There is a Cantonese saying, Yat wok jao tin ngai (一鑊走天涯), which can be interpreted as "The wok endures eternally, all the way to the sky's edge", but is more commonly translated as, "One who uses the wok becomes master of the cooking world". I came across this saying when I was trying to learn more about cooking with a wok in preparation for my In the Kitchen experience with award-winning, executive chef - east, Tsang Chui King, of two-star Michelin restaurant Ming Court.

Dish: Sautéed Prawns served with Steamed Egg White and Double Boiled Soup - 白雪藏龍

It's All in the Execution

As I sat sipping my fragrant jasmine tea while waiting for Chef Tsang to be ready for me I wondered what I would find behind the door that separated the elegant front-of-house and the kitchen. My last Chinese In the Kitchen adventure had taken place in a small open kitchen so I was excited to see what a "real" Chinese kitchen would be like. While it turned out to be as vast as I imagined, it resembled a series of small kitchens, which gave me a sense of confidence. At least I was hidden away from the rest of the team, I need more experience before I cook in front of an audience of professionals.

Chef Tsang had already had a minion prepare the ingredients necessary. At first I was disappointed and I wondered was this because they didn't want me wielding a sharp chopper after my previous attempt with a crab (link to article) but then I thought no this is all about execution of a dish not its preparation. I should have felt grateful, having everything already prepped is most cook's dream. And, at the same time the execution of a dish to the level of the professionals was more of a challenge than improving my chopper technique.  

First off was getting the egg white into the steamer for 5-8mins. This involved putting two small ladles of egg white into a bowl with three ladles of water and a pinch of salt, whisking with chopsticks - not as easy as a fork - and pouring it into the bowl, covering tightly with plastic wrap and placing in the steamer. The most important aspect of this step was to remove the bubbles that formed when whisking as this results in a smooth finish. The foam was simply scooped out with the chopsticks or it can be burnt off with a blowtorch -  a bit extreme, but fun.

At the Wok

I am sure many readers will already know the secret to the perfectly cooked prawn, something I think chefs of Chinese cuisine do the best. It's that enrapturing combination of being cooked but still with lots of bite and flavour of the sea. And now I know too. It was the next step, blanching the butterflied prawns for 1-2mins (depending on size) in rapidly boiling salted water. What made this knowledge even more exciting was it meant that I was about to step into the big boy's world and try my hand at a professional wok with all its roar and power, cool.

I had almost thought I wouldn't get this chance as when Chef Tsang was cooking his dish, the lovely Cardith from the comms department and my photographer that day, said to me when pointing at a shallow fry pan, "This is what you will be using". I did wonder at the time if she was serious or if it was a joke, thankfully it was a joke.

I had heard the jet-engine loud woks from time to time when dining out, but to be standing at the stove with its giant flame and almost deafening noise is something else altogether. Added to this the size of the wok itself and the ladle and I began to feel like Alice after she had consumed the bottle of "Drink Me" or like Gulliver when he landed in Brobdingnag. 

When I turned the fire on, with my hand and not my knee like the professionals, the noise made me jump. Maybe this is why I forgot to look at the clock when I put my prawns in so I was unsure how long the prawns had been rolling around in the bubbling water with an occasional tumble from my ladle. Thankfully Chef Tsang gave me the nod when it was time to get them out.

Next into the wok went a little vegetable oil, a small amount of perfectly brunoise Chinese ham, and a similar amount of spring onion (the light green part) that had been cut on the diagonal. A quick stir and time for the sauce elements - a pinch of salt and sugar, chicken powder, big ladle of double boiled soup, and a little corn starch mix, literally another quick stir to blend the ingredients and create the sauce, put the prawns in and finito. Well, that's the theory.

Lightening Speed

Chef Tsang moves with such lightening quick speed, yet at the same time is completely calm and almost laid back, that myself and Cardith literally missed him putting in the corn starch solution. I didn't know about it until he told me not to forget it when I was cooking my dish. As I hadn't seen him do it I didn't know how much to add...I didn't add enough and had to take the wok off the heat, add more corn starch solution, and back onto the heat to cook some more. 

Once done, the prawns are placed in the centre of the glistening egg white and the sauce is poured over, and the dish garnished with a little coriander leaf. Chef's Tsang's version was stunning to look at, resembling an exotic and beautiful sea garden it reminded me of impressionist paintings by Monet. It looked like Michelin-starred food...thankfully mine looked similar.

Of course it doesn't matter how breathtaking a dish looks if it doesn't have a matching taste. Chef Tsang's was sublime. A symphony of flavours, the salty ham accentuating the freshness of the prawn and adding depth to the egg white. It tasted of nature, of earth and sea. Mine didn't tasted like Chef Tsang's. I thought the prawns had a good texture but the dish itself did not have the intricate flavour profile nor depth of taste and I wondered what had happened. Upon receiving Chef Tsang's honest review I learnt the reason.

Keen to Return

When Chef Tsang was tasting my dish one of his colleagues came along and I motioned for him to try too, he looked at me, looked at my dish, looked at me again, and laughed and shook his head and walked away. I found this amusing, who could blame him, after all I was a novice and not Chinese, so in his mind the food was already not going to taste as it should. It reminded me of Chef Nelson from Sha Tin 18 telling me to practice a few more times before serving my dish to Chinese friends. Chefs work for years perfecting wok technique, sometimes not even touching a wok for the first few years of their culinary careers, yet here I was being allowed to do this, so I think that both of these chef's responses are understandable and reasonable...and as I said amusing.

An impressive dish, simple and so quick, yet for me there was still so much to get wrong, so much unknown, with nothing measured and everything done at the speed of a spinning top. Kudos to those masters of the wok, the combination of skill, timing and intuition needed makes me think two things. That some of that essential wok hei is the chef in the dish. And, that being a chef of Chinese cuisine may well be one of the hardest to perfect.

While I have a long way to go before I get to the sky's edge I can hardly wait to get back to the wok.

Chef Tsang's Review

Overall, the flavour of Vicki's dish was not strong enough. Also the sauce was a bit too thick. The prawns were alright.

The problem mainly lies with the thickening of the sauce. Since the thickening mix (corn starch with water) was added twice, there was too much water. Therefore, the flavour is reduced. Also, once the sauce is thickened and done, the wok should be removed from the stove at once and the dish served, but in this case it was removed and returned and then served, which led to the sauce being too thick, and it was also not as smooth as a result.

Score: 8.5 out of 10. 

Tips for Cooking at Home

One reason that Chef Tsang selected this dish, which is on the current a la carte menu, is because it can be recreated at home. It is a winner of a dish that if you get right will impress your guests. 

He gives the following advice for cooking the dish without the aid of the professional wok and its related heat. When blanching the prawns ensure that the water is constantly boiling. Ensure that you have high heat when cooking the dish and only cook for a very short time - the prawns are already cooked and the small size of the ham and spring onion means that the dish needs very little cooking time, just enough to add heat and create the sauce.

The double boiled soup plays a key role in the taste of the sauce and it also enhances the flavour of the prawns and the egg white so it would be worth making your own; Chef Tsang's is based around pork, chicken, and Chinese ham and is cooked for eight hours. Much like a good stock makes all the difference in Western cuisine so too does the soup in this dish. Chef Tsang said that you could substitute canned chicken stock, but I know it just wouldn't be as good. It would be a tasty dish, but not fabulous.