I've become a "wok"aholic....

I am so happy to be addressing the "eat" part of this blog since that is most definitely my most passionate creative outlet!
Back in May, my Mom helped us buy a new stove since we have been in the process of re-doing our kitchen and our  20 year old stove didn't have the power I really needed to tackle some of the culinary challenges I was interested in pursuing. We wound up getting a stove we are really happy with, a Frigidaire Professional gas range. It really has some neat features such as three  shelves in the oven, convection as well as regular baking modes, a warming drawer, one of those center griddle things that makes great grilled cheese sandwiches, AND my favorite feature the super hot burner. On of my greatest desires in the last several years has been to learn how to cook Chinese food at home, unfortunately I have failed miserably due to among other things: poor technique, low heat and inferior equipment. Ask any true Chinese cook - you cannot make a decent stir fry in a non-stick pan, and as I know from my past life as a Williams -Sonoma sales associate, you are not supposed to cook with non-stick cookware at really high heat anyhow (ruins the non-stick finish dontcha know!).  So naturally once I got my super duper new stove with more power it was time to go out and purchase a wok.
I wanted to make a day of it when we finally headed out on our wok excursion for several reasons; it was my wedding anniversary, my Mom was visiting from out of town and because we don't head into San Francisco very often anymore. So we headed out -  my husband, Robert, my Mom and my daughter-in-law, Shihan and I. We started out at Yank Sing, located at Rincon Center near the Embarcadero and Market Street -  probably the fanciest Dim Sum house in the Bay Area. Our meal was spendy, but sublime! The service was excellent and we really couldn't decide on the superlative dish, each of us had our favorites, each of them better than the next.

Then we walked off our lunch feast towards China Town.I had read an article in a foodie magazine years ago about this authentic wok store there called suitably "The Wok Shop". If you ventured into the wok shop and spoke to Tane Chan, the wok expert you would leave with a wok that would work for you. I saved this article for years and re-read it in preparation for our trip to purchase what I hope will be the star of my Chinese cooking at home efforts! Our experience did not disappoint, I walked in and pronounced to the lady at the from of the store "Hello - I would like to speak to the wok expert" she said "in the back, by the computer." I headed back there and found her. Tane was knowledgeable and charming.

Tane Chan, Wok Expert Extraordinaire

 I told her I had saved and read the article about her and the shop, that I wanted a 14 inch wok and I told her what I wanted from a wok, that charred slightly smoky flavor imparted to the food from a really hot wok.  She explained the Chinese name for that is "wok hee" the energy of the wok. So she recommended I get the cast iron model. Honestly, I would have done whatever she said -her authority on the matter, her ease of explanation and her charm had me fixated on her every word!  Mom and Tane got along great, chatting and commiserating about daughters (apparently when daughters are insistent, bossy, or generally getting on their Mother's nerves  it's because of PMS!lol).

Mom & Tane got along like two peas in a pod!

I would up getting the wok set which included a wok ring, the wok, a lid, a flat spatula and the bamboo brush to clean the wok with. I also added the steamer ring so I can make whole steamed fish, steamed bao and steamed dumplings. When I went to pay Mom treated me to my wok & accessories. I love my Mom and she is so generous even if we could kill each other sometimes!

Mom paying for our collection of goodies at The Wok Shop

 We took the wok home seasoned it in the oven & then with aromatics as described in the literature Tane gave us. We were all pretty pooped by then but were enthusiastic to use the wok, so we pulled together and made three really great dishes.  

 

Seasoning the wok with aromatics

Pork Fried Rice, made from my own idea of what fried rice should be!

 

Bok Choy with Oyster Mushrooms, my d-i-l's recipe, this was sooo delicious!

Shanghai Style Shrimp, from The Seventh Daughter also amazing!

My favorite new cook book is The Seventh Daughter, by Cecilia Chiang, her style of Chinese food is authentic without a lot of heavy thick sauces. I have many recipes in there I can't wait to try with my wok so look forward to those!

I remember......

I remember September 11^th, 2001 like it was yesterday. I remember the clear blue of the sky and the warm summer breeze.  I remember phone calls, lots and lots of phone calls. I remember sleeping in at my Mother’s home in  Queens, NY , the second day of my visit from California and the phone ringing off the hook that morning , all the messages inquiring if my brother who normally worked downtown was okay. I remember thinking in my slumber, ”Why wouldn’t he be okay?”  I remember finally getting up to answer the phone when I heard my sister -in-law voice saying, “Vicky, I just spoke to John – he’s okay” fortunately for us, he was safe at his union hall in Queens. I remember turning on the TV and not  comprehending the magnitude of what I was seeing before my eyes that morning. Unfortunately, we did have a friend in the towers that day. Later I spoke to my Mother, she asked if I could call the help lines to find out anything I could about her friend Janet.  None of those calls yielded any information or news on Janet, it did not look good. I had met Janet but didn’t know her well. She was a good friend of my Mother’s, they had met through their needlepoint guild – each of them very talented in needle arts and the art of friendship to each other.  Janet was a generous friend to my Mom and had even sponsored me $100 in the AIDS marathon I was planning to do in December of that year. It was slightly eerie later that year when I also received the matching donation from her company but I remembered how wonderful a lady she was and that helped carry me in my one and only marathon. 

Janet in her WTC office.

 I got another call that day too, from the fella I had met on the internet a few weeks earlier and had just started dating 10 days earlier. He was also from Queens and had drove me to the airport 2 days before to see me off on my trip home for my best friend’s wedding.  He wanted to know – was I okay? Was everyone in my family okay? I was worried about you….I remember everything that day and the following weeks seeming so surreal.  The quiet was the most remarkable thing. No plane noise from the sky, no chatter in the supermarket, even traffic seemed to quiet in stunned silence due to what our city and the world had just experienced.  I remember after traveling back to California having that same pain in my heart that you have when someone close to you dies and you see others walking around in the world carrying on with their lives - not just for Janet but for my home, my city, New York. 

And I remember choosing my wedding day 2 years later with that fella who called me on 9/11/01. Our wedding date was supposed to be September 25^th, but then a conflict – it was Rosh Hashhana, so we needed to pick a new date. Our choices for the location we had selected were 9/11 or 10/12. As it turned out 9/11/04 was the only date that would fit in our timeline for our honeymoon plans. So we said okay, we get married on 9/11 and we take back the day from those who etched that date in our memories forever.  So on 9/11 and many other days during the year we remember those who are no longer with us, how a few zealots affected world,  and how our lives changed for the better when we exchanged our vows. I will never forget September 11, 2001 or any  9/11 for the rest of my days.