Previous posts on this blog have explained how a Lotus Rock wok can be used for a number of different basic cooking techniques, such as stir frying, steaming and deep fat frying. However, its versatility doesn’t stop there; a Lotus Rock wok is also excellent for smoking various types of popular dishes, such as salmon and chicken wings.
Normally when people think of a cooking technigue such as smoking they would imagine a large backyard with a big outdoor grill, but in fact this is not necessary. All you require is a wok, aluminum foil and a stove top. However, a wok isn’t just more convenient to use for smoking, it has some other advantages over an outdoor grill. One such benefit is that the heat under a wok is much more adjustable than the blast you get from hot coals on a grill or in a smoker, which expands the possibilities when it comes to choosing ingredients to smoke with. A wok is also very suitable for smoking compared to other standard pans because its spacious interior provides more room for smoke to circulate around the food.
The method for smoking salmon, for example, with a wok is simple: scatter tea leaves, sugar, and rice in the bottom of a foil-lined wok—the tea contributes aromatic smoke, the sugar caramelizes to lightly color and sweeten the food, and the rice acts as the fuel source, keeping everything smoking. Take another piece of foil and make it into a small circle that will cover the mixed ingredients below. Then get a round cooling rack and place it on top of the aluminum foil. After placing the salmon on the centre of the rack, cover the wok with another large piece of aluminum foil, and tent it so there is enough space for the smoke to circulate above and around the salmon. Make sure to press on the edges of the aluminum foil so no smoke gets out. Before you put the wok on the stove top place a dome shaped lid carefully on top of it. Heat the wok on high until you see smoke coming out of it, at that point you will need to lower the heat to about medium and let it smoke for about roughly 10 minutes. When the salmon is ready to be checked make sure you go outside before taking off the lid.