Cooking Techniques

Note to Ethan: There are 2 woks in our kitchen - aluminum and steel. For these directions I use the aluminum wok because it doesn't heat up quickly, and is therefore easier to control the heat and temperature. The steel wok with the handle (reminiscent of our time in Melbourne) heats up extremely fast, is therefore useful when you need to have a very hot wok e.g. toasting bread.


How to toast bread in a wok
Place the low round grill tray (from the Sharp microwave oven) on the steel wok. Set the fire to high, cover on, and heat up the dry and  clean wok until it is smoking hot. Cover off, let the smoke escape. Repeat 2-3 times to rid the wok of any left-over smell in the wok from earlier cooking sessions.

Place 2 (or 4) wholemeal slices on the grill tray, cover on. After 20-30 sec (it is that fast!) flip the bread. Eye-ball, flip over every 10-20 sec, or longer depending on how hot the wok has been heated to. Use tongs to remove and flip the bread, not your fingers - the wok is extremely hot! Even with tongs I still burnt some knuckle skin when I was a bit careless.

Slather butter and Fairprice-brand nonya kaya on the toast, and you have a delicious buttered kaya toast breakfast.

What happens if kaya toast feels soft after you have completed slathering the butter and kaya? No problem, simply put the buttered slices onto the hot wok for a few seconds, and it will be crispy again!

How to fry egg in a wok
We don't know what to call our style of cooking eggs - it is not an omelette, not scrambled nor pan-fried, sunny-side up.  It is similar to the Japanese style of cooking eggs in a square tray that is soft without any portion hard  or over-cooked.

Steps

1. Oil the wok with a paper towel with a little oil. Heat wok to smoking hot with cover on. Turn fire off.
2. Pour the lightly whisked egg mixture into the wok and cover. Lift cover after 2 min. Slip a flat ladle around the egg edges, loosen it so the egg will not stick to the wok.
3. Turn fire on to low, cover on. Continue to heat egg and time for another 1-2 min. Let the radiant heat from the cover cook the egg. 
4. Lift cover. Once the egg has firmed but the center part is still soft and runny,  you may turn off the fire, cover on. Egg-ball and remove with the center portion still runny but slightly firmer. 
5. That way the egg will taste soft and be still fluffy. As you use little oil the egg is also not oily.

How to pan-fry roti prata
Roti prata ia a traditional breakfast enjoyed by many Singaporeans. An easy way to enjoy roti prata for your breakfast is to pan-fry your own from store-bought frozen prata packs. Directions are on the packs. However, the pan-fry metjod gives better flavor than oven-baked, and we have the prata with our soft pan-fried eggs and maple syrup. Yes, roti prata tastes wonderful with maple syrup!

Steps

1. Oil the wok with a paper towel with a little oil. Heat wok to smoking hot with cover on. Turn fire off.
2. Place the frozen prata into the wok, cover on. Lift cover after two min. Turn fire on low heat. The prata will slowly soften, the opaque appearance will clear. Flip over the prata to avoid over-browning it and continue to pan-fry.
3. After a while hot air will lift up the dough internally and the prata will puff up like a bag. Flip over and conitue to cook, adjusting the fire. Remove the prata from the wok when the prata has nicely browned. Do not cook one side longer than the other, you want the browning to be nice and even, not too dark.

How to cook pork liver
Ever since we could remember, pork liver has been the one of our quintesessential taste collection. Whether it is prepared steam-boat style, stir-fried, with porridge, or eaten yakiniku, it is definitely our in our list of favorite foods.

Here we reveal how we sitr-fry pork liver that is moist, soft, flavorful!

Preparation
Slide the liver at an angle. Wash the sliced liver in running water to remove any bitter after-taste from the liver.

Marinade with 1-1.5 Tbl oyster sauce. After 15 min add 1 Tbl hojey and 1/2 tsp sugar. The sugar will cut down on the liquid base as too much liquid interferes in the tir-frying. You want the liver to cook quickly under low-medium heat, but not over-cooked.  Liver becomes hard and tough to chew if it is over-cooked.

Steps

1. Oil the wok with a little oil. Heat wok to smoking hot with cover on. Turn fire off.
2. our the liver into the wok, wait 3-4 sec,  then stir-fry. Turn fire on to low. Continue to stir-fry, 1 min. 
3. Turn fire off. Take a piece and use a knife to cut through to check doneness. The liver should still be raw in the middle.
4. Turn fire on and cook for another 30 sec. 
5. Turn fire off, test again for doneness. 
6. Remove the liver when it is just cooked.

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