Martin Yan - WOK-SMOKING

WOK-SMOKING

In Chinese cooking, smoking is really more a flavoring method- often used with chicken and duck- than a cooking process. Foods are placed on a rack in the wok over aromatic ingredients like brown sugar, tea, uncooked rice, star anise, or hickory chips. Heat is applied to create smoke, which is sealed in by the lid of the wok.

Typically, food is first marinated and cooked by another method, such as pan frying, steaming, or roasting, then smoked to add flavor. You can use any deep, heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid for stovetop smoking, but a wok with a high-domed lid works perfectly. Don't use your best wok, though, since smoking is an intense dry-heat process that can harm the pan's seasoning. An old, battered one will work fine. Give wok-smoking a try. The robust aroma and flavor it gives food can be unforgettable.

Getting Ready:

Open some windows
Line the wok and the lid with a few layers of aluminum foil, leaving extra foil hanging over the edges.
Place the aromatic ingredients (tea, brown sugar, etc.) in the bottom of the wok, and set a rack a few inches over them. Choose a rack that will sit stably in the wok. You can use a tic-tac-toe-shaped smoking/steaming rack, four heavy chopsticks arranged in a tic-tac-toe fashion, or a wire rack. I've used everything from a round cake rack to a clean charcoal rack from a round barbecue.

Smoking

Heat the wok over high heat until smoke begins to form. Place the food to be smoked on the rack, and immediately cover the wok with the lid. Crimp and fold the foil that's sticking out all around the wok and the lid to seal in the smoke. Within a few minutes, the smoke will permeate the meat and impart a robust, smoky flavor.