Cookbook Profile: Wok Every Day

Wok Every Day

by Barbara Grunes and Virginia Van Vynekt

Wok Every Day
The wok is more than just a pan to stir-fry Asian food. It may just be the most versatile pan in your kitchen. And now there is a book to showcase its many uses.

From making Fish and Chips to Chocolate Cake, Wok Every Day provides over 100 recipes and techniques for steaming, poaching, grilling, deep frying, smoking, braising, and stir-frying in a wok. The recipes are a cross-cultural mix of flavors. Dim Sum ranges from the classic Shrimp Shao, Mai and Spareribs to the innovative Polenta Fries with Mango Salsa and Portobello Mushroom Sandwiches. The wok's flexibility clearly shows that an almost endless array of dishes can be prepared. Steam mussels or a bread pudding, make classic fried chicken, vegetable tempura or jelly doughnuts, cook ravioli, chicken tagine or lamb stew. The trusty wok can do it all!

Wok Every Day features tips on selecting a wok (round/flat, carbon steel/cast iron, plain/nonstick, stovetop/electric), and how to season, clean, and care for it. The glossary defines ingredients and the source list makes it easy to find equipment or those hard to find items.

About the Authors

Barbara Grunes is the author of over 40 cookbooks, including several coauthored with Virginia Van Vynckt. A food consultant and historian, Barbara has also written on food and dining for the Chicago Sun-Times. She lives near Lake Michigan in northern Illinois.

Virginia Van Vynckt is an editor, book production manager, and publisher, as well as the author of 6 books. She spent 17 years writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, the last 8 as a food and nutrition writer for the weekly food section. Her fascination with woks comes from her many travels to Southeast Asia. She lives in northern Illinois.

Sheri Giblin's food and lifestyle photographs have appeared in magazines and books, including Everything Taste Better with Bacon and Chicken Salad. She lives in San Francisco.

Buy the Book!

Wok Every Day
by Barbara Grunes and Virginia Van Vynekt
Photography by Sheri Giblin
Chronicle Books
$24.95 paperback
224 pages with color photographs throughout
ISBN: 0-8118-3195-7
Information provided by the publisher.