you to use less oil as the food is continually moving around on a high heat. A round-bottom wok is best to use on a gas hob and a flat-bottom one works better on a ceramic or an electric hob.
The reader can pick up great tips from the cook’s notes section – shop wisely with advice on substitute ingredients whether you are a meat lover or veggie, go nuts with advice on nutrition of the various types and how to buy in bulk, and last but not least, fruit platter for dessert with advice on healthy options instead of a sugar-laden dessert.
A particularly unique feature of Wok for Less is the chapter on Easy Freezy, which gives the opportunity for the reader to use the freezer for delicious meals such as fish balls, meatballs and various styles of dumpling plus warming robust soups.. The freezing guidelines are also explained which allows you to have good quality food on the table in minutes.
If you are looking to cook either Chinese- or Asian-style food then this recipe book is for you. It’s full of wonderfully tasty (and economical) recipes using your wok.
Here is a truly simple and inexpensive recipe to try for a mid-week supper (adapted from the book)
Oyster Sauce Beef X Red Onion X Beansprouts
Serves 1
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large red onion, thinly sliced into crescent moons
120g (4 ½ oz) beef sirloin, sliced into thin beansprout like strips
1 tbsp Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 handful of beansprouts
1 tbsp low-sodium light soy sauce
1 spring onion, trimmed and sliced into 1 cm (1/2 in) rounds to garnish
cooked jasmine rice
Heat a wok over a high heat until smoking. Add the rapeseed oil and give it a swirl. Add the garlic and toss for a couple of seconds, then add the red onion, toss for 5 seconds, then add the beef. Let it settle for a couple of seconds then add the Shaohsing rice wine or sherry and toss well. Add the dark soy sauce and oyster sauce and toss again. Follow with the beansprouts and toss for 1 minute until they are tender.
Season with the light soy sauce and garnish with the spring onion. Serve immediately.
Enjoy with a bowl of cooked jasmine rice.
Shaoshing rice wine – Made from rice, millet and yeast that has been aged for 3-5 years, it gives a bittersweet finish. Dry sherry makes a good substitute.
This has a vegan option – Use sliced mushrooms or strips of smoked tofu instead of the beef.
Wok for Less is available from all the usual book outlets – published by Kyle Books, an imprint of Octopus Publishing Group Ltd. Photography for recipes by Jamie Cho.
