Wok Cookbook

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Hi all,
I was thinking of getting a wok and I wondered if anyone could recommend a good Wok cookbook?

Obviously a selection of good recipes is important but as I've never really cooked with one before one with a section on cooking with woks and how to look after a Wok would also come in very handy!
Thanks in advance!

The Sweeper

Buy a carbon steel wok. If you have a local asian supermarket or access to a Chinatown district near where you live, go in there and buy a wok. I would recommend buying one with a flat bottom, as even if you have gas and a wok stand, a round-bottomed wok really is better suited to using by sitting in in a hole on a hot plate, not a flimsy wok-stand in a home kitchen.

If you buy a large carbon steel wok (14-16"), try for one with two handles to help you lift it when it's full of food.

Also buy a wok lid and a bamboo wok brush if you can get one, for cleaning.

Before first use, wash your carbon steel wok in warm, soapy water. This should be the last time your wok ever sees detergent.

Rinse well, and place the still-wet wok over a heat source (preferably flame gas, but if you have only an electric hob, it'll have to do). Heat the wok until all of the water has dried, and then add about two tablespoons of sunflower oil. Circle the oil around the wok until it coats all of the base and some of the sides. Heat until smoking. Keep rolling the wok gently in circles until the oil begins to darken the wok - you'll start getting black patches and dark patches - don't let the arse burn out of the wok, but allow the oil to lubricate patches of the wok as they darken.

You should have your extractor fan on for this bit because it will get smoky - it's supposed to.

When you have some colour on the wok base, turn the heat off and allow it to cool down some. Then take a sheet of kitchen towel, and mop up any excess oil, while rubbing oil into every inch of the interior surface of the wok. You should hang the oiled wok up when it has cooled, or put it in a cupboard where nothing touches the oiled interior.

This is the first seasoning, and you will use a similar method for every use.

Before cooking with the wok, take your oiled wok out of the cupboard. If you have stored it somewhere sensible, it won't be full of dust sticking to the oiled surface. Put it over the heat and switch the heat on. Put about two tablespoons of oil into the wok and heat until it ripples. Rotate it around the hot wok.

NOW POUR THE HOT OIL OFF.

You can pour it into a ceramic jug for reuse - I keep a little jug of 'seasoning oil' that I reuse - I don't heat it more than three or four times before I throw it out, but it saves just chucking 2tbsps of oil down the drain on each use.

You now have a hot wok with a slick of oil on it - you add more oil if you want to stir fry, and heat until smoking, but this double-oiling will contribute massively to the non-stick properties of your wok.

After use, allow the wok to cool slightly and then run under the hot tap. Use either a well-rinsed dish brush with no detergent, or a bamboo wok brush, to remove any stuck-on food. The idea is to scald out the wok without scouring it.

Finally place the wet wok on a heat source, and repeat the first steps - let the heat dry the water off the wok, then add oil and season the wok with the oil over the heat, then use kitchen towel to remove excess oil and rub any existing oil into the steel of the wok.

With each use, a patina will build up on the wok. This patina is better than an artificial non-stick coating and works the same way. Do not cook acidic foods in your wok, as they will eat into the patina - for instance, don't let a chili or a spag bol simmer away in there for an hour, or it'll come out clean as they day you bought it.

If your patina is broken down by something - for instance if some bugger comes into your kitchen and cleans your wok with a scouring pad and a bottle of fairy liquid - once you've finished weeping, just start over from scratch and you'll restore the patina through use.

Some foods also add to the quality of the patina - stir-frying belly pork, for instance, helps build the patina, as does the use of chili bean oil - the oil and fat in both substances add to the slick coating on the wok and once seasoned and oiled in, they help contribute to a shiny, black-brown interior on your wok.

Woks are designed for high-heat cooking, so the oil should always be smoking before you add your finely chopped food, which will cook in minutes.