Dear foodies,
I have been wanting to share with you some kitchen tips for Asian cooking. Here are some of my thoughts on kitchen equipment- why do Asians like to use a wok?
Today i will cover a few topics about rice cooker,wok and pans.
Rice Cooker
Whenever i talk about cooking rice, my advise is – buy an electric cooker. Whether it is a small rice cooker or a big one it doesn’t matter because the cooker works best on itself without bothering us when we are preparing Asian food. Note that when preparing Asian food, you are always busy cutting and frying.Releasing one duty that is cooking rice can be a great help.Also always remember to buy a rice cooker that can switch itself to “keep warm” when it is cooked.
Taking into consideration that i cooked a few dishes within 2 hours without having to worry that my rice is over or undercooked or too soggy gives me a sense of relief. I am always greatful to my rice cooker which has been serving me nice fragrant rice, perfect texture for the last 4 years.I am still using it.
Kuali
You might be wandering what is a “kuali”? Kuali is a Malay term for Wok.Most or in fact all Asian homes in Asia has a kuali or maybe more kualis in their kitchen.They used the kuali for almost everything- Sitr frying ,deep frying,frying an egg,frying noodles etc.However one misconception about cooking with a kuali is that we do not make all those kling klang noises when we cooked with kuali at home. Most of the times those cooks at food stalls or the back kitchen of a restaurant  make the noises to attract attention or maybe i may not know why…
Aluminium or Cast iron wok?
It is all about preferances.Most of the times a good iron wok will cost slightly more than the aluminium ones. Aluminium ones heats up faster and also retains a steady heat. Whereas the iron ones takes a slightly longer time to heat up but when it does it can retain extreme heat, food cooks in a shorter period of time and retain its flavour.
Kuali
Myself? I prefer a cast  iron wok. The one i have at home and use constantly is the one from Silit. It has a diameter of 36cm but at the same time the base is small meaning i can put the wok even on the smallest ring on the induction plate. It is robust and most important of all easy to clean. Any residue that sticks on the coated surface can easily be removed by soaking it with water within less than a minute i can scrub it off with a soft sponge. Also it is scratchproof. It is lighter in weight than most iron wok and does not give an iron taste in food .Easy for me to carry around. As much as i like a Creuset wok and its products which is also good for its durability,Silit is pretty good for its quality and price factor. With an iron wok food keeps warm longer as it retain its heat for a certian period of time.Not to forget iron woks can be used in most types of stoves.
Enough talk about woks… lets move on to Pans!
All of my pans in my cupboard are non-stick pans. Reason being, i just love non-stick pans.I wash my pans and wok by hand so non-stick pans are easy to clean.It is also ideal for frying if i am not using the wok.Food doesn’t get burn easily too.However always buy a good non-stick pan.One thing to remember is not to use anything metal like a metal slice as it will scratch and damage the surface.
The best quality product will always turn out to be a good  investment as it will last you a long time.