A few weeks ago, I dropped in at my neighborhood Asian market to buy a few condiments. I left with a new wok. I’d resisted this investment for years due to lack of storage space and a gas range I assumed was a prerequisite for serious stir-frying.
Then I received a copy of “The Wok: Recipes and Techniques” (Norton, $50), the much-anticipated follow-up to food science guru J. Kenji López-Alt’s 2015 best-selling tome, “The Food Lab.” In the introduction, he explains how a flat-bottomed wok works fine on a small electric burner so long as you cook in relatively small batches. That tidbit gave me the push I needed to get wokking.
I test-drove my purchase with Chinese-American Kung Pao Chicken, following the clear and entertaining instructions that have won López-Alt legions of fans on YouTube and in the New York Times where he’s a columnist. The results came impressively close to my favorite take-out in about a half-hour.
“The Wok,” López-Alt writes, began as a single chapter in “The Food Lab.” He made such a convincing case of the tool’s versatility that his editor advised cutting it from the manuscript to expand into its own book. At 658 pages, it’s an opus in itself, beginning with a guide to buy and care for woks, and detailed descriptions of wok-friendly pantry ingredients. Subsequent chapters cover techniques for stir-frying, pan-frying, deep-frying, simmering and braising, along with rice and noodle know-how and myriad sauces and sides.
Recipes cover all the Asian favorites (Moo Shu Pork, Bibimbap) plus innovative riffs (Noodles with Thai Basil and Peanut Pesto, Tempura with Gochugaru Yogurt Ranch Dressing). I want to make them all.
I still haven’t figured out a place to store it. Maybe it’s already where it belongs: on top of the stove, ready to spring into action.
Susan Puckett is a cookbook author and former food editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow her at susanpuckett.com.
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