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Pig Lamb Cooking Equipment Illinois Article
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Basic and Common Utensils all you need for Chinese Recipes
from: Spirit HouseWok
A cheap steel wok from an Asian supermarket is the best. If cooking over gas, buy a round bottom wok. If using an electric stove, a flat bottomed wok will ‘sit’ better on the electric element. Choose a wok with a long wooden handle - they are much easier to use. Don’t buy a wok that is heavy when empty!
Granite Mortar and Pestle
An 8” mortar is the best size. Because they are so heavy to lift, a handy tip is to put ‘felt stickers’ underneath so that you can easily slide it around the kitchen bench without leaving scratch marks.
Chinese Cleaver
Most versatile... the blade can be used for fine slicing, the back of the cleaver for heavy chopping or pounding, and if turned on its side, the flat surface will crush ginger or garlic.
Wok Shovel
Toss, turn and lift food out of the wok. These look like flat shovels with a turned up lip on the sides, long wooden or metal handle.
Wok Sieve
For draining and lifting deep fried food out of the wok, comes with a bamboo or timber long handle and wire basket.
Steamer Basket
Made from woven bamboo or metal, buy several tiers that stack on top of one another. The baskets come in different diameters, so make sure they will ‘sit’ just inside the top lip of your wok.
Hot Tips
Wok Care : To ‘season’ your new wok, heat it over a high heat with some vegetable oil. Take off the flame, tip out the oil and wipe all the sides thoroughly with paper towel. Repeat the process. Then wash, and after drying, wipe out with oil again.
When cleaning your wok, don’t scour it back to metal. Wash it thoroughly, dry it by putting it back on the hot stove top for a few minutes, then wipe it all over with a little vegetable oil on some paper towel. If you do this after each use, your wok won’t rust, and with frequent use it will gradually build up a black surface patina.
Knife Care : Maintain the sharp edge by ‘steeling’ before each use. Do not put your knives in the dish washer - just wipe well then dry thoroughly. Store in a knife block, not in the kitchen drawer!
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