● Stir-frying is a very quick method of cooking, therefore it is vital to have all the ingredients prepared before cooking begins.

● Although stir-frying is quick, the wok should not be used over a high heat. Medium and low heats will provide ample heat for all stir-fry and deep-fat frying.

● Traditionally, peanut oil is used for most Chinese cookery. It is light and gives excellent results without transferring any additional flavour to the food. Sesame, walnut and other flavoured oils can be used in small quantities to impart their own special flavour, but are best used mixed with another oil to avoid overpowering the food they are cooking. Olive oil, butter, margarine or white fats are not ideal. They can burn too easily and have too strong a flavour.

● The lid is sometimes used to cover and lightly steam ingredients at the end of stir-frying. This is very traditional and helps soften very crisp vegetables, while retaining their “bite” or colour. It is particularly useful for those who find very crisp vegetables a little too indigestible.

● When stir-frying for a crowd, the time to cook can be accelerated by pre-blanching (for just 1 minute) really crisp vegetables, such as carrots and green beans. This will mean they take less time to cook in the wok.

● When deep-fat frying for tempura recipes, the oil level must be kept low and 500 ml (2 cups) is the advised maximum. In this way, as foods are added, the hot oil will not rise up over the rim of the wok.

The Wok

“Le chi fan meu?” literally means, “Have you eaten yet?” It is often used as a greeting in China, in the same way we would ask, “How are you?” This demonstrates clearly how important food is to most Chinese. The wok found in any Chinese home today is the same shape it has been for centuries. It has, over that time, been the core of a somewhat limited number of cooking vessels, as most Chinese kitchens do not have more than a rice boiler, a layered bamboo steamer, an earthenware casserole and a wok.

Early woks were made from beaten raw cast iron and the rounded shape of the base was designed to nestle snuggly into charcoal. But this shape also had another purpose which has caused Chinese cuisine to become so popular: the very rounded and narrow base of the wok meant that very little oil was required to fry and cook quite large quantities of meats and vegetables and the cast iron was able to transmit heat extremely efficiently. Oil and fuel were both, until more recent years, expensive commodities, so to be able to use only a little of both and still create a delicious meal was obviously a great advantage. Although only the base of the wok actually sat in the coals, the heat transfer through the material meant that the side wall became hot as well and, as foods were added in succession, they could be pushed from the hot area in the base to a warm holding zone on the side wall. This is also a characteristic of the Le Creuset wok today. But Le Creuset has also added some refinements to make it more suitable for modern fuels and uses. Most importantly, it has a flat outer base so no matter which hob it is used on, the heat transfer will always be efficient. This flat base has not, however, compromised the inner curved shape, so integral to successful cooking with a wok.

Secondly, it is completely covered in enamel so, apart from washing, it really needs no other preparation or seasoning. The black inner enamel will change colour with use and become covered in a “patina” and as any Chinese cook will tell you, this is just as it should be: the blacker the wok, the better the cooking results will be. The wok also has a lid and two large side-lifting handles for ease of manoeuvrability. The lid transforms the wok into quite the most amazing multi-function cooking vessel which can be used for braising, boiling, steaming and frying. As I said earlier, when space and cooking facilities are limited, ingenuity and adaptability prevail. A new design Toughened Non-Stick stir-fry pan with a long side handle is now also available. As with the wok a Le Creuset glass or casserole lid can be used with this pan to give it greater cooking flexibility.

But open stir-frying is probably the reason most people purchase a wok for, as it does it so well and so much better than other flatter shaped utensils. Apart from the speed with which a stir-fry dish can, and should, be produced, the health benefits it provides are exceptional. Stir-fries are very low in fat, use less red meat and prefer the use of brightly coloured vegetables with a little chicken or fish. The Chinese diet is based on balance and uses harmful foods only in moderation. The Chinese enjoy using fresh, local produce which is available in the market that day and so their menus are defined by the seasons. The emphasis on harmony, the care they take with their food and their healthy and fascinating cooking methods undoubtedly contribute to their excellent health record.

Source: An excerpt from "The Cast Iron Way to Cook" by Sue Cutts.