Food Preparation Hi-Lites

This is a continuation of our series on cooking with the wok, as pulled from excerpts from Renegade Wok: New Dimensions in Wok Cooking. In this issue we concentrate on how to prepare meats from fowl to fish.

Meats

• After removing fat, gristle or bones, cut them cross grained for tenderness. They may be in strips, chunks, diced butterfly, and so on. Use your imagination but don't mix up the different cuts/items.
• Ground meats and add your condiments, extenders, chopped water chestnuts, and so on to form patties or balls prior to cooking.
• Steak and chops: Tenderize and/or marinate as desired, cross hatching is legal.

Fowl

• Ensure that each fowl has been properly defeathered and drawn.
• Dismember all parts as desired.
• Skinning is becoming popular, when one is concerned with caloric intake. (After cooking for maximum flavor.) Note that skin, bones, and necks can be cooked in the broth pot.
• Filet raw fowl or meat.
• Dice cooked meat.
• Whole chicken can be cooked for the broth and be served as "Bok Jom Gai" (Cantonese) or "Drunken Bum Bum" (Northern style) when marinated with beer or wine.

Any bite-sized chicken can be eaten as cooked, or dipped in sauces containing:

• Vegetable oil, salt, shredded ginger, green onions
• Oyster sauce
• Dark soy sauce
• Garlic-soy-sunflower oil with your choice of condiments

Shrimp

• Shelled shrimp meat is a popular preparation and permits deveining of the larger sizes. Cook any way imaginable.
• Unshelled shrimp is a good variation. If you remove the legs and leave the tail, you can trap superior flavor between the meat and the shell.
• Smaller whole shrimp tastes good fried in spicy sauces. Cook any way, but be careful of shell pieces.

Note:   Deveined, shelled, and/or cooked shrimp are available in the markets. Don't work so hard.

Butterfly, batter, and pre-fry for natural look. Use in fried rice dishes or as garnish.

How about a buffet plate with pate caviar, cold chopped shrimp, lobster, and crab meat continental style?

Fish

Steamed Whole-on-Crock

1. Clean and drain fish, and place on plate or dish with a ridge to retain juice.
2. Spread slivers of ginger, red dates, black/brown bean sauce, and pickled turnips. Cover and steam until the meat is flaky and juicy (7 to 11 minutes).
3. Remove from steamer.
4. Garnish with slivered green onions and chopped nuts.
5. Pour hot sesame oil and light soy sauce over fish.
6. Top with parsley and serve.

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