Wok This Way

For my first birthday that I lived on my own in Boston, my sister gave me a Joyce Chen wok. I have since lost, a) the chattie (the little ring that the wok is supposed to sit on to disperse the heat evenly) b) the little wire platform for steaming and c) the lid, which would have probably saved me from burning myself quite a few times with spattering oil.

While I'm nothing close to the masters you see at the Kowloon's Thai Grille, casually discoursing on the merits of various Red Sox pitchers while tending to giant woks that spout 2 foot sheets of flame, I am capable of producing edible meals from a simple rounded-bottom pan. Here's a recipe for yellow curry that makes real use of the time-honored technique of stir-frying tofu and vegetables in stages.

The ingredients:



Basically, a half package of firm or extra firm tofu cut into 1 x 2" slices and drained on some paper towels and whatever vegetables you'd like to stir-fry.

Here, I used 1 red pepper cut into strips, 1 medium sized sweet potato, some pineapple chunks, and some corn left over from a cookout (cut down the length of the cob to strip off the kernels).

For the sauce I used 1/2 can coconut milk, some natural peanut butter (about 1 tablespoon) and about a tablespoon and a half of Patak's Curry Paste.

The best practice is to assemble all the ingredients before you even start the wok, because once you get going, things need to be added fairly quickly.

Once the oil has heated to the point that it starts to smoke (over medium heat) add the tofu and stir fry until both sides are a nice golden brown. Then, using a wooden spoon or spatula, push the tofu up the sides of the wok and make a nice opening in the center. Add the sweet potato and let it get crispy on all sides. It's best to add the densest vegetables first as they will need the longest cooking time.



Once the potatoes have cooked, add the peppers and stir fry until cooked. Then add the corn and pineapple. Remember, you can add whatever vegetables you want, just be sure to cook them in succession, from hardest to softest, pushing each up the sides of the wok as they cook to make room for the next.



After all the vegetables and tofu (or meat) have cooked, make another clearing in the center and add the coconut milk, the curry paste and the peanut butter. Gently stir them together to make a rich, silky sauce and then stir the cooked tofu and vegetables in. Lower the heat and allow everything to simmer together for about 10 minutes. Add to rice or noodles and enjoy!

Wok This Way

Ice Box Cook'n: White Trash Key Lime Pie

The past few days may have been hot, but thank your god(s) that at least it's a dry heat. Below the Mason-Dixon line this is what's considered "mild" (spoken with 2 syllables of course). Hence the need for the Icebox recipes in Ernest Matthew Mickler's classic, "White Trash Cooking". I found this recipe in the "Sweet 'Pones, Puddins 'n Pies" section and it's been a hit at a few barbeques up here. All the ingredients y'all need are pictured up above.

Take the can of sweetened condensed milk and combine it with the large container of "dairy" topping and the thawed Limeade. Beat it at high speed for about a minute and then pour the mixture into 2 graham-cracker pie shells. Cover the pies and place in the freezer for at least 5 hours until thoroughly frozen.

Note: Whenever I tried to make this in the past I always ended up with way too much filling left over for one pie. So, make 2 and then fill in the gap between the top of the filling and the top of the crust with whipped cream if company's coming.

Ice Box Cook'n: White Trash Key Lime Pie

Vegetarian Viet-American Stir Fry with Vermicelli

I had a hankering for Vietnamese food today. Maybe it's the heat. Unfortunately,even though you can't swing a dead sea gull on the North Shore without hitting a Chinese/Sushi or Thai place, Vietnamese cuisine is tough to find (one notable exception is Sugar Cane in Peabody). So, I raided the pantry and scraped together enough ingredients to make a reasonable facsimile of rice noodles with vegetables and tofu. I call it Viet-American since yellow squash and portabella mushrooms are North American.

Ingredients

1/2 package extra-firm tofu, cut into oblong pieces and drained on some paper towels
1 sweet red pepper diced into medium pieces
1 or 2 portabella mushroom caps, cut into strips
1 medium yellow squash cut into 1/2 inch rounds
2 green onions, diced
1 clove crushed garlic (if desired)
2-3 tbs Canola oil for frying the tofu and vegetables
1 cube vegetarian bouillon (try Rapunzel from Whole Foods)
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon of your favorite kind of curry paste. (I used red curry)
soy sauce (to taste)
Sriracha hot sauce (to taste)
Fresh basil and cilantro leaves to taste
1 package "rice stick" vermicelli
(It makes such a mess to try and separate them while dry that I tossed the whole package in a big pot of boiling water. After taking them out after 3 minutes, I rinsed them in cool water and just took what I needed and put the rest in the refrigerator for later.)

The Steps

Step 1: Heat a few tablespoons of oil in the wok until hot but not smoking then put in the drained tofu and fry until golden on all sides.

Step 2: Add the vegetables, one type at a time, stir frying in the hot oil until cooked then pushing aside for the next batch.

Step 3: Add garlic if desired and stir in with the vegetables and tofu.

Step 4: Clear the center of the wok and add the water, then the bouillon. Let the bouillon cube dissolve in the boiling water and stir everything together.

Step 5: Season to taste with the curry paste, soy sauce and hot sauce.

Step 6: Add some of the cooked rice vermicelli to a bowl and spoon in the vegetables and tofu along with some of the broth. Garnish with the basil and cilantro and enjoy!

Vegetarian Viet-American Stir Fry with Vermicelli