Glossary/Tips

A General list of terms, procucts, tools and sepcial instructions that you may need when makeing some of the recipes.

Seasoned wok is recommended for stir-fry, especially if fyring rice.
The key to being succesful at fried rice is having a well-seasoned wok so your ingredients do not stick to the pan. To season your wok, heat (a clean wok) up till it just begins to smoke, then add 2 Tblsp. oil and swirl it around til it covers the wok. Turn off heat. Pour out excess oil. Add 1 Tbsp. salt. With paper toweling or cloth, work salt in to wok by rubbing in a small circular motion. After you have covered the entire srface. wipe out excess salt and your wok is ready to use. You will find that your wok will get better the more you use it. Do this technique before each use until you feel your wok no longer needs it.

Picking pea tips
Pea tips, if done correctly will continue to flower and prolong harvesting of the plant.

Papaya and cucumber salad prep
Peel papaya. Hold papaya in hand and with cleaver or large knife quickly chop lengthwise into the cucumber penetrating only to seeds. Rotate papaya until you have chopped all the way around, then start at one end of papaya and slice thinly to the other end as you would if using a vegetable peeler. Continue slicing and rotating the papaya until you reach the seeds. Discard seeds and use papaya for salads. Cucumbers may be prepared the same way.

Peeling and mincing fresh garlic
I always recommend using fresh garlic; the flavor and aroma are much more powerful than the pre-minced canned garlic available in grocery stores. To peel, hold kitchen knife with blade parallel to cutting board and give the garlic clove a good whack. Keep the blade on the clove and press down on the blade with your other hand until you feel the bulb crush. Remove the peel. Dice the garlic as small as possible.

Slicing bamboo tips
I recommend using a Hmong peeler to slice bamboo unless you are very proficient at wielding a kitchen knife and can slice by knife just as thinly. With the peeler, hold the bamboo with the tip away from you, and peel from the wide end to the tip. Do not rotate the bamboo, but continue to peel all the way through until you have trouble holding it. Then simply peel remaining bamboo into small strips with your fingers