Wok for Less – Cookbook Giveaway
January 21, 2024 by JennyEnter our US/CA giveaway to win one of three copies of Wok for Less: Budget-Friendly Asian Meals in 30 Minutes or Less by Ching-He Huang. Ching-He has events as follows: a virtual class at Milk Street Kitchen on February 1st (cooking for the New Year) and on March 13th at Topping & Company (Bath location).
Ching-He Huang is a Taiwanese-born British food writer and TV chef. She has appeared in a variety of television cooking programmes, and is the author of 11 best-selling cookbooks and co-author of Exploring China with Ken Hom. I believe I have all of her titles in my collection and enjoy them.
Ching-He’s latest title Wok for Less: Budget-Friendly Asian Meals in 30 Minutes or Less shares over 100 recipes for quick meals that won’t break the bank or stress the cook. The wok is an incredibly quick, heat-efficient cooking method – and a lot less expensive (and bulky) than an air fryer. Chinese and Asian cuisines have also always featured recipes that use cheaper ingredients.
In Wok for Less, there are creative ways to make fish, seafood and meat go further, to inventive veg-packed dishes that will satisfy the most committed carnivore, and ideas for using store cupboard ingredients to make multiple meals, the recipes will not only bring you joy but will save you both time and money. The dishes here are approachable and once you have a few staple ingredients in your pantry such as soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, for example, you can have any number of dishes on the table any night of the week.
The publisher is sharing the following two recipes with our Members to try now.
Hoisin cauliflower noodles
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Serves 2
Prep 10 mins
Cook 7 mins
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 1 small head of cauliflower, washed and broken into florets
- 50ml (2fl oz) water
- For the sauce
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 2.5cm (1in) piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- 200ml (7fl oz) vegetable bouillon stock (1 tsp vegetable bouillon powder + 200ml/7fl oz cold water)
- 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1–2 tbsp low-sodium light soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cornflour, blended with 2 tbsp cold water
- 200g (7oz) cooked egg noodles
To garnish
- 1 handful of roasted, unsalted peanuts
- 1 tbsp finely sliced spring onions
I love wok-charring cauliflower to bring out its smoky sweet flavours. It makes the perfect accompaniment to either chunky egg noodles or wide rice noodles. I like umami sauces especially savoury hoisin sauce. The combination of aromatic chives and crunchy peanuts makes this a super satisfying dish. So good.
Heat a wok over a high heat until smoking. Add the rapeseed oil and give it a swirl. Add the cauliflower florets and stir-fry for 30 seconds, then drizzle the measured water around the edges of the wok to create some steam to help cook the florets. Keep stirring until any liquid has evaporated, charring the florets for a smoky flavour. Remove the florets and set aside.
Wash the wok, and reheat for the sauce, adding the rapeseed oil. Add the ginger and red chilli and fry for a few seconds. Then add the vegetable stock, seasoning it with hoisin sauce, light soy sauce and dark soy sauce, and thicken it with the cornflour slurry for a glossy sauce.
Add the cooked egg noodles and the cauliflower back in and toss in the sauce well, garnish with peanuts and finely sliced spring onions and serve immediately.
Prawn x edamame fried rice
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Serves 2
Prep 10 mins
Cook 5 mins
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 2 spring onions, trimmed and sliced into 1cm (½ in) rounds, greens and whites separated
- 1 large handful of frozen edamame beans
- 8 tiger prawns, shelled, deveined and sliced in half down the middle
- 1 tbsp Shaohsing rice wine
- ½ tsp dark soy sauce
- 220g (73/4oz) cooked jasmine rice
- 1–2 tbsp low-sodium light soy sauce
- dash of toasted sesame oil
- pinch of ground white pepper
- dried chilli flakes, to serve
I love the combination of the sweetness of the prawns, crunchiness of the edamame beans and bite of the spring onions. Slice the prawns in half to make it go a little further. This is great fried rice on a budget.
Heat a wok over a medium heat until smoking. Add the rapeseed oil and give it a swirl. Add the white parts of the spring onions. Toss for less than 20 seconds, then add the frozen edamame and toss for 10 seconds. Add the tiger prawn pieces and toss for another 10 seconds in the wok until the prawns start to turn pink. Season with the Shaohsing rice wine and dark soy sauce and cook until the alcohol has evaporated.
Add the cooked jasmine rice and ,using a wooden spoon or metal spatula, start to gently break apart the rice grains: not in a stabbing motion but by tossing the ingredients well for 1–2 minutes.
Drizzle the light soy sauce over the rice and quickly toss to coat the grains well and evenly colour the rice. Sprinkle over the remaining green parts of the spring onions. Season with a dash of toasted sesame oil and a pinch of ground white pepper and serve immediately with dried chilli flakes on the side.
Vegan Option Add small cubes of fried tofu instead of the prawns
Excerpts from: Wok for Less by Ching-He Huang, Kyle Books Photo: Jamie Cho
Special thanks to the publisher for providing three copies of this title in our promotion. Entry options include answering the following question in the comments section of this blog post.
Which recipe in the index would you like to try first?
Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest before posting or your entry won’t be counted. For more information on this process, please see our step-by-step help post. Once you log in and enter your member name you will be directed to the next entry option – the blog comment. After that, there are additional options that you can complete for more entries. Be sure to check your spam filters to receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on March 29th, 2024.
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