The Story of a “Wok-star”
So, apparently, they’re making a biopic on Elvis. The trailer gave me chills. We’ll see how the movie is when it comes out in June 2022.
In the meantime, I too have been dabbling in the world of “wok and roll.” I know — lame! But cooking is like composing music. I like to control the flavor notes in each dish so that together, the ensemble is harmonious.
Before tonight, I had never made a real stir fry by myself. I had made tofu dishes with veggies, but never a proper stir fry with a wok.
I was in the mood for “Indo-Chinese,” so I made two dishes:
- “Chicken” and veggie stir fry (I winged the recipe);
- Vegetable Manchurian (from @rainbowplantlife)
I was also going to make fluffy quinoa as a rice substitute, but there was already. so. much. food.
The night before, I prepared myself. The Vegetable Manchurian would err on the sweet side; the stir fry on the savory. (Honestly, they were both slightly sweet. The combination was good though). Everything would be rich with ginger and garlic (as we know).
The night of, I took out my pots and pans— a wok for the stir fry, a skillet for the Manchurian sauce, and an air fryer for the tofu and Veggie Bites from Trader Joe’s.
- First, I roasted 1.5 heads of garlic with olive oil in the oven for an hour.
- Then, I ripped up 2 packets of tofu (so they looked like chicken) and coated them with olive oil, arrowroot powder, and Panko breadcrumbs.
- I air-fried the tofu pieces for 20–25 min at 375 degrees F.
- I chopped a bunch of veggies, such as onions, ginger (peeled and crushed), broccoli, cauliflower rice, mushrooms, spinach, carrots, and yellow bell pepper (just one). I also “smushed” the garlic in a bowl when it was done roasting.
- Then, I air-fried 2 packets of Veggie Bites from Trader Joe’s at 375 degrees F for 10 min. Yes, that’s right. And they came out great, like fancy french fries.
- I made the Manchurian sauce in a skillet and let it thicken and cool.
My stir fry sauce was amazing. It was “Soyaki” sauce from Trader Joe’s plus some tahini and dijon mustard. Try this, y’all. It’s so easy!!
The Manchurian sauce was a little less impressive, probably because I didn’t really follow the recipe lol. It was still awesome though with the Veggie Bites from Trader Joe’s — those tater tots were so yummy! When the Manchurian sauce was cooled to room temperature, I mixed in the Veggie Bites.
Everything was damn good. Wok-star!!
