JoziStyle’s Asian Persuasion: From Wok to Wow

I’ve been talking about my favourite foods from around the world. That obviously includes French cuisine. I also love Moroccan and Indian cuisine. But one cuisine I adore yet can never do justice is Asian cuisine.

If you’re Asian, please turn a blind eye (or a deaf ear) to what I’m about to say because I probably won’t do your food any favours. But if you’re not Asian and you’d like to fake it ‘til you make it, here are a couple of tips I’ve learned—not so much to master Asian cuisine, but at least to attempt it!

The biggest trick is balancing flavours. Asian cuisine is all about harmony between salty, sweet, sour, spicy, and umami.

✓ For salty: soy sauce – lots of it.
✓ For sweet: I use brown sugar (I don’t keep regular sugar in the house, but brown sugar seems to magically appear when I’m cooking Asian). Honey also works a treat in a pinch.
✓ For sour: lemon juice or lime juice – absolutely essential. I always have lemons on hand.
✓ For spicy: ginger and chillies. I go heavy on the ginger – I don’t think you can ever have too much in a stir-fry.
✓ For umami: miso paste or fish sauce. And yes, you can buy fish sauce anywhere. Just don’t sniff it before you use it!

To finish, I love garnishing with fresh coriander, basil, or mint. It adds a hit of freshness and fragrance.

Two must-haves for Asian dishes:

1. A wok – the biggest one you can find. Stir-frying is all about movement, and you need that space.
2. High heat – the hotter, the better. Gas stoves are superior for this, especially during load shedding when you want a hot meal fast.

Quick story: I’ve owned several woks in my life. Lost them all. Made the mistake of buying non-stick (never again). Get a good stainless steel wok that can take some abuse. You shouldn’t be burning anything if you’re stirring fast and cooking high.

Another tip? Heat your plate! That’s often what sets a stir-fry apart from a sad veggie fry-up. Stir-fried veg stay crunchy; fried veg tend to steam and get soggy. Still tasty, but not quite the same Asian vibe.

No matter what you do – gas, electric, wok or pan – use fresh vegetables. They taste, look, and cook better. Avoid pre-cut frozen veg or leftovers – they release too much water and make things soggy.

Once you’ve mastered flavour profiles – soy sauce, honey or sugar, lemon, ginger, herbs, you can build anything. Pork and chicken are quick and easy, but if you want to splash out, prawns are foolproof. Calamari can work if you’re confident. Beef? Let’s just say my rare stir-fry successes are more “luck of the draw” than skill!

Another top tip: If you’re cooking for more than one, break it down into stages. Stir-fry the meat, set it aside, then do the veggies. Only add the aromatics (garlic, chilli, ginger) and liquids (soy, fish sauce, lemon juice) at the end. Sometimes I even mix in a little cornflour to help thicken the sauce and avoid too much steam.

You can have dinner ready in 15 minutes. No lie.

And you don’t need to visit fancy food boutiques. Asian grocery stores between Randburg, Rivonia, and Cyril Dean are treasure troves with authentic ingredients at a fraction of the price. Even your regular supermarket likely stocks soy, sesame oil, coconut milk, miso paste, and chilli sauce.

Secret confession: Sometimes I use a teaspoon of peanut butter in my stir-fry for a cheat’s version of satay sauce. Yes, I know real satay involves grinding your own peanuts. But let’s be honest, we’re all living in the real world here. Whack in the peanut butter, bada-bing bada-boom, instant deliciousness.

Back to ingredients: if you want to build a proper pantry, look out for:

✓ Oyster sauce
✓ Fish sauce
✓ Sesame oil (indispensable!)
✓ Rice vinegar
✓ Ready-made curry pastes (although results may vary)

Once you’ve got the basics, everything in your fridge becomes fair game. Leftover noodles? Toss them in. Leftover rotisserie chicken breast? Give it new life in a stir-fry. Even (gasp) leftover spaghetti will do in a pinch (just don’t let anyone see you do it).

If you’ve got leftover boiled eggs, frozen peas, or even a random sachet of two-minute noodles – make it work.

A mandolin or vegetable slicer helps, too. It takes minutes to prep your own veg, and you’ll never again say you’ve got “nothing” to cook. And if your significant other loves rice like mine does? Serve it on the side or toss in leftovers.

Honestly, stir-fries are the ultimate lazy cook’s power move. Fast, fresh, and full of flavour. Microwave veggies? No. You deserve better. Take a cue from Asian cuisine where vegetables are treated like royalty, not an afterthought.

Photo by Momo King