Wan - Gok Cooks Chinese

UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia

India | New Zealand | South Africa

Penguin Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.

First published 2012

Text copyright Gok Wan, 2012

Programme, programme material and format copyright Optomen Television Ltd, 2012

Photography copyright Jemma Watts, 2012

except copyright Elise Dumontet, 2012

The moral right of the author has been asserted

All rights reserved

ISBN: 978-0-718-19370-6

When I was younger, slaving over a wok in Dads Chinese takeaway, I never imagined that one day I would be writing a cookbook full of my fathers recipes. Arguing with him in the busiest of kitchens, I never imagined that I would one day thank him for his patience and guidance; that one day I would have the confidence to teach others to share with you the secrets of my familys kitchen, taught to me by the greatest chef I know, Poppa Wan. I never imagined that you would want to listen

Nowadays, it seems like everyone has eaten Chinese food and thinks they know what its about: unhealthy, usually deep-fried and covered in pink and gloopy sweet and sour sauce. But Im here to tell you that the Chinese food were used to in the UK is a Western invention. The dishes my dad taught me to cook were quick and healthy, and very different to the sort of thing that most people have come to expect from their takeaways. My aim with this book is to show you all how easy, simple and tasty home-cooked Chinese food can be. Im going to take out all the rubbish and leave all the good stuff in.

Food has been at the centre of my life ever since I can remember. Whether cooking for our loyal customers in the family restaurant or cooking to feed ourselves, food is a way of life for the Family Wan. Dad taught us that food wasnt just nutrition. He lives by one mantra and one mantra alone: We do not eat to live. We live to eat. We live for food. Its a mantra that I now live my life by.

Food is important to Chinese culture and when I say that, its a total understatement! Everything in my fathers culture revolves around food happiness, sadness, forgiveness, even peoples nicknames: I have a cousin we call Sweet Potato and my best friend goes by the name of Chicken Leg! I always say that a Chink without food is like a shoe without a heel: completely pointless. Food is just who we are. A lot of our conversations revolve around it food is in our stories, colours our memories and is often used as analogies. One of my favourite memories is of my dad watching a football match on the edge of his seat. Michael Owen was running down the pitch to score a goal and suddenly Dad shouted at the television, Michael Owen, he got leg like chilli hot and spicy!

When I was growing up, Poppa Wan taught me about Hong Kong, his motherland. As a child he fed me stories of how he would cook potatoes in makeshift ovens made of rocks and wire, hidden in the mountains that surrounded his village. A man of few words, he is more skilled in the kitchen than the most practised magician. He has the natural ability to wow an audience into submission with one toss of his wok or a slice of his cleaver. He taught me to respect eating food, to enjoy the sharing of food with the people I care about most; he taught me that this is the secret behind Chinese cookery. It allows you a brand-new sense. Chinese cooking brings with it the sense of emotion. I never realized it as a child but every time my dad stir-fried, boiled, diced, sliced or steamed, he was teaching me a secret language one filled with tradition, a sense of my heritage and also a bitter-sweet bereavement for a world he loves and misses.

One of the best heirlooms I have been given is a bunch of secret recipes passed down to me from my family. None contain magical ingredients and, in fact, most are simple and non-pretentious. I promise you, hand on wok, I will teach you everything I know with these dishes from the most amazing continent of flavour, Asia. Dishes my father taught me to cook and also dishes that Ive found, whilst travelling in China, Hong Kong or Singapore, which Ive tried to teach my father about. When I pick up a wok or a ladle it does something to me in a weird way it almost completes me. It reminds me of where Im from and who I want to be someone who has been taught the skill of cooking and serving food, a skill which I owe to my father. Over the years, Ive taken his recipes and developed them into a language of my own.

Nothing fills me with more happiness than looking after people. Whether Im on set, dressing people and trying to understand how they feel about their bodies, or whether Im at home, dressing my dinner table, about to cook a feast for my friends, its all about love and connecting with people. Chinese food is the perfect vehicle to tell somebody you love them. Its not tough to make, but it is all about preparation, which allows you to execute a dish in seconds once you start to cook. Its this preparation that gives you the time to think about the person that youre cooking for respecting what they already know but also taking them by the hand and leading them on a culinary journey to places that they might never have been before. I hope you enjoy the journey Im going to take you on!

Whether youre knocking up a quick stir-fry or slowly braising meat you will, at some point, find yourself reaching for garlic, ginger and spring onions. As synonymous with Chinese cookery as garlic and onions are with French cuisine, these three stalwarts create a base on to which you can add a continents worth of influences and flavours. Id say these are the three most important ingredients in Chinese cookery. I like to refer to them as my Three Degrees: individually strong, but so much better when working in harmony with one another. Throughout this book you will find them sliced, diced, bashed and smashed Poppa Wan-styleee! The preparation method is specific to each dish and the part you want your Three Degrees to play, so follow the instructions carefully.