Fast food and the Chinese wok

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tuulen
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Fast food and the Chinese wok

Post by tuulen » Sat Apr 24, 2010 9:39 am

This comes from an earlier thread, but it seemed worth beginning a new thread for.
Jukka Aho wrote:...Fast food, in general, is seen as unhealthy in Finland, just like in most countries, but kebab/pizza places, local grills, burger joints etc. are numerous and all over the country. We could do with some more variety but the volume is there and they’re certainly not shunned by the locals...
The Chinese have figured out how to make delicious and healthy fast food. And, they can do that quite economically, too. Over a hot fire they place a large, round-bottomed kettle called a wok, to cook food fast. Yes, cooking oils are commonly used, but the best Chinese cooks first put water in the bottom of their woks so that the cooking temperatures do not get too hot. Then, they can cook many different kinds of food quickly by flipping it over repeatedly while it cooks.

Really, they have it down to an art. Best of all, it is not hard to do at home once a wok can be heated. Most gas stoves can readily be adapted. And, flat-bottomed woks are available for electric stoves. Some American people cook Chinese-style at their homes. A small amount of water, a small amount of cooking oil, a small amount of meat or fish and a lot of vegetables are typical for Chinese-style food. Then, serve that along with a bowl of rice, Chinese-style, or serve that over rice on a plate, American-style. Fast, healthy and tasty!



Fast food and the Chinese wok

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Jukka Aho
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Re: Fast food and the Chinese wok

Post by Jukka Aho » Sat Apr 24, 2010 11:50 am

I think many Finns (those into home-cooking) actually do prepare Asian-style dishes at home from time to time. Thailand, in particular, has become a popular holiday destination in the recent years, and people tend to bring back influences from their holiday trips.

If you want the easy way out, Finnish grocery stores have factory-packed, sliced and diced assortments of frozen vegetables, including bamboo etc., generally called wokkivihannekset, or “wok vegetables”, from several suppliers and in several varieties.
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Bubba Elvis XIV
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Re: Fast food and the Chinese wok

Post by Bubba Elvis XIV » Sat Apr 24, 2010 12:33 pm

tuulen wrote:And, they can do that quite economically, too. Over a hot fire they place a large, round-bottomed kettle called a wok, to cook food fast.
It has a name? Well, you learn something new every day....

I thought Chinese food was only cooked in a microwave.
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tuulen
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Re: Fast food and the Chinese wok

Post by tuulen » Sat Apr 24, 2010 1:01 pm

I am not any kind of a chef, but I learned how to cook simple foods because the nearest restaurant could be a half hour's drive away.

Cooking in a wok is actually fast and easy. The hard part is in all of the cutting and the preparing of the food before it is cooked.

Oh, and woks are easy to clean. Just put a little water in it, heat it up and then give it a quick scour with a brush. No soap needed.

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Bubba Elvis XIV
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Re: Fast food and the Chinese wok

Post by Bubba Elvis XIV » Sat Apr 24, 2010 1:42 pm

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Mook
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Re: Fast food and the Chinese wok

Post by Mook » Sat Apr 24, 2010 4:21 pm

I always thought fast food was something that you got at crappy restaraunts. Never new you could cook it yourself...
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jtammilehto
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Re: Fast food and the Chinese wok

Post by jtammilehto » Sat Apr 24, 2010 4:33 pm

Has anyone spotted an inexpensive stainless steel wok? I've gotten regular steel ones and they rust up pretty quickly.

There's too much moving around on the surface to think Teflon-types would hold up.

EP
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Re: Fast food and the Chinese wok

Post by EP » Sat Apr 24, 2010 4:40 pm

I have a stainless steel wok. Made in Finland, bought from IKEA. Didn´t cost much and is good as new after years of use.

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Bubba Elvis XIV
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Re: Fast food and the Chinese wok

Post by Bubba Elvis XIV » Sat Apr 24, 2010 4:45 pm

yeah - a lot of folk buy them from Ikea...they're cheap, cheerful and do the job. Nice and big too.

http://www.ikea.com/fi/fi/catalog/products/20087709

http://www.ikea.com/fi/fi/catalog/products/10112375
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jtammilehto
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Re: Fast food and the Chinese wok

Post by jtammilehto » Sat Apr 24, 2010 7:43 pm

ok - thanks for input

from the catalog listings - both are Teflon-type

the 4,95 could be ok as if it starts to get scratches - one can pitch and get another

the 39,95 one is a horse of a different color - it's rather expensive to throw to the 'vesilinttus'

I had some difficulties with Jamie Oliver Teflon - it got scratches rather easily even though advertises that one can use metal to some extent (no cutting etc though!)

Teflon has been around long enough for me to know that one ends up touching it with metal at some point.

What would be nice would be a polished stainless steel finish facing the food - anyone know of any?

tuulen
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Re: Fast food and the Chinese wok

Post by tuulen » Sat Apr 24, 2010 9:32 pm

Probably the most common kind of wok is made out of ordinary steel, and the tool used for flipping the food looks something like a wide spatula having a rounded end to fit the contour of the wok. The good news is that if a wok is used regularly it will develop its own non-stick finish on the inside surface, a patina of blackened oil residue. The bad news is that if not used regularly it can and will get rusty. Fortunately, woks are not particularly expensive. After all, there are some 1,3 billion people in China who eat every day and woks seem to be ever-popular there, and so many woks are available for sale.

The part I like is that during the preparation of the food any excess fat on meat, chicken skin, etc., can be removed before cooking, and the kinds and the quantities of cooking oils can be reduced to a minimum, too, so that the food can actually be quite healthy.

ZanJay
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Re: Fast food and the Chinese wok

Post by ZanJay » Wed Jun 09, 2010 9:43 am

Furnished equipment inside the restaurant will be used for some preparation. Stainless utensils are better than these old stuffs. You must use them regularly.

celia19O5
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Re: Fast food and the Chinese wok

Post by celia19O5 » Mon Jun 21, 2010 4:42 am

I see cooking is interesting, especially when you cook a good meal for your honey :)

niih
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Re: Fast food and the Chinese wok

Post by niih » Wed Jul 07, 2010 3:47 pm

well around here i think its a bit shame that chinese means noodles and deep fried stuff. chinese is usually fast grill food, for asian foods id recommend japanese or vietnamese stores because they have the originality which is pretty big thing. At Tampere the best japanese places are Maruseki and the one at Kauppahalli (traditional shopping area). And mainly about fast food Subway, Hesburger and Kotipizza are pretty much popular choices.

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Re: Fast food and the Chinese wok

Post by cocoasensations » Wed Jul 28, 2010 12:34 am

I've tasted one of the Chinese foods and it is very delicious..sorry I forgot the name...The way how Chinese cooks their foods are simple but full of mysteries, in the sense that a lot of people loves to eat those foods and I'm one of them. Everyone of us, especially whose passion is cooking have different ways or strategies to make foods a delicious one. Thank you.
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