Q&C – Minced Pork in Lettuce Cups

We’re rolling along right through February and we’ve got another delicious recipe that helps celebrate The Year of the Snake! Minced Pork in Lettuce Cups (p. 82) is not only healthy and fun, but it also symbolizes bounty, family unity, growing fortune, prosperity, wealthy, and intelligence.

This recipe would make a great lunch or part of a multi-course meal. Get your kids involved in the assembly of the cups as well – its never too early to start people on their wok adventures!

Have any questions or comments about the recipe before you get started? Leave them below and we’ll try to get them answered ASAP.

- Matt

LYL – Chicken Lo Mein with Ginger Mushrooms

This is our first noodle dish, and a great dish to get us prepared for the Chinese New Year, symbolizing longevity, growing fortunes, and intelligence. Were you able to find Chinese lo mein noodles? Did you substitute spaghetti? Were you as brave as Cathy of My Culinary Mission and made your own noodles? Either way, leave a comment below with your thoughts on this dish and/or a link to your blog post.

- Matt

Giveaway – Ceramic Paring Knife

February 10th is the start of the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Snake, and what better way to celebrate than with another giveaway! I’m particularly excited about this one – a ceramic paring knife from the great folks at Helen’s Asian Kitchen! Helen Chen’s products are fantastic, and this ceramic paring knife will help you fly through all of your stir-frying prep work. Ceramic blades are super sharp and never lose their edge, making peeling, cutting, and dicing a breeze.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below answering the following question:

What is the biggest challenge that prevents, or in the past has prevented, you from stir-frying: Finding Asian ingredients? High heat cooking? Using a wok? Other?

The contest will be open until 11:59 pm EST on Friday, February 15th. A winner will be chosen at random from the comments.

- Matt

Q&C – Chicken Lo Mein with Ginger Mushrooms

In honor of the Chinese New Year and the upcoming Year of the Snake we’ll be making Chicken Lo Mein with Ginger Mushrooms from page 249 of SFTTSE. This recipe not only promises to be delicious, but it also symbolizes longevity, growing fortunes and intelligence for the New Year. We haven’t done a noodle dish yet so this should be another first after our previous adventure with velveting. If you are unable to find the Chinese lo mein noodles I would suggest finding a spaghetti-style egg noodle, cooking it according to the package instructions until al dente, and thoroughly shaking it dry before proceeding with the recipe.

Any questions or comments before you start?

New Years decorations in Chinatown. Photo: Grace Young.

LYL – Hoisin Explosion Chicken

Wednesday is here again fellow workers, and I’m hoping that this week’s recipe was an explosion of deliciousness! I am a hoisin addict, so I’ve been really excited about the Hoisin Explosion Chicken. I keeping with January’s theme of healthy stir-fries (but really, aren’t all stir-fries pretty healthy?) this recipe is chock full of veggies and uses very little oil.

You know the drill – leave a link to your blog post about Hoisin Explosion Chicken below, or leave us your thoughts if you are blog-less.

Q&C – Hoisin Explosion Chicken

Our next recipe is Hoisin Explosion Chicken on page 114. If you love hoisin sauce as much as I do then I bet you’re excited about this one! Traditionally hoisin sauce is made from toasted mashed soybeans although most brands today contain a number of starches like sweet potatoes, wheat, or rice. It is a sweeter sauce that is commonly found in Cantonese cooking. You should be able to find hoisin sauce in the Asian foods section of almost any grocery store these days. Grace recommends the Koon Chun brand and says that she has found it to be far superior to other brands of soy sauce. If you can find Koon Chun locally it is available on Amazon.com and at Kalustyan’s.

The recipe also keeps with our healthy stir-fry focus this month. it calls for skinless chicken breast, uses only 2 tbsp of oil, and is packed full of vegetables! Try serving it with brown rice instead of white for an additional vitamin boost.

As always, leave any questions or comments you have about the recipe in the comment section below and we’ll try to get them answered before Wednesday!

Wok Winner

Congratulations to Susan Layton who won the 14″ Carbon Steel Wok in our giveaway! Thanks to everyone who left their healthy stir-fry tips and wishes, and get ready for another giveaway coming up soon.

Many thanks to Tane Chan of The Wok Shop in San Francisco for donating the wok!

- Matt

LYL – Stir-Fried Curried Beef

Our first Wok Wednesday of 2013 is here! I hope you enjoyed making the Stir-Fried Curried Beef – not only is it healthy and low in oil and fat, but its also a great dish to warm up a cold winter’s night. Leave a link below to your blog post about the recipe, or for the blog-less among us leave your thoughts! Don’t forget that you can share photos on our Facebook Group, and I’ll also try to post some of those photos here as they come in.

- Matt

Q&C – Curried Beef

New year, new recipe! In honor of “fresh starts” we’ll be focusing on healthy recipes and tips this month, and we’re starting off with Stir-Fried Curried Beef from p. 86 of SFTTSE. This dish is chock full of protein and vitamins and uses less than two tablespoons of oil. It also has a little “heat” from the curry powder, making it perfect for a cold winter day. Here’s some tips before you get started:

• The recipe calls for shredded ginger – consult page 42 for instructions and a photo on how to shred ginger.
• If you live in northern climes its probably useless trying to find a tomato worth eating, but you can substitute a few halved grape tomatoes from the grocery store if you don’t have access to a fresh tomato.

Any questions or comments before you give this recipe a go? Leave them in the comment section below and I’ll try to get them answered before Wednesday!

- Matt

New Year, New Wok Giveaway

We’re going to start 2013 off with a bang by giving away a 14″, flat-bottomed carbon steel wok. This is the wok that many of us Wok Wednesdays folk use and the one that Grace recommends. The carbon steel conducts heat wonderfully and is the best metal for attaining that beautiful seasoned finish as you cook with it, and the flat-bottom allows the wok to be used with virtually all Western stoves (electric coils, glass-top, gas, and induction).

All you have to do for a chance to win a brand-new wok is leave a comment below with your answer to the following question:

What is your favorite stir-fry and why? (If you’re new to stir-frying, you can tell us what healthy stir fry you’d be interested in learning)

The contest will run until 11:59pm, Wednesday January 16th. A winner will be chosen at random from the comments.

Many thanks once again to Tane Chan of The Wok Shop in San Francisco for donating the wok! Tane has been a fervent supporter of Wok Wednesdays – check out her shop (both online and if you’re ever in SF) for all your Asian kitchen needs!