The Wonderful Wok: Stir Frying Basics

Want to enjoy the tantalizing taste of Asian food at home? Invest in a wok! Stir-frying is one of the easiest ways to create a delicious, healthy dinner in minutes. Learn to prepare meals the Asian way: light on meat, heavy on the vegetables, and quick-cooked on high heat to retain vitamins and flavors. A few basics are all you need to get cooking!





Purchase your wok. You don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on state-of-the-art cookware. A standard, stainless-steel wok, purchased for less than $50, will serve its purpose well. The heavier the wok, the better it will retain heat. This is important because you must cook at a high temperature to avoid stewing or steaming your ingredients.





Season your wok. Before you use your wok for the first time, you must season it. Seasoning the wok is a way to "break it in" to ensure even heat-distribution during stir-frying, and helps lock in the flavors of the food as its cooking. When you remove your wok from its packaging, you may notice a greasy film on the surface. Wipe this film away, and wash your wok in warm, soapy water. To season your wok, put it on the stove over medium-high heat for a few minutes. Add a drop or two of oil, and swirl it around to coat the surface evenly. Remove from the stovetop to let cool for a bit, and then use a paper towel to wipe out the oily residue. You may want to season your wok once more before you begin cooking with it.





Gather your utensils. Professional chefs use a mesh ladle to toss meat and vegetables around in the wok, but if you don't have one of these, a wooden spoon will do just fine. Place several large, clean bowls and plates on the counter next to your wok so you can set your cooked items aside as you prepare them in batches. Other items you'll need: a chef's knife, cutting board, and several bowls of different sizes to store liquid mixtures and chopped herbs and vegetables.





Cut and dry food prep. The most time-consuming part of stir-frying is preparing the ingredients. You'll want everything portioned out and cleaned, chopped, sliced and diced in advance. The actual stir-frying is fast and furious (you've probably heard those pans rattling like mad while waiting for your Chinese takeout!) so meat, vegetables, noodles, spices and oils should be ready and within reaching distance so you can grab and get on with it. Chop everything into bite-sized chunks to ensure quick and thorough cooking. Make sure there's no extra water or other liquid in your wok while stir-frying meat and vegetables. As mentioned earlier, liquid in the wok will cause your meal to stew instead of lightly fry.





Stir-fry in batches. Properly stir-fried food retains its crisp, firm exterior and tender, juicy inside by cooking small portions at a time. Heat the wok, drizzle in enough oil to coat the surface, and add enough small cuts of beef, pork or chicken to just cover the bottom. Fry on medium-high heat, tossing the entire time. When your first batch of meat is thoroughly cooked, remove from the wok and drain on paper towels. Fry the second batch in a little more oil, and then set aside. Oil the pan once more, toss in a few cloves of crushed garlic and/or ginger, and stir-fry the vegetables, adding the thicker ingredients like potatoes and carrots first, and then tossing in quicker-cooking ingredients like scallions and mushrooms at the end. When the vegetables are done, return the meat to the pot with the vegetables, and finish with your liquid sauces and seasonings. Give everything a quick toss, simmer for a few minutes and then remove from heat.





Learn the flavors. Thai cooking is immensely popular right now; similar to Chinese, but with its own exotic spices and flavorings, some of which take their cue from Indian cuisine. Malaysian, Japanese, Vietnamese and Korean fare all boast their signature recipes as well. With practice, you'll learn which spices and sauces go with what and how to identify their flavors. You can buy most of what you need at an Asian specialty store.





Always have some Asian cooking staples on hand: soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, fish sauce. Fresh ginger, garlic, chillies, galangal, Asian shallots, scallions, kaffir lime leaves, cilantro and lemongrass. Green or red curry paste, shrimp paste. Noodles and rice. And of course... plenty of fresh meat, fish, tofu and vegetables. Pork, chicken, beef, shrimp, prawns, scallops. Onions, carrots, broccoli, snow peas, bok choi (Chinese cabbage), mushrooms (regular, oyster mushrooms, shitake mushrooms).





There really is no limit to what you can do with a wok, an assortment of meats, vegetables, spices and sauces. If you're the creative chef, feel free to experiment. If you're a "by the book" cook, go out and purchase a stir-fry cookbook which will explain each technique in detail as well as familiarize you with the exotic ingredients. Above all: know that stir-frying is a healthy way to prepare and enjoy the foods you love in the comfort of home.

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The Basics of Keeping Your Man Happy

You love your husband to death, but sometimes you wonder just how you can help him. He works hard for you and the kids day after day and you want to be sure he knows just how much you appreciate him. And of course, you want to keep him happy and pleasant to be around when he's at home!

Don't worry, it's really not hard to keep your man happy and content - at least while he's at home. Remember you can't really control his happiness or his stress outside of the home. But you can do a lot at home to show your appreciation for him and give him a comforting home.

Pan Fried Chicken

First, if you have children, you need to get them under control. I'm not saying that you have wild, uncontrollable children (if you do, you really need to take control). But your husband is going to feel frazzled and stressed if he goes from the office to the house - where he's met by screaming, melting down children (or sullen, moody children).

Come to think of it, you feel stressed and frazzled by screaming, melting down children! Take the time to study child rearing and learn how to be in charge of your kids. Remember, you're the mom. You are the one in charge of the kids - they're not here to run all over you! Your man will end up taking care of some discipline - that's part of parenting. But try to get the children doing well with listening and doing what they're supposed to be doing so your husband can come home and enjoy the family.

Next, forget about all the things your husband is supposed to be doing around the house. That's right. Just let go of all of that. If he's supposed to take out the trash and it's overflowing, don't nag him. You just take it out. And focus on how glad you are that the trash is empty with a fresh bag in it - don't think grumpy thoughts about how he should have taken it out.

You'll find that as you stop having a million expectations of him you'll enjoy your husband more. You may also notice that he starts doing things for you - without you ever having to nag. Some men may never really get up and do a whole lot. Blame his mother and stop nagging him. It will be much easier for you to ask for help with something you really need if you haven't been nagging him about a hundred other things all day.

Now they say that a key to a man's heart is through his stomach, and this is very true. Your man will stay happy if you keep him well fed. That means making food he likes. Don't leave him to "fend for himself" every night. It's easy to master basic casseroles and slow-cooker meals. As a bonus, most men love these meals. Learning to make burgers, baked chicken, and pan-fried steaks is also easy and again, many men love these things. If your man has special dietary needs or preferences, you should honor these. Cook what he can eat. Teach your children to enjoy and appreciate what he can eat. A man with a full stomach is truly a happy man.

Finally, keep your man happy in the bedroom. Get a few less headaches and be a little more willing to say "yes." A big hint is to focus on keeping him happy - if you do so you will find that your own pleasure increases and you'll have more fun, too!

These few simple tips will really help you keep your husband happy and more relaxed. He'll still have stress from work and other outside commitments to deal with, but you'll know that your home life is supportive and relaxing (most of the time). Your man will love you and cherish you in return.

The Basics of Keeping Your Man Happy

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Barbecuing Basics

Ask anyone across the country and depending on where they live, barbecuing evokes emotions and brings out memories of summers gone by. It can create controversy when people are asked to define a good barbecue and debates begin.

There are three main types of barbecues, charcoal-fired, gas and electric. What you choose will depend on where you will use your barbecue, how many people you will be serving and food being barbecued.

Barbecuing is one of America's oldest traditions going back hundreds of years when Native Americans slow cooked their game over hot coals. They used local ingredients for the open fire, smoking fish and game. It was the Caribbean natives who taught the Spanish to cook with a Barbacoa or wooden frame and to baste the meats with sauce mixtures that most resemble today's barbecue sauces. The Spanish introduced this technique to the southwest and the southeast Atlantic coast.

In the 1700's barbecuing became a favorite gathering time for New York society and politicians used it as a rallying point for electioneering.

Over the years, barbecue cooking methods have evolved regionally and from state to state. In the Deep South it is pork, while the mid-west prefers beef. The central states prefer chicken and the northwest, northeast and in between love fish and seafood. With transportation technology, we can get it all, anywhere and anytime so the possibilities are endless.

There are two ways to barbecue, direct or indirect heat. The techniques differ in how the coals are arranged and whether the barbecue is covered. The direct method is best for grilling steaks, chops, hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken. The indirect method is best for foods that require more than 20 minutes cooking such as whole poultry, roasts, hams and fish. This method is best done in a covered grill with the hood closed for uniform heat.

Almost any cut of meat, beef, pork or chicken as well as most fish and seafood that are roasted, pan-fried, pan-broiled or broiled can also be cooked on the grill. If marinated properly, even the less tender cuts will turn out moist and delicious.

Always use long-handled cooking utensils to avoid burning yourself. Have a barbecue mitt close by for emergency adjustments and removal of drips pans. Use a water-filled spray bottle to extinguish flare-ups. You should always turn food with long-handled tongs or a spatula. Using a fork pierces the food, allowing juices to escape. Always salt food after cooking as salt draws out juices. Be sure that ashes are completely cold before being dumped into a paper or plastic container.

A little known fact is the role Henry Ford played in creating America's passion for barbecuing. In the early 1900's, Ford had a sawmill that made the framing for his Model Ts. As the piles of scrap wood grew, Ford's ingenuity took over and he learned how to chip the wood and converted it to the now familiar pillow-shaped briquettes. Ford then sold them through his car dealerships. Ford Charcoal was later named Kingsford and is still the number one brand sold in America today.

Scott Tranter has been in the restaurant business for 36 years. He has started and operated 12 successful restaurants and is a leading authority in the food service industry. He is a ServSafe Instructor/Proctor for the National Restaurant Association and a Member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. He is a published author and motivational speaker. His gift of teaching others how to achieve their passion is magical and will ignite enthusiasm and be the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment. Please visit our website http://www.dinerwizard.com

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