Lisa Messinger's
Cookbook Corner

Wok Fast
by Hugh Carpenter and Teri Sandison (Ten Speed)

Things are utterly predictable in the Carpenter-Sandison household—and nothing could be better. That’s because when the culinary married team of Hugh Carpenter (writer) and Teri Sandison (food photographer) is working on a cookbook (which is almost always), the results are always the same: mouthwatering and innovative.

Carpenter started as a popular cooking teacher. Sandison has shot the food in more than 40 cookbooks for leading publishers. Their best work, though, seems to be when pooling their forces. We've never come across a less than inspired recipe in any of their books: Hot Wok, Hot Chicken, Hot Pasta, Hot Barbecue, Hot Vegetables, The Great Ribs Book and Fast Appetizers.

Wok Fast has joined the winners’ club. The title may sound redundant—most wok dishes, by nature, are fast. But, as with the Northern California-based pair’s other books, it’s the sheer ingenuity and quality of the recipes that make it rise above the competition.

Start first by taking a look at some of their sauces and marinades. Just the soy sauce or teriyaki often flowing in these kinds of books? Nope! Spicy Tangerine Sauce combines tangerine zest and freshly squeezed tangerine juice with sherry, oyster and hoisin sauces, dark sesame oil and Asian chile sauce. Ginger-Butter Sauce melds melted butter with minced fresh ginger, white wine, oyster sauce, dark sesame oil and freshly ground pepper. Orange zest, curry powder and dry sherry are tempting components of Orange-Curry Marinade.

And, as for the entrées, chances are your wok will never have been this happy.
Spicy Catfish on Vegetable Thrones swims in Szechwan Hoisin-Honey Sauce. Tex-Mex Veal with Eggplant marinates veal in an “East-West Marinade” made from puréed olives, balsamic vinegar, lemon zest and crushed red pepper flakes. The veal and Japanese eggplant are then cooked in a smoky chipotle chile sauce flavored with lime zest and freshly squeezed lime juice. Spicy Lamb with Pomegranate Seeds is just as enticing as it sounds.

Sandison’s photography is part of what makes everything so alluring. The Classic Cashew Chicken with Asparagus virtually jumps from the page, as do stunners like Wok Chicken with Herbs, Mussels in Smoked Tomato Sauce and Ginger Scallops with Snow Peas and Mushrooms.

After reading their books and following their advice, chances are you will become perfectionists like Carpenter and Sandison. They, for instance, first walk you through buying and prepping your wok (how to preliminarily season it; clean it; store it), through 19 vegetable-cutting techniques, a five-point detailed “be prepared” guide and, most importantly, nine photographed steps of “The Stir-Fry Dance,” which gives precise techniques upon which all the subsequent recipes are based.

It’s best to read the book for all the delicious details. In the meantime, we’ll start you off with a few of those sumptuous sauces with which you can perk up any of your favorite stir-fry recipes.

RECIPES: SPICY TANGERINE SAUCE
SWEET-AND-SOUR LEMON SAUCE

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