Help celebrate the James Beard Media Awards winners by tuning in on a series of conversations that’s free and open to the public. The next one, scheduled for August 26th from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. ET, gives food entusiasts the opprotunity to ask James Beard Award–winning Wok Therapist and Stir Fry Guru Grace Young all of your burning wok questions.
Young helps us ease our anxieties about using a wok. This conversation will also delve into how COVID-19 has affected Chinese restaurants and communities across the nation.
A little background. Dubbed “The Stir-Fry Guru” by the New York Times, Young has devoted her career to celebrating wok cookery through her cookbooks and videos. On March 15, 2020, she began Coronavirus: Chinatown Stories, an oral history project with videographer Dan Ahn, in collaboration with Poster House, documenting the stories of how Manhattan’s Chinatown has been impacted by COVID-19. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History featured Coronavirus: Chinatown Stories in their 2020 Youth Summit for middle and high school students as an exemplar of how one person is addressing the challenging question of how we choose to strengthen a community in the middle of a pandemic.
HOW TO JOIN IN
Suggested Media: Broadcast Media Award: Online Video, Fixed Location and/or Instructional Wok Therapist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpTYr…
Grace Young GraceYoung.com and YouTube Chinese Soul Food https://bookshop.org/books/chinese-so… Hsiao-Ching Chou Sasquatch Books.
The following recipe is from graceyoung.com
Walter Kei’s Chili Pork
12 ounces boneless pork belly, cut in half
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon XO sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 1/2 teaspoons chili bean sauce
1/4 teaspoon chili oil
3 slices ginger
3 scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 medium yellow bell pepper, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch cubes
One 8-ounce can sliced bamboo shoots, rinsed and drained
- Put the pork in a dish and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of the sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Set aside 30 minutes. In a small bowl combine the XO sauce, sesame oil, chili bean sauce, and chili oil.
- In a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok bring 2 cups water to a boil over high heat. Add the ginger slices and scallions and boil 1 minute. Add 1 tablespoon of the rice wine and boil 1 minute. Add the pork, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer 8 minutes. Pour out the water and seasonings. Rinse the pork in cold water, put it on a cutting board, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick bit-sized slices. The pork should still be slightly pink. Rinse the wok and dry it thoroughly.
- Heat the wok over high heat until a bead of water vaporizes within 1 to 2 second of contact. Swirl in the olive oil and garlic and stir-fry 15 seconds. Cover, reduce the heat to medium, and a cook 1 minute. Increase the heat to high, add the peppers and bamboo shoots, and stir-fry 1 minute. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt and stir-fry 1 minute. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons rice wine and continue to stir-fry 1 minute. Serves 4 as part of a multicourse meal.
