Wok Skills 101: Stir-Frying Basics

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Wok Skills 101: Stir-Frying Basics [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] Real Deal Kung Pao Chicken Spicy, numbing, and no-holds barred: Kung Pao Chicken as it’s meant to be is right this way! » Before we begin this tutorial, a quick rant about woks vs. skillets: [rant] I’ve read in some otherwise reputable sources that using a wok is not the ideal way to stir-fry. Indeed that on a Western range, using a 12-inch skillet is actually better. I’ve even seen charts showing how 12-inch skillets get hotter, retain heat better, and have larger surface areas. I’ve seen how a wok doesn’t sit right on a flat range and how it was designed for a much larger flame. All of this is absolutely true. What I haven’t seen in print is anyone saying anything about how the food actually tastes , and I’m certain it’s because the same folks conducting the tests didn’t actually know how to use a wok properly. Fortunately, I’ve conducted blind taste tests myself on identical dishes prepared in a skillet and in a wok on the same range, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that stir fries cooked in a well-seasoned wok taste better than those cooked…

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Tags: charts, chicken, facebook, flames, fries, ideal, kenji, money, sources, western, wife

Walla Walla Sweet Onions and Secret Seasoning Make the Burgers at Fast Eddy’s

From A Hamburger Today [ Photographs: Leslie Kelly ] Fast Eddy’s 600 West Main Street, Walla Walla, WA 99362 ( map ); 509-525-2757 Cooking Method: Griddled Short Order: Get well seasoned minimalist old school-style burgers featuring sweet onions Want Fries with That? Skip the fries, get the tots Price: Deluxe burger, $4 The first thing I totally dig about Fast Eddy’s in Walla Walla, Washington, are the car hops. They’re not on roller skates, but they’re still quick. Almost as soon as you pull into this classic drive-in, a server appears on the driver’s side of your car, notebook in hand and a “What’ll you have?” The answer to that question is the deluxe burger, which is the second thing I love about Fast Eddy’s, open on the west edge of Main Street in this Mayberry-esque ‘burg for nearly 10 years. It’s a burger that doesn’t demand a diner to test their jaw and open wide. It’s not so juicy or saucy that it drips down your wrist. It’s a burger made to be eaten in your car and it’s flat-out delicious. A secret seasoning mixture is sprinkled on the 1/3-pound patty, the size of a small saucer. I tried to get the friendly car hop to tell me what was in the seasoning. Her lips were sealed, but she…

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Tags: almost-as-soon, cooking-method, driver, fries, Hamburger, juicy-or-saucy, kelly, leslie, maps, mood, photographs, result, street, walla

Cook the Book: Village Fries

From Recipes [Photograph: Caroline Russock] When I read that Spike Mendelsohn uses waxy Red Bliss potatoes for the fries at Good Stuff Eatery in D.C. my interest was instantly piqued. Everything I’d always read about making the best possible fries involved the use of floury Russet potato for it’s high sugar content that lead to good caramelization and browning in the fryer. But when I sat down to talk to Spike he made a good case for these unusual fries and I was eager to see how they compared. In The Good Stuff Cookbook Spike explains that he uses Red Bliss potatoes for a few reasons: Their thin skin is edible and does not need to be peeled, they cook faster, and their flavor is sweeter than the traditional Russets. Still a bit skeptical, I heated up a big pot of oil and started slicing my potatoes into fries. After the initial blanch and second fry at a higher temperature I had what appeared to be a beautiful pile of fries. I tossed them with the chopped herbs and salt according to the recipe and waited until they were almost cool enough to eat. What I noticed…

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Tags: bliss, cookbook, fries, potato, recipes, skin, stuff-cookbook, traditional

Pizza Hummus from Tribe

“It would be more appropriately named ‘Pizza Goldfish: The Dip.’ You may feel confused. So did I. As I was reaching for my go-to garlic hummus, the demon within that possesses me to dip French fries in vanilla soft-serve and pizza in ranch sauce persuaded me to pick this up instead. The concept itself is a bit unsettling. The response from Serious Eaters in the office to my announcement that I had obtained “pizza hummus” was unanimous: “Huh? How bizarre.” As for the taste test? Again, responses were mostly ones of confusion—among them, “Weird” and “…Why?” Good question. The label, which boasts “Kid Approved!” betrays Tribe’s likely motive: seems like health-conscious mothers have had little success convincing their kids that chickpea paste is better to eat than pizza. Accordingly, the flavor of the hummus is catered to a kid’s palate—like a watered-down marinara sauce with only phantom cheesiness, if any at all. The texture is odd; it manages to be watery and semi-grainy at the same time, perhaps the result of an unfortunate tahini: chickpea ratio (tahini is one of the last ingredients listed). While another colleague thought it seemed like Tribe put spaghetti and pasta sauce into a blender, I found it…

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Tags: french, fries, goldfish, hummus, kindergarten, office, pizza, serious-eaters, serve, taste, traditional

Dedicated to WoM

This post is dedicated to my friends in Seattle, Eric and Diana, who never give up on the Mariners, even though they rarely, if ever, win. Photographer Roxanne Cooke writes: “Our first Mariners game of the season was great: good seats, good company, lots of yummy food, not too crowded. I heard about Safeco’s new cupcake offerings via Cakespy.com, so this gigantic chocolate cupcake was my first purchase. I barely touched it at the game, though, because it apparently doesn’t go well with pad Thai and garlic fries. I finished it off the next day with gusto, though!”

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Tags: cakespy, flickr, fries, garlic, gigantic, offerings, result, season, seattle

Simplicity Wins Out at CJ’s Butcher Boy Burgers in Russellville, Arkansas

From A Hamburger Today [ Photographs: Kat Robinson ] CJ’s Butcher Boy Burgers 2803 N. Arkansas Ave, Russellville AR 72802 ( map ); 479-968-2300 Cooking Method: Smashed on a flat griddle Short Order: A limited menu gives CJ’s the advantage in a local burger war. Want Fries with That? Really, you do; they’re so fresh they were still whole potatoes when you walked through the door. Prices: 1/3 pound burger, $5.28; double patty, $6.28; + cheddar, grilled mushrooms, grilled onions, or jalapenos, 20¢ each; + bacon, 79¢; fries, $1.99; drinks, $1.89; shakes $3.19 You can’t mention CJ’s Butcher Boy Burgers without mentioning its greatest rival, longstanding hometown champion Feltner’s Whatta-Burger . CJ’s five years in business just doesn’t stand up to Feltner’s 43, no matter how you slice it. But a simple philosophy and simpler menu gives CJ’s the edge in one vitally important area: taste. The menu board is simple: CJ’s only serves burgers, fries, drinks and shakes. But what a burger it is (no offense to Whatta-Burger). Before you arrive, that burger’s just a ball of meat in a refrigerated case. Those fries are a whole unskinned potato. Those drinks—well, they’re fountain drinks, so there you go. Those shakes are unshaken. You walk in and order. Your…

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Tags: boy, burger, fries, Hamburger, hamburger-today, moment, order, photographs, pickle, russellville, shake, staffer, time

Scalloped Potatoes Recipe with Gorgonzola, Parmesan & Cheddar Cheeses

When it comes to holiday meals, I am a traditionalist through and through. You will not find a Mexican feast gracing my table on Christmas or a tableful of spring rolls and stir-fries at Thanksgiving. Growing up, holiday meals were an event. Out came the china place settings, the good silver, and the long, tapered candles. My mum, who has a way with flowers, would whip up an incredible

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Tags: china, feast-gracing, flowers, fries, holiday-meals, rolls, spring

No Pancake Photos

It was Pancake Day ( Shrove Tuesday ) yesterday.

Tags: batter, burgers, dimes, fries, heavens, maple, pancakes, skillet, time-the-ladle

Pan Seared Salmon, Sweet Potato Fries and Green Beans

After a beautiful day at the Toronto Zoo, I was exhausted and actually had to take a little nap. I haven’t been exercising much these days and with the past few weeks being pretty cold here, this had been a hard day’s work for me! We had pan seared salmon served with the best store-bought sweet potato fries (frozen from Costco), and sauteed green and yellow beans and baby carrots. This is one of our family’s favourite meals and best of all, it’s fast and easy as well! For a night when cooking wasn’t really fitting into my agenda, this was the perfect meal. For dessert, we had the To-Die-For Blueberry/Raspberry muffins we made together this afternoon. Without fresh berries onhand, we used frozen berries and it was just as scrumptious. Salmon filets seasoning salt Montreal Steak Spice about a butter for frying Sprinkle filets lightly with seasoning salt and Montreal Steak Spice. Heat pan on medium high and melt butter. Add lightly seasoned salmon filets and cover for about 7 minutes

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Tags: Best Cooking Tips, easy recipes, family, favourite-meals, fries, green, seared, sweet

Standing Room Only: Scatchell’s Beef and Pizza

Don’t come here for the pizza. Come for one of the best Italian beef sandwiches in Chicago. [Photographs: Nick Kindelsperger] Scatchell’s Beef & Pizza 4700 W. Cermak Road, Cicero IL 60804 ( map ); 708-656-0911 The Short Order: Thinly sliced Italian Beef with crunchy giardiniera. Want Fries with That? Average frozen fries. Want Ketchup? Just for the fries “Where are you from?” was the first thing that came out of the employee’s mouth. Not “How’s it going?” or the more practical “What’s your order?” But here my wife and I were in the South Side neighborhood of Lawndale when we were immediately being interrogated as to whether or not I had been born in the city of Chicago based on the way we pronounced sausage. ” We call it saah sage here.” I should have known better. As Chicago Slice reporter Daniel Zemans likes to point out, sausage is a special thing in Chicago. A below average pizza in Chicago, like the kind I sampled with Zemans a few weeks ago , can be saved by freshly made sausage. This one, however, was nothing particularly special. And though it sat on a crust that had a surprisingly blistered upskirt, it was unfortunately marred by an overly sweet sauce. It’s a lot better than I thought it would be, but…

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Tags: chicago, city, daniel-zemans, employee, fries, italian, personal, pizza, scatchell, stratosphere, wife