SIX MONTHS AGO I BOUGHT A WOK, A REAL CARBON STEEL FLAT-BOTTOMED WOK WITH A WOODEN HANDLE. AS MUCH AS I LOVE CHINESE FOOD, I’VE ALWAYS BEEN TIMID ABOUT COOKING IT: A) BECAUSE THERE’S SO MUCH GOOD CHINESE FOOD IN LOS ANGELES AND B) BECAUSE IT MEANT STOCKING MY PANTRY WITH A WHOLE LOT OF INGREDIENTS I DON’T KNOW HOW TO USE. SO I STARTED OFF SLOWLY, TIP-TOEING INTO CHINESE COOKING WITH GREEN VEGETABLES, MOSTLY SPINACH, CHARD, BROCCOLI, AND CABBAGE. WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT MY WOK IS THAT IT’S BIG. YOU CAN THROW TWO WHOLE BUNCHES OF SPINACH AND TOSS THEM WITH SOME GARLIC, FRESH GINGER, CHILES, ET VOILA! OR WHATEVER ITS EQUIVALENT IN MANDARIN. DESPITE A DISASTROUS ATTEMPT AT TEMPURA (NOT CHINESE), MY VEGETABLE SUCCESSES EMPOWERED ME. FACED WITH A POUND’S-WORTH OF LEFTOVER PORK CHOPS, LOTS OF SCALLIONS, A HUNK OF FRESH GINGER, AND AN UNOPENED JAR OF GARLIC/BLACK BEAN PASTE, I DUG OUT MY COPY OF THE THOUSAND RECIPE CHINESE COOKBOOK BY GLORIA BLEY MILLER, PUBLISHED BY RANDOM HOUSE IN 1966! BEHOLD, 300 PAGES (PAGES NOT RECIPES) OF STIR FRY DISHES. AS DAUNTING AS THAT SEEMED, THE BASIC TECHNIQUE WAS THE SAME FOR ALL OF THEM. IN CHINESE COOKING, WHERE THOUSANDS OF DISHES ARE PREPARED IN THIS ONE REMARKABLE VESSEL, THE COOKING IS IN THE PREP; YOU SPEND MOST OF YOUR TIME CUTTING SLICING AND DICING. YOUR MIS-EN-PLACE IS YOUR DISH OR WILL BECOME YOUR DISH WITH ONLY A FEW MINUTES OF ACTUAL COOKING. AND MIRACLE OF MIRACLES, IT WORKED!
