Increasingly, housewives prefer to use a wok in their cooking. However, not everyone knows how to cook vegetables in a wok correctly and what a frying pan should be to make the food as tasty and healthy as possible.
A wok is a traditional frying pan used in Asian countries for frying and stewing food. There are several nuances in how to cook vegetables in a wok.
How to roast vegetables in a wok
First of all, you need to buy a wok made of stainless steel or cast iron. The wok must heat up very quickly and keep the temperature high for a long time. The European version of the pan is with a flat bottom. However, a spherical wok is considered ideal. To use the classic spherical version, you need to purchase a special frame for the stove.
Grilling vegetables in a wok is very fast. It usually takes only 5-10 minutes to fry the ingredients with constant stirring. Cut vegetables in advance into small equal pieces. The oil is poured into an already preheated frying pan. The oil itself must be heated to produce smoke.
How to fry vegetables in a wok so they don't burn? It is necessary to constantly stir vegetables in quick movements in the direction from the middle of the pan to its edges. In this case, the ingredients will periodically fall on the hot bottom of the pan and its warm walls. This allows you to cook food quickly, subjecting them to uniform frying. By the way, it is not recommended to add soy sauce to the wok until the vegetables are completely cooked, as it will simply burn.
How to stew vegetables in a wok
As a rule, only very hard vegetables that do not lend themselves to quick frying are stewed in a wok. These include carrots, potatoes, celery. All ingredients are cut into small pieces and pre-fried. After that, the vegetables are left to simmer for 0.5-3 minutes under a tightly closed lid over low heat.
Stir the vegetables periodically, otherwise they will stick to the edges of the pan. Seasonings and sauce are added to the dish before the end of cooking. Stew vegetables in an open wok for a richer sauce.
How to steam in a wok
Very often the wok comes with a bamboo basket specially designed for steaming food. The pan is filled with water, placed on the stove and covered with a lid. As soon as the water boils, the prepared vegetables are transferred to a basket and placed in a wok.
Close the lid tightly and leave the vegetables to steam. Add water to the pan as needed. Usually, it only takes a few minutes to cook vegetables. At the same time, they remain crispy and retain most of the beneficial qualities.
