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No AC here. I stick to quick cooking wok dishes and bulk sous vide for chilled chicken applications. Or mostly when it's really hot, I cook outside on one of my webers. With a little technique both the kettle and the three burner gas grill make perfectly serviceable ovens.

Yes - The zuke with tuna and allioli is from The New Spanish Table. It's really good. But my favorite recipe from that book is the Basque chicken with peppers. Unless it's the sizziling garlic shrimp or..or..or... In other words, I've liked everything I've done from this book. I usually steam the zuke boats - using a wok and bamboo steamer. Then I do as you do - bake and a brief time under the broiler to top brown. My regular zucchin are done for the season but I still have a few small golden zucchini to deal with.

Here are a few more food-related pictures from the exhibition. Pounding grain into flour - probably rice Passing by the village duck and fish ponds Wok Burner and Wok I think this one (above) confirms Thanks For the Crepes' suggestion that white ribbons as seen in early pictures represent steam or wafting fragrance. It also confirms my suggestion that perspective is not a feature of this art. Either that or the wok really is 100 times bigger than the people! Makin' Bacon The poor pig is off to become pork. To distract it from its grizzly end, they have covered it's eyes with the bucket. This bucket will also be used to collect the animal's blood after it no longer requires it. The Chinese character/symbol tattooed on the pig is 囍, which, ironically, is the symbol for "Double Happiness". I'm planning to put as many of these pictures as possible, including those less directly culinary, on my website over the next few days. I will PM the link to those who have expressed interest here. Thank you all.

Looks like standard mediocre chain restaurant food to me. Stacked food isn't exactly new school plating; it's somewhat dated at this point, smacking as it does of the 1990's. It's very "chocolate lava cake" in that way (which, surprisingly, isn't on the Lazy Dog menu). And as silly as stacked food can be, it sometimes has a place. Stacking a pot roast might seem dumb, but so does serving pot roast at a restaurant when virtually anyone can make decent pot roast with minimal effort. To make customers want to pay $15 for such an inexpensive and easy to prepare dish, you'll need a gimmick. And the Lazy Dog's gimmick is in the plating. Make of that what you will. I don't think it's especially objectionable. I wouldn't consider their presentations to be especially "artsy fartsy" unless you consider anything that comes with squeeze-bottled sauce to qualify as artsy. (It doesn't.) And again, I wouldn't consider "new school" to have a monopoly on "artsy fartsy" plating. Some of the most ridiculous and amazing presentations in culinary history are old school French preparations. All I see in the plating here is a bit of layering and squeezed sauces to make the food look more interesting than it really is. And you're right not to expect high quality food from a restaurant that sells brick oven pizza alongside burgers and wok-fried dishes. The menu at these places isn't meant to impress but to offer a huge variety of adequate (but not especially delicious or inventive) options at reasonable prices so that families and large parties can eat at the same restaurant without causing conflicts. The Johnsons want to go out for dinner, but they can never agree on what to have. Susie, the mom, wants Mexican food while Bill, the dad, wants to go to a steakhouse. Jane, their teenage daughter, is going through a vegan phase while Little Jimmy, their youngest, will only eat pizza. And Fido, the family dog, has separation anxiety so the family seldom leaves him for a night out at a "fancy" restaurant. But at the Lazy Dog cafe, Mommy Susie can have the fish tacos, Father Bill can have a steak, and Jane can have tofu stir fry! They can keep Little Jimmy entertained by making his own own pizza! And if they sit on the patio, Fido can have grilled chicken and rice! Sure, none of it's very good -- it's "3.5 star Yelp" material at best -- but everyone's happy. Especially the dog, who really doesn't know any better.

Most books on Chinese wok cookery will be meat heavy. True vegetarianism is rare in China. Many vegetable dishes are cooked in lard (pig fat) to 'improve the flavour' (see here). There are however a couple of vegetarian Chinese books out there. Try Florence Lin's "Chinese Vegetarian Cooking." I don't have a copy now, but I remember it was reasonably good. Not exclusively wok cooking, though. ”Wok Wisely: Chinese Vegetarian Cooking" also looks interesting, but I haven't read it.

What's the best wok cookbook for vegetarian cooking? (No meat or seafood). Grace Young seems to have several but they all seem rather "meaty".

Thanks! Well, we really love to switch around cuisines to keep it interesting. A great bowl of slow cooked chili, a nice andouille gumbo, a Moroccan lentil soup, a hearty posole, a bowl of tonkatsu ramen or a nice well simmered Pho; any of these made well would satisfy me equally. However, if there is 1 cuisine that both my wife and I love, It'd be Thai cuisine. We'd go weak in the knees eyeing a nicely charred Pad Kee Mao basking in the glory of its wok hei or even a flavorful Pad Gra Prao. There are several foods typical to Mumbai that aren't made as well anywhere in the rest of India, let alone in the United States. For instance the vada pav is classic Mumbai street food; a sandwich or actually a slider involving a potato patty aka 'batata vada' placed between a soft very mildly sour and very slightly chewy 'pav'. There are several variations of the 'vada' itself but it is the pav that no one outside of Mumbai has managed to nail down. The pav is akin to a dinner roll; is of Portuguese origins and depending on your street vendor, sweet and spicy chutneys are added on and other fixings like fried chillies. The food we typically cook and eat at home most often is quite unlike hat's available at Indian restaurants here. We are originally from a coastal region south of Goa and we eat what's known as Saraswat Konkani cuisine. The cuisine is coincidentally vegetarian (or even vegan). However, seafood is pretty common as is consumption of tons of freshly scraped coconut (not coconut milk) for use in curries. As far as cooking other cuisines go, the last I cooked from one my of cookbooks was a couple of recipes from Ottolenghi's book 'Plenty' and from Fuschia Dunlop's "Land Of Plenty". I meant the ex-cast iron stomach in reference to eating off the street food stalls of Mumbai. I still do that on my trips back home but these days am likely to suffer the following morning!

I agree with all of the above you you can season it ..or depending on how fast you want it "old" you can just use it and use it and use it then when you are done each thing you just wipe it or gently wash it put some oil on it and stick it back on the burner to dry it ..give it a "story" let it age ..do not push it ..time …patience …and over and over and over ..seasoning takes time and usage ..agreed not over thinking….at least for me ..to get that nice slick surface takes age… that is how I season anything "new" I age it naturally by using it ..your food gets better over time as your wok ages..I have an old old wok that was purchased new and it was a mess when I started but as I seasoned it it took on my character of cooking ..I believe that seasoning is also unique to the person using it and the best things are left to season naturally over time and usage …like a good pair of jeans! or I just realized this second…my 37 year marriage this month is nicely seasoned with time the things I have slowly seasoned have been the things I have kept in life!

All good advice above - and don't overthink it. The wok will get seasoned fine from almost any preparation and progress from there the more you cook in it. It's hard to go wrong.

The principle is exactly the same as with a cast iron skillet: you're polymerizing oils (which means heating them to the point where they oxidize and turn to a tough plastic consistency) and carbonizing them (which means burning some of the oil to soot, which embeds in the polymerized oil and gives the nonstick characteristics). This will happen on its own just from using a wok. If you're in a hurry, you can fully season the thing in 20 minutes or so if you're efficient about it. You need an oil that's high in unsaturated fats, preferably in polyunsaturated fats, and that's highly refined so that it can take high heat. Look for something a refined canola or safflower oil. Put a VERY THIN coating on the pan, and heat the wok. You can use a powerful burner, or else put the wok in an over (for more even results). If using the oven, I set the temp to around 25°F higher than the smoke point of the oil. When the oil stops smoking, take a piece of paper towel dipped in the oil and paint another thin coat on the pan (use tongs!). Repeat. After a few cycles of this, the wok will have an even, black, durable coating. This is the same as for cast iron. Just be aware that spun steel is less porous than cast iron, so the coating will be less durable. Also be aware that if you use the wok at true stir-fry temperatures (like with a commercial wok burner) this is probably a pointless exercise because you'll burn the coating off the wok every time you use it. Any instructions you find that mention using salt, or any kind of food, or saturated fats like shortening, are based on pure folklore. There's nothing scientific or practical to recommend any of that.

huiray, That was a very interesting article that gave us outsiders a little insight into the hustle of the day-to-day delivery of Asian food from a popular fast food chain. We don't have a Panda in Cary, but there's one in the next town over, Apex. We have all sprawled together these days, and the traffic, Oy! Do you like the food at Panda Express? I know from your dinner posts that you are most adept at preparing Asian food at home. One reason I think Cary doesn't support a Panda is that we have numerous mom and pop Asian restaurants here, like Super Wok and Banana Leaf: http://www.beyondmenu.com/39694/cary/super-wok-cary-27511.aspx?r=39694#group_1177004 http://www.beyondmenu.com/39263/cary/banana-leaf-cary-27511.aspx?r=39263 These are just two of the best (IMO) within walking distance of me, and they prepare a la minute to order, which I think is very important, especially for anything fried. I had lunch at Banana Leaf today, and they have the best crab rangoon I have ever had. I realize this is an Americanized dish, and theirs, like most is made with surimi, but WOW is it good! It also includes plenty of finely chopped scallions in the ample cream cheese filling. The wonton wrappers are thinner (possibly housemade) than any I can buy frozen. They come out screaming hot, exquisitely light and crispy, served with a small lettuce and fine spirals of carrot salad and a lovely, flavorful sauce with fresh garlic, a little red pepper, a little sweet, a little sour, lick up the last drop, kind of sauce. Just a delight for the palate and senses. Here's a picture from Yelp of the dish: http://s3-media3.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/VVfoY4tvpE78OgnhoUO_bw/o.jpg It takes absolutely nothing away from an obviously hardworking crew at Panda Express putting out pre-prepared Asian dishes to the masses, of course, but I would just like to know what you think of the chain if you've eaten there, with your qualified opinion. I might want to check out the Panda in Apex ... or not.

There are lots of techniques that will work, but the one in that video is one of the most foolproof, I think. I don't think there's anything magic about using Chinese chives except that they are cheap and a good shape for pushing around the wok without developing any residue.

This video from the Wok Shop in San Fransisco takes you through seasoning the Wok step by step and the method works beautifully. I think Grace Young mentions this method in one of her books.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNPe5-swL-k P.S. The Chinese Chives are really worth getting for this.....

I've heard so many differing opinions on this topic, from what types of oils to use (flaxseed vs Crisco vs grapeseed vs canola) to what temp/for how long/how many times to season it... and now i'm confused. Does anyone have a tried and tested, foolproof way of doing this?? The wok is sitting in its bag, still waiting for the factory coating to be stripped.

Tonight, I did a very common dish round these parts. 茄子肉末 (qié zi ròu mò). That is aubergine/eggplant with minced pork, done in the wok. The pork is marinated in the usual suspects - garlic, ginger, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, chilli flakes. The aubergine is sliced and stir fried. When almost ready, the pork is added along with any remaining marinade and perhaps a splash of water if it's drying out.. S+P. Chinese chives and chopped coriander leaf/cilantro. Eat. Simple Chinese home cooking. Incidentally, instead of saying "Say Cheese" when taking photographs, the Chinese say "Say Eggplant (茄子 (qié zi))" which has the same result. .

I live in the UK. I am not a professional chef. I'm looking for a range cooker possibly dual fuel; electricity and gas. What I've very keen on having is something with a gas hob which will enable me to do some wok stir frying. I've been suggested a Rangemaster and Lacanche. The Lacanche seems a little too expensive but I'm told it's the better range. There do seem to be some second hand models around but then there's the problem of a lack of warranty. The Rangemasters are very nice looking but have been told that they're not that good but not bad either and come at a fraction of the price of a Lacanche. I would be very thankful for some advice on what to get. I suppose I would preferably like the cost to be kept to below £1500. Thanks.

scubadoo care to share the recipe for the lamb and bean stew? Looks marvelous. I did something I've been planning to do for years - got an insert for the Weber with a round hole for the wok. This was up at the BF's mom's place and we had to get a new carbon steel wok and season it, which I foolishly did inside and set off the house fire alarms. I made dry-fried green beans and chicken with sichuan peppercorns. I definitely did not achieve wok hei, - counterintuitively (for me an inexperienced idiot) the Cantonese double-handled wok is much harder to toss or even to approach with the bare hands. I need to develop better technique with the wok scoop, or else try a northern wok with a long handle. I foolishly thought at the higher heat I could stir-fry larger quantities of ingredients at once - I was doubling the recipes. I should have kept to the Grace Young recommendations of small quantities in batches. And I think I need to get the wok and probably the grill much hotter. Nonetheless the results were tasty. Any tips much appreciated - I want to learn!

The wife and I watched The Search For General Tso about the ubiquitous chicken dish. So I was inspired to haul out the wok and try it with some firm tofu based on a googled "authentic" recipe from Chef Peng the creator. The sauce recipe surely needs some tweaking but it's tasty.

What do you have already? What kind of cooking do you do? Before "gadgets," I'd invest in 2 good knives - a chef's knife (or something similar) and a paring knife. A few saucepans (say 1 & 3 quart), an 8" and 10" frying pan, maybe a larger (8 qt) soup/stock pot. When I first started cooking seriously, I bought a Chinese cleaver and a good wok, and cooked practically everything with those. It's the cook, not the kitchen, making the food.

It also very much depends on what you want to cook. My kitchen is very simple by my standards, but ridiculously complex by my neighbours' standards. They have one wok and one knife. End of.

I do 99% of my cooking in an 8-year old wok - decidedly not sold as non-stick. It is ferro-selenium and years of use and careful seasoning have rendered it non-stick. But, I also have what you call a skillet. Some things (few) you can't do in a wok. Proper omelettes, pancakes etc which require a flat surface. I also use the skillet to fry the occasional couple of rashers of bacon for breakfast. It is cast iron, but has also developed 'non-stick" qualities over the years. No one needs Teflon etc. Except the stockholders.

We each fended for ourselves this evening. Kerry said her meal was not photogenic enough to post. It was a Bowl Meal similar to mine but with potatoes in place of zoodles. Leftover beef re-fried in the wok, chopped scallions added and then a ziplock bag of leftover zoodles. You would be amazed at how good this was. Both of us can be quite easily satisfied with very simple dishes. Thank goodness.

I have nothing from my first kitchen. Except memories. I moved too often. Too many countries. Too many wives! I started out wanting to cook something better than my family were feeding me. I knew nothing. My first girlfriend's father made me a simple omelette. I was amazed. Wow! Eggs taste good! I remember well the first wok I bought. It was terrible quality but very exotic. I had no idea how to use it. And an "Indian Cookbook" which was really a pamphlet full of hopeless recipes. But the spirit never died and slowly I got a little better and my kitchens got better, only to be abandoned and I had to start again. Still a thousand miles to go. Here is my favourite corner of my latest incarnation

I'm interested in where these were made - as I am with DDF's Rival blender. I don't remember my first kitchen that well - it was somewhere in Santa Barbara, I think. In any event, I still have the first Chinese cleavers I bought. And the wok tools, but not the wok. I have some cast iron, that I'm pretty sure was gifted or purchased at flea markets/garage sales. I have a few of the knives from my original set of Henckel's (tomato, paring). And I remember buying a set of pots and pans from Macy's - they were called Tools of the Trade, and were well made at the time. I still have the 8 qt. soup pot, and maybe a saute pan or two.

When I first moved out on my own I went to an Chinese market and purchased a wok that came with accessories which included a 2-basket bamboo steamer. I still have the wok, the rack that hangs off the side, and the steamer -although the steamer could fall apart any day now it barely survived a bad fire. I use the wok at least once a week for all sorts of things including popcorn and deep frying. I picked up a Wagner 6" cast iron skillet at a thrift store. It is still the perfect small pan for eggs and reheating single portions of leftovers. I got a 10" cast iron skillet, new Lodge, a few years later. This is still my go-to frittata pan. My mom gave me the 4 qt pot and 8" saucepan & lid from the Revereware she got as a wedding gift a year before I was born, I use these almost daily even though I own a fancy set of copper pots. My French rolling pin (tapered, no handles) came from a mall kitchen store, they had a sale going and a huge bin of them at $2 each. I got the only one in the bin made of tiger maple, and it's gorgeous. It still inspires me to bake. Oh yeah, I almost lost it! One former roommate threw it in the trash because she thought it was junk!