Cooking with a wok: what it is, features and advantages

To cook with a wok, the preparations are generally quick and light, which can easily get us out of trouble when we don't have much time for complex preparations.

What is a wok?

Actually, the name wok corresponds to a kind of frying pan that is used in the. Traditionally, the wok used to be made of steel and required special care to keep it in good condition, but today we can already buy non-stick examples that do not require so many precautions. We can purchase woks made of stainless steel, carbon steel, aluminum, cast aluminum ...

Characteristics of the wok

Its characteristic shape allows cooking differently than we would with "our" frying pan. Its peculiarity is precisely the shape, since the domed bottom, the high walls and a long handle make it a utensil designed to be very manageable, allowing us to skip almost constantly what we put in it, especially if it is light, as would be desirable. so as not to end up with laces in the arm.

It seems that it was designed with the purpose of saving fuel, since with a small base it is possible to heat the entire container in a very short time. In addition, the high walls allow us to remove the food with little danger of it "jumping" out of the wok, thus getting everyone to cook and come into contact with each other. Thus, the mixture takes on flavors and aromas typical of wok-style cooking.

Things to keep in mind when cooking with a wok

The wok must be preheated for a minute beforehand and it is necessary to add a minimum of oil for its preparation. We will incorporate the food when the wok is very hot, using a high flame bulb for its typical cooking and, once we incorporate the food, we will keep it in constant motion to achieve the “wok hei” and, with it, the maintenance of the “ essence ”of food.

On the other hand, if we buy a "wok", in addition to making the traditional stir-fries with the same name, we can use it to fry and steam by placing a bamboo basket on it.

Advantages of cooking with a wok

Woks are very versatile and healthy preparations that offer us advantages such as:

• The speed to cook with wok: the wok is ready in a moment and it can serve us as fast and healthy food both to eat outside the home and to make at home.
• Little fat is added and usually in the form of vegetable oils.
• Its main component is vegetables, which are complemented with cereals, fish, eggs, meat or legume-based products such as So it can constitute a complete, varied and healthy dish.

Dare to try

As we have seen, woks can be prepared with an infinite number of foods, the most traditional will be with a vegetable base and noodles of different types, sizes and thicknesses or with rice, also different kinds of rice, they are also usually complemented with other foods, often with products rich in proteins. Now, with today's fusion cuisine we can find woks with foods from other cultures, such as quinoa. Let's see some examples:

• Vegetable Only Wok: Mixed vegetable wok with bamboo and citronella sauce.
• With legume: noodle wok with vegetables, tofu and Hoisin sauce.
• From Nuts: Crispy Egg Noodle Wok with Peanuts and Peanut Sauce.
• Egg wok: quinoa wok with vegetables, egg and a mixture of spices (pepper, fennel ...)
• Fish or seafood: wok with rice noodles, prawns and soy sauce.
• With meat: rice wok with chicken and curry sauce.
• Mushroom wok: udon wok with broccoli, shitake mushrooms with ginger and sesame sauce.

And season ...

In addition, they can be seasoned with a multitude of sauces and different foods and flavors: soy sauce, miso, fresh and dried chili peppers, mixed spices (anise, cloves, cinnamon and Sichuan pepper ...), citronella, ginger, garlic, oil of sesame, rice vinegar, Hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, curry, shitake, peanuts, coconut milk, yakisoba sauce, Chaisu or caramelized soy ...

What you should know

• Wok is the name given to the type of utensil, similar to a frying pan with which sautéed foods are cooked in oriental cuisine.
• Woks are quick, healthy, tasty and light preparations that admit a multitude of food combinations.
• The base of the wok is usually vegetables, which can be complemented with noodles, rice, meat, fish, tofu ...

Mercè Gonzalo Bachelor of Food Science and Technology Diploma in Human Nutrition and Dietetics