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Thanks, BH! Let's all start referring to these as "Blue Heron's green beans." You've got to love a cookbook that includes the phrase, "If you have only one wok..." I love the Szechuan green beans at Wild Ginger, but I love all Szechuan green beans. This is what I always order if I see it on the menu at an iffy Chinese restaurant--even tired, tough supermarket green beans emerge from hot oil transformed.

This is the recipe for one of my favorite restaurant veggie dishes, Wild Ginger's Sichuan Green Beans. The recipe comes from Best Places Seattle Cookbook by Cynthia C. Nims & Kathy Casey www.kathycasey.com , Sasquatch Publishing copyright 2001 www.sasquatchbooks.com. They gave me permission to post this recipe to www.egullet.com, and I've referenced this link back to them. Wild Ginger's Sichuan Green Beans At Wild Ginger, the green beans are first deep-fried and then stir-fried with the remaining ingredients, using 2 separate woks. If you have only 1 wok, use a saucepan for deep-frying. Simpler yet, stir-fry the green beans in the wok until they begin to turn brown and blister, then continue as directed. The double-whammy technique of deep-frying and stir-frying produces the best, most flavorful results, however. Note that the green beans must be fully dry before adding them to the hot oil for frying. If any water is clinging to the beans, they'll sputter violently when added to the oil. You'll want to rinse the preserved vegetable under cold running water before using, to wash away excess salt. Sichuan preserved vegetable is available in Asian markets and on well-stocked grocery shelves. Peanut or canola oil, for frying 2 T soy sauce 2 t rice wine vinegar 1 t sesame oil 1 t sugar 1 lb. tender green beans, trimmed & thoroughly dried 2 T minced lean pork 1 T minced Sichuan preserved vegetables 1 t dried red pepper flakes POUR THE OIL to a depth of 2-3 inches into a large, deep, heavy saucepan & heat over medium-high heat to 400 F degrees (the oil should come no more than halfway up the sides of the pan). WHILE THE OIL IS HEATING, whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar in small bowl. Stir until the sugar is dissolved & set aside. WHEN THE OIL IS HOT, fry the green beans, in small batches, until lightly browned & blistered, 1-1/2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beans to paper towels to drain. Allow the oil to reheat as needed between batches. HEAT A WOK over high heat until very hot, then add 1 T oil (it will begin smoking right away). Add the pork, preserved vegetable, and red pepper flakes & stir-fry for 10 seconds. The pepper flakes will give off peppery fumes, so be prepared with an exhaust fan or nearby open window. Add the soy sauce mixture & heat, stirring, for about 15 seconds, being careful not to burn the sugar. Add the green beans & toss until most of the liquid is reduced & absorbed by the beans, about 30 seconds. TRANSFER THE BEANS to a warmed platter & serve.

1) I can't believe no one mentioned a wok. I use my wok several times a week, and not just for Asian food. It is also really good for preparing the sauteed part or sauce for pasta, because it is large enought to mix in the pasta after draining. Although done less frequently, it is also the pan I use most for deep frying (that or cast iron). Don't get a fancy brand name wok, and heaven forbid a non-stick one; these should preferably be bought at an Asian grocery or hardware store in any Chinatown. 2) Cast Iron Skillet, bought at a hardware store. I use it for anything that needs browning. 3) 2 qt pan, Revere stainless steel w/copper bottom (from newlywed set) mostly used for sauces or smaller portions of things, like warming soup. Gift alert: What I really need is a saucier or evasee like Steven's cause I hate it when I'm making a sauce and the wisk doesn't get in the corners. 4) Stock pot. I have a 6 and 8 qt Revere stock pot, but would ditch them both for one 12 qt. 5) Non-stick skillet. I primarily use a 6" Circulon and almost exclusively to make eggs. Jason ruined the larger non-stick Revere skillet I got with my set when he used a fork on it!!! :( So he is banned from using the Circulon. I have a lot of other pieces and sizes, but these are probably all "I can't live without."

That does sound good--one problem with frozen veggies is that they tend to be a little soggy, but greens are supposed to be soggy. Do you substitute chicken broth for the vegetable broth? I find canned vegetable broth too sweet and am usually too lazy to make homemade stock. Here's another of my favorite vegetable recipes. I posted it once to the grubshack mailing list, but I don't think I've posted it here. Roasted chile paste, or "nam prik pow" in Thai, is a pungent and spicy ingredient that despite the name is nothing like the common Chinese and Indonesian chile-garlic sauce. It's very thick and has a layer of hot oil over the top. The best brand (and luckily also the most common, at least in these parts) is Pantainorasingh. It's in a squat round jar with "Pantai" on the yellow lid and the label says "Chilli paste with soya bean oil." It's available in several levels of heat; get "hot" if you can find it. GAI LAN WITH BACON If you're not one for bacon, try substituting some soaked and shredded shiitake mushrooms--I'm betting it'll be great. 1 lb gai lan (Chinese broccoli), trimmed and cut into 1" lengths Salt 2 slices supermarket bacon (I like Oscar Meyer), cut crosswise into 1/2" pieces 1 garlic clove, crushed 1 tbsp nam prik pow 1 tbsp fish sauce 1/2 cup water 1. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Toss in the gai lan, bring it back to a boil, and cook one minute. Drain, rinse with cold water, and dry. 2. While you are waiting for the water to boil, put the fish sauce and nam prik pow into a small bowl and stir to combine. 3. Heat a wok or skillet (you'll need a lid) over medium heat. When it is hot, add the bacon and cook until almost crisp. Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels. You should have about 1 tbsp of fat in the wok; if there's more, pour it off. If less, add a bit of peanut or vegetable oil. 4. Raise heat to medium-high. Add the garlic and stir-fry 20 seconds. 5. Add the gai lan and stir-fry 90 seconds. 6. Add the nam prik pow, fish sauce, and cooked bacon and stir-fry 30 seconds. 7. Add the water, cover, and let steam two minutes. Serve immediately with lots of jasmine rice and other stuff.

Taste. The menu supplies the following definition; to have experience or enjoyment; savior. That is exactly what we did at this one week old restaurant. The Asian American cuisine is very good and Chef Jason Russo is a name to remember. Make a reservation here before the reviewers create a month long wait. The restaurant is located in a nondescript strip mall at 21 Belleville Ave, Bloomfield. The outside with a wall of block glass and large Asian pots creates an elegant mood before you even enter the restaurant. The interior is white on white with splashes of color. A Buddha surrounded by candles looks down on the restaurant and a red and black Oriental design creates a focal point on another wall. The restaurant is sleek with a wood floor and tables set far apart. The upstairs balcony is for smokers. Service was not up to par but hopefully as this establishment gets going minor mistakes will be corrected. The server did not know the menu but cheerfully went back into the kitchen to get the answers to every question I asked. For example, we were brought an amuse bouche of finely chopped "something" on pita bread. When we asked what it was we were told that it was chopped olives. It didn't taste like olives and eventually we learned that it was a mushroom/asparagus duxelles. When we asked what the soup of the day was the waiter didn't know and had to go back to the kitchen again to ask. We asked about an unknown wine on the small wine list. It took about 10 minutes for the waiter to bring back the information. The restaurant was empty with only one other table being occupied and a large staff with nothing to do. And please, when customers leave a restaurant and staff is standing by the door say "goodbye." But enough about the service problems which many people feel comes with the territory in a restaurant that is one week old. The food is attention grabbing and very good. For appetizers we had delicate steamed vegetable dumplings that didn't come with a spicy sesame oil that is listed on the menu but with a fabulous spicy homemade mayonnaise. We also had a wok seared, al dente, long beans and baby bok choy in a lip smackin' sweet chile sauce. Both were delicious. A plate for two or four people of the chef's daily selection of sushi, maki and sashimi is also available as well as salads and noodle dishes such as lo mein or pad Thai. For entrees I had an excellent salmon poached in yuzu (a Japanese citrus fruit) and soy broth served with baby carrots, squash, with rice. I took my spoon and finished all of the sauce. The fish was juicy and not overcooked as often happens in poaching. If you are looking for a light low calorie dish this one is for you. Lowell had a blue wasabi roasted chicken with a Fuji apple demi glace, baby vegetables and potato wedges. The chicken was also quite tasty and juicy but we expected it to be spicier because of the wasabi. Next time we would like to try the Szechwan pepper rack of lamb; Japanese eggplant stir fry with chicken; or the pork chop rubbed with cinnamon and five spice powder. We shared raspberry fruit filled fried wontons topped with crème fraiche for dessert. They were fabulous but the portion was too small. Please give me four wontons next time! Lowell had coffee which was awful. With four glasses of wine @ŭ each, tax and tip the bill was ๯, Be sure to read the other postings. Other posters beside myself have had problems here since this report. (Edited by Rosie at 7:03 am on Jan. 31, 2002)

30,000BTU professional wok burner (approx 񘧸) for the kitchen we are redoing. Dont have the space for it. Definitely over the top, but god do I want one. :)

Peanut oil and vegetable oils are fine, though they do leave a bit of a sticky residue that solid shortening doesn't. But certainly the Chinese have been seasoning their woks with peanut oil for awhile, and it seems to work. You'll be fine with any of the above. Just steer clear of fruit oils such as olive (though, again, it is the default oil in some cultures -- but it's not the most effective choice). Once you've created the initial seasoning coat, you can reinforce it with pretty much any fat. But it's best to build on a layer of shortening.

Dinner last night at Mirchi, 29 Seventh Avenue South (b/w Morton and Bedford) 212/414-0931. This was my second visit to this Indian restaurant and I liked it before, but it’s even better than it was a few months back. The prices have gone up (starters Ŭ to Ű, and mains ผ to ร). For 3 of us it came to 贬, so it’s a bit more than your run of the mill Indian. But it’s worth it! Chicken tak-a-tak. This is cooked in a tawa (a bit like a wok, I think) Succulent pieces of chicken in scrumptious spices, with a little vinegar-y flavor. It comes with a little bread roll. I learned (on chowhound when I posted about Mirchi following my first visit) that this dish is served as street food in India. The roll on my first visit had the consistency of a hamburger roll. This time, it had more texture, tho’ to be honest I’d prefer a naan. Palak Bhaja: Spinach battered and fried. This was fantastic and beats the usual onion variety. I went for Gosht Vindaloo. The lamb wasn’t the most tender I’ve tasted, but the flavors were deep and spicy hot. Our chum had Jaipuri lal maas: lamb with combination of 30 chilies (at least that’s what the menu says). He loves his food spicy (and having spent years in London seeking out the hottest Ceylonese curries he likes his heat) but at one point in the meal I thought he was going to go into anaphylactic shock. His face turned red and his eyes puffed up. Didn’t stop him finishing the lot. My husband was pleased with his Changeze Champe: Spiced lamb chops. Great thick raita, naan and daal. HUGE portions. Your main course comes all on the plate (as opposed to in little separate dishes), and my husband for one would prefer that they not do this. It’s a nice place. Clean design but cozy and comfy at same time. PS: For chile nuts like Jason. I quite from the menu: “Some like it real hot! India recently uncovered the hottest food on earth. The Tezpur chile…a fiery 855,000 on the scoville scale….the white-hot habenero chile rates only a cool 577,000”. http://www.mirchiny.com/ Cool web site.

in the vuccirria, Palermo's market district... this guy had a sort of wok-like pan that could've been an old hubcap sitting on a propane burner...thin slices of raw beef (it could've been veal) were piled up on the high side, and a pool of olive oil bubbled at the bottom...he slid some of the meat into the oil, cooked it briefly, piled it onto a hard roll, and squeezed a half-lemon over the whole thing...mmmm

In no particular order and some of these may fail to meet one or more of your criteria. Also, some may no longer be available where I found them. A good sized squid cooked sort or teriaki style and served on a skewer at the side of a very winding mountain road in avery rural part of Japan. Alcapurrias and bacalaitos fritos at the beginning of what used to be a dirt road to Loisa Aldea from Isla Verde, Puerto Rico. As the best were deep fried fresh for you, these may have not made the 2 minute cut. Most, by the way, were wretchedly leaden, greasy and awful, but it's human nature to always live in hope that the next will be better. Also some of the stands grew into huts and there were often some tables and maybe even chairs or benches. The steamed pork and cabbage buns that were reheated on a griddle under a wok top and developed a thick bottom crust. There were sold on the south side of Canal Street around Baxter and Mullberry. It's been a while since I've seen them anywhere in Chinatown. I've always blamed Rudy Giuliani's skewed vision of quality of life for their demise from the street. Nothing in the way of street food I've found lately in Chinatown compares, but my favorite baked char shu bao these days are from a little bakery on the south side of Grande Street between Mott and Elizabeth Streets. Ice cream, gelato and frozen confections all over the world. Nasi goreng and bami goreng. Balls of fried rice and fried noodle purchased from an automat-like window on the streets of Amersterdam.

Very interesting, Holly. I think I’ve been working intuitively. My fries are probably around the same size, but I cut them by hand, and if I’m using the plunge into hot oil (single or double) method, I test the temp of the oil by putting in one fry to see if it sizzles. Using a thermometer would be safer. Cooking times I do not have down pat. I go by color, tho I know some pots will not brown as much as others. I too go for Idaho. And I totally agree: shoestring fries are not fries. Whoever invented them needed their head examined! Quick question too. Plunging things into water or oil—are both considered blanching? This is an aside: Nigel Slater whom I much admire suggests par boiling pots before roasting and shaking the pan about when drained. They get beautifully flaky and come out terrifically crunchy when later roasted in goose fat. But roast pots probably deserve another thread. Final question on fries. Do you use a basket in the pan during the cooking process? Pros and cons? I haven’t in a few years and instead use a scoop (that I associate with Chinese cooking (very flat wired thing, ladle shaped)) to retrieve them when done. Jason, I've not used a wok for fries. I use my All-Clad pasta pan. It's deep. And you’re probably going to laugh and see me as a waster. I throw away oil after one use. Lard would be another matter. I’d use that again to fry my fries!

The best deep fryer in the world is a 25 dollar hand hammered wok purchased in chinatown. No home deep fryer unit comes close. Fill with peanut oil and fry up whatever you want. Just remember to reserve your frying oil using a strainer in a plastic vessel (those plastic deli soup or chinese soup containers work great) to get out the burnt bits floating around. You can probably reuse the oil half a dozen times before changing it.

I'm not sure what to say about you thinking Cathay 22 is "past its prime." It may not be cutting edge but you can eat well there and it's nearby -- aka Not in Bergen County/Hackensack/Englewood. Any restaurant 20 years old probably meets the definition of past its prime. Unless you want to travel then the choice -- between Cathay 22 and the 800 "hunan woks" in the area with the colorful photographs of General Tso's chicken above the counter -- is pretty easy.

What IS Aussie food? I'm going to answer this question by describing the kinds of foods you might eat - or merely encounter - if you were to visit Australia. If you have Aussie friends, they'd most likely insist that you try Tim Tams - Australia's answer to Oreo cookies and our most-loved uniquely Australian product. A Tim Tam comprises two rectangular chocolate biscuits, wedged together with chocolate icing and dipped in chocolate. Your Aussie friends - if they're regular people, not rampant foodies - might also feel inclined to introduce you to the delights of Aussie-style burgers. That is, a regular burger with a couple of slices of canned beetroot added. If these same Aussie friends decided to cook you an Aussie meal, it'd most likely be a reef-n-beef / surf-n-turf backyard barbeque. That is, seafood and meat. There'd be a few self-serve salads, and maybe a Pavlova for dessert. A Pavlova is a meringue that is crunchy on the outside, marshmallowy on the inside, topped with cream and doused liberally with passionfruit pulp. But say you called in on these friends at short notice, and they said "stay for dinner". What would they be eating? An Asian-style stir-fry, perhaps. In a recent survey, 90 percent of respondents said they own a wok and make stirfry at least twice week... TO BE CONTINUED!

I think what's missing from the equation with all these posts is the knowledge of the layout of our kitchen and house. There is a choice of two locations for the range, on an interior wall and next to the back door. However, I don't like the latter choice because it puts the cook's back to the pass-thru area between the kitchen and dining area peninsula. This is the current configuration to the range and I feel this is rather dangerous, because someone can bump you while you're cooking. Hence, we have a longer run for the hood ducts and have the heat of the stove further into the house. Also, I think our space limitations prohibit allowing the extra room for the insulation necessary with a commercial range. Also, we don't have a semi-outside area in which to install a heat producing item such as a previous poster suggested - except for the grill, which we already have. Actually I use the grill side burner for the wok a lot because of the heat and because it has a higher flame than the current stove burner. I do have a question about the salamander. Where do they get located? If they are over the range, how do you vent the range? Thanks, Rachel

If you are able, consider following the lead of my good friend who, while buying a hotter-than-normal stove for his kitchen, installed a gas line and a honkin' hot double burner stove on his patio, near the kitchen door. This he uses for his woks, his deep fat frying (extinguuisher handy) and for boiling crabs, lobsters, corn. Keeps the heat out of the kitchen, yet allows high btu use with safey.

Korean BBQ pork buns (like the ones they sell at the Korean bakeries) Serves 10 as Main Dish. To start off, these pork buns are very similar to Chinese pork buns (Char Siu Bao), but they're baked instead of steamed Korean Bakeries have always been a favorite of mine. The delicous buns, filled with sweet or savory fillings are so hard to resist. For the longest time, I've been trying to figure out how to achieve that soft, perfectly textured 'baked' bun dough they use, but I never had much luck. I tried many soft bun and dinner roll recipes, but it was never like the bun dough at those bakeries. The top would crisp a little too much, (even when I tried baking them at lower temperature or for less time), or the flavor and/or texture just wasn't right. I can't tell you how many times I practically begged for their secrets, but just got responses along the lines of "Not sure", or "It's just bread dough". 'Just bread dough??' Umm, yes,I know, but what do you put in it besides yeast, liquid (milk? water?) and flour? LOL One day, I received an issue of Relish Magazine in the mail. In it was a recipe for soft dinner rolls. Not even thinking about the Korean buns, it was simply a dinner roll I wanted to try. After tweaking it a tiny bit (I prefer whole milk to low fat in all recipes, unless I feel it's absolutely necessary to use low fat, after testing/tasting it), and baking/tasting the rolls, I knew instantly that this one could be IT, and I just HAD to pair this dough with the Char Siu like pork in Korean BBQ sauce, to see if I could come any closer to recreating those lovely, soft, flavorful buns. Lo and behold, I nailed it. That said, when it comes to portioning the dough and how much filling to use, I kind of just eyeball it, but I'll do my best to be as precise as I can with the instructions, based on estimations. You don't want to use too much dough for each bun, as they need to rise, and you would end up with a bun that's too 'bready' when opposed to the BBQ pork filling. On the flip side, you don't want too little bun dough, and too much pork filling, as it would probably split open upon rising and/or baking. For the BBQ pork, I referred to a recipe for Chinese pork buns by Wayne Hu, but once again, tweaked it a bit to my own taste. Bun dough Ingredients (I halved the original recipe) 1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup whole milk (room temperature) 2 1/4 cups bread flour 1/4 ounce active dry yeast 3/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 1/4 cup unsalted butter 1 egg 1 egg, beaten Instructions 1. Mix milk, flour, yeast, salt, sugar, butter and eggs using a dough hook at low speed. Increase speed to medium, and mix until dough, when stretched, forms a fine membrane or window (about 15 minutes). 2. Transfer dough to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise 1 hour. In the mean time, prepare BBQ pork filling. Roast Pork Ingredients 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/4 cup ketchup 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce 1 tablespoon dry sherry 1 garlic clove -- minced 1 tsp toasted sesame oil 1 1/2 pounds boneless pork chops or steaks (1/2 inch thick) Directions 1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line a sheet pan with foil or parchment paper. 2. In a blender container or food processor bowl with metal blade, combine all roast pork ingredients except pork; blend until smooth. 3. Generously brush both sides of the pork chops or steaks, reserving remaining basting sauce. Place pork steaks on lined pan and bake at 375F for 30 minutes. Remove pork from oven. Brush both sides of steaks or chops with remaining basting sauce. Bake an additional 10 to 20 minutes or until no longer pink in the center. Remove from oven, let cool. 4. When cool, chop the pork into small cubes, and place in the refrigerator until ready to combine with the sauce. Sauce Ingredients 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 tablespoon dry sherry 1 tablespoon peanut oil 1/2 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup chopped water chestnuts 1 large clove of garlic, minced 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 1/2 cup chicken stock or broth Directions 1. In small bowl or cup, combine the 1 Tbsp of cornstarch and 1 Tbsp sherry. Blend well. 2. Heat oil in wok or large skillet over high heat. Add onion and water chestnuts, cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until onion begins to soften and turn slightly golden. Add garlic, and cook for another minute (be careful it doesn't burn). Add the 1 Tbsp soy sauce and 1 Tbsp hoisin sauce to the pan and stir to coat. Add broth and toasted sesame oil and stir until combined. Let cook for about 1 more minute. 3. Stir in cornstarch mixture, and cook while stirring until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat, and stir in the chopped pork. Transfer to a bowl, and let cool, then refrigerate until ready to fill the buns. Method/Directions for filling and baking buns 1. Line a large sheet pan (about 12 x 17) with parchment paper. 2. Gently deflate risen dough, and portion it into about 10-12 2 or 3 oz pieces. Roll each into a ball, and cover with plastic wrap and a towel, let rest for about 5-10 minutes. 3. Taking out one ball at a time, (keeping the others covered until ready to roll) on a lightly floured board, roll it into a 4 to 5-inch circle. Place about 1/4 cup, or a little more (or less -- like I said, I eyeball this part) of the cooled pork filling into the center of the circle, and gather up the edges, twisting and pinching to seal tightly. Place on parchment lined sheet, and repeat with the rest of the cooled pork filling and dough balls, until you have 10-12 buns on the sheet. 4. Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with a little vegetable oil, and let the buns rise about 30 to 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 350F. 5. Brush rolls with beaten egg. Bake anywhere from 12 to 18 minutes until golden brown. Let cool a little on a wire rack, then enjoy! Note - You can use any kind of filling you want with this fabulous bun dough -- like the ones the Korean bakeries use, such as red bean paste, curried beef, custard (thick pastry cream), chicken filling, ham and cheese etc.., or any kind of filling that suits your fancy, as long as it isn't too loose or runny. - Keywords: Pork, Bread, Intermediate, Korean, Snack, Lunch ( RG2122 )

Tom Ka Gai 2 tablespoons vegetable oil A couple of cloves garlic, crushed or - if you've read Kitchen Confidential - finely sliced like they did in Goodfellows 1 onion, finely chopped - sometimes I leave it coarse for texture. A couple of stalks of lemon grass, cut into 2-inch lengths 1 teaspoon ground black pepper A chunk of Red Curry Paste (I prefer Panang) 2 red chilies, finely sliced (optional) A few kaffir lime leaves (available in Thai/Asian markets. Do not substitute regular lime leaves) 2 one-inch pieces fresh/frozen/dried Galangal (Kha) (available in Thai/Asian markets) 3 cups water 4 or 6 (depending on how much of a glutton you feel) boneless chicken thighs, chopped into chunks coconut milk - this is a very emotional issue with me. I try and only use the small (green) tins of Ayam Coconut cream - 3 or 4. Once you've found a source of this you'll never look back. Good supermarkets sometimes have it - hence when I see it I get heaps - makes all the difference. 1 can straw mushrooms, drained. Sometimes I get those variety packs of frilly mushrooms and substitute or combine. 1/4 cup fish sauce - 1/8 cup fresh lime juice. This is the basic ratio I started with, but sometimes I use equal parts of lime to fish sauce. NB Fish sauce is like salt. Too much and you're stuffed. Heaps of fresh coriander, chopped. A whole plant is not to much - save some for garnish. Put the oil in a wok (or large frypan) and stir-fry the garlic, onion, lemon grass, pepper, curry paste, green chilies, kaffir lime leaves, and galangal for approximately 2 minutes. Add the water and bring to just below a boil. Add the chicken and turn heat down to a simmer. Cook for approximately 5-8 minutes. Add the coconut milk, mushrooms, fish sauce, lime juice, and simmer for about 2 more minutes. Toss in coriander and serve. This is a living recipe that changes every time I make it - but these are the basics. ( RG1755 )