Essentail Skills 2 - Vegetable, Stir Fry

I love Asian style stir-fried vegetables.


However, the prepping for all the various vegetable and sauces can
be tedious.

Our menu for today was;
Stir-Fried Asparagus with Shiitake Mushrooms
Mixed Wok Vegetables
Spiced Bean Curd (Tofu)
Duxelles
Ratatouille

Mise en place took up most of the class. Everything had to be completely at hand and ready to go.

Asparagus, cut, blanched, refreshed and dry. Mushrooms sliced.
Cabbage, carrots, zucchini all julienne. Ginger and garlic minced. Cilantro chopped. Tofu cubed. Bean sprouts cleaned. Spicy sauce put together.
Onions, eggplant, zucchini, red and green pepper all in an even dice
Shallots and mushrooms minced.

Let the games begin.
With 16 woks going and 16 sauté pans - things were smoking! Aside from the ratatouille, which simmered a bit in the sauce after sautéing the vegetables, it was amazing how fast the dishes came together.

“...organization is just as important in the kitchen as in any business office…
Dione Lucas (1909-1971)English-American Chef

One mishap today. After cooking up are duxelles, (minced mushrooms with shallots and wine-usually used as a stuffing) chef had us combine our finished product and lay them out on a big sheetpan to dry. Well, at the end of class they were gone. Chef was not happy. Oh where or where have the duxelles gone?

Goodnight.