Mr. Joe's School of Wok

12/03/2023

Mr Joe's School of Wok is back and better than ever in 2023 with new dishes, bold flavours, and kick arse food.

21/02/2021

Mr. Joe's School of Wok Needs Your Help

Every shave is different. Every shave matters.

21/02/2021

Mr. Joe's School of Wok Needs Your Help

Every shave is different. Every shave matters.

27/04/2020

Lockdown Day 32 - The last supper. Lockdown has been a quick trip around the world in 32 days. American, Argentinian, Chinese, English, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Kiwi, Moroccan, Sri Lankan, Swedish, Syrian, Thai and Vietnamese cuisines all featured on our dinner table during lockdown level four. Food inspired by travel (past and future), memories, family and childhood. That's why I have chosen turnip cake or Lo Bak Go, fried eggs and soy sauce and stir fried vegetables as the last meal and recipe to share. Turnip cake is my favourite dish at dim sum. I grew up on stir fried vegetables and fried eggs. These humble dishes represent my chinese heritage, my love of eating and good times spent with family. I didn't anticipate continuing with my posts for this long but I was motivated by all of you who tried out my recipes and sent kind words of encouragement. Would you say I am obsessed about food? Yeah probably. But what drives me and inspires my love of cooking ultimately comes down to pleasing the three critics in my bubble. Making my family happy through food. My whanau will attest that I definitely don't handle criticism of my food well. I suppose I feel like in some way I have failed them by serving a bad meal. At the end of the day we do everything for our loved ones because in times like these nothing is more important than family. Roger, over and out. https://thewoksoflife.com/turnip-cake-lo-bak-go/

26/04/2020

Lockdown Day 31. BBQ Wagyu beef brisket with wedges and coleslaw. This is the first time I have cooked beef brisket. Brisket is a beef cut from the breast section of the animal and normally sold boneless. Because brisket is a tough cut of meat, it yields the best results when slow cooked or braised in a slow cooker. When slow cooking for hours, it holds its shape and slices easily instead of shredding. I slow cooked this for 8 hours then finished it off on the charcoal weber to caramelise it and give it that smokey, charred flavour. https://www.recipetineats.com/slow-cooker-beef-brisket-with-bbq-sauce/

25/04/2020

Lockdown Day 30. Leftover wonton wrappers? No problems. Tonight's dinner, beef, feta, sundried tomato and sage ravioli with green salad and herb focaccia accompanied by a special lockdown treat of the family vintage, a 2005 Ransom Mahurangi. This was a resourceful lockdown dinner using beef sausages with leftover bits and bobs from the fridge. Another budget meal coming in under $15. It was also a team effort with dad and daughter on ravioli and bread and mother and son on pasta sauce. No recipe sorry, but I started with removing the sausage meat from the casings and mixing with finely crumbled feta, diced sundried tomato and sage. Place in middle of wonton wrapper and seal edges. Boil for 5 minutes and serve with a generous amount of parmesan, pasta sauce and a nice red. Bellissimo!

24/04/2020

Lockdown Day 29. I had to do it...I couldn't resist. After reading and seeing everyone else eating and talking about fried chicken in lockdown. Tonight's dinner, fried chicken, mashed potato, gravy, green beans and homemade roll.
I have always wanted to attempt this classic Southern meal. The chicken takes some preparation but man is it worth it. Fried chicken is like BBQ in the States. Everyone has different ideas, opinions and recipes on how best to do it. I married about 4-5 recipes together but the end result was an out of this world flavoursome, crunchy coating which would smash KFC out of the park. Key changes to the recipe supplied; I used drumsticks, added salt and onion powder to spice mix and no chilli or chicken stock, I didn't add tumeric to coating, most importantly I coated chicken first then dipped into 2 eggs and 1/3 cup of water whisked together, then dipped into coating again (coated it twice), when cooking I fried it for 5 minutes, rested for 1 minute, then fried for a further 5 minutes (fried it twice) and sprinkled liberally with salt at the end. If you are going to try any of my meals I have cooked in lockdown, you have to give this one ago. I wouldn't rush to eat it again but boy was it good. One area of the States I would love to visit is the Southern States which are rich in culture, history and cuisine. Definitely watch the fried chicken episode on Ugly Delicious on Netflix. I also enjoyed watching two recent episodes of Chef's Table on Southern cooking with Chefs Shaun Brock and Mashama Bailey. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/next-level-fried-chicken

23/04/2020

Lockdown Day 28. Wonton noodle soup. What's the difference between wontons and dumplings? Wonton skins are made of flour and egg just like ravioli and they are thin and nearly semi-transparent. The joy is in the texture as much as the taste; soft and slippery. Where as dumpling skins are made from flour and water. Wonton noodle soup brings back memories of China. The last time I went to China was in the winter of 2007 on the way back from the UK. We backpacked around Asia for 6 months and spent about 6 weeks in China. Because it was winter, we ate a lot of warming noodle soups. I recall one instance in a not so nice back alley way sitting on a tiny stool eating wonton noodle soup. The wontons were so delicate and silky which made me forget about my surroundings. China off the beaten track is pretty tough travelling with the language barrier, cultural differences and pollution off putting. And to be honest at times it's not enjoyable. However for those brave enough to explore the country independently, they are rewarded with exceptional cuisine, amazing scenery and national parks, learning about one of the world's oldest cultures and the sense of achievement of surviving China. I didn't use a recipe but this one is very similar. https://www.jamieoliver.com/features/wonderful-wonton-soup-recipe/

22/04/2020

Lockdown Day 27. Nana Joe's potatoes, stir fried vegetables, preserved fish with black beans and jasmine rice. The total cost of this family meal was approx. $14 (rice $1, potatoes, $2, vegetables $5, tinned fish $4, sauces $2). As an educator I see a real need for children/teens/adults/families to learn to cook budget, healthy and nutritious food from scratch. It is vitally important in times like now, especially when people are struggling to make ends meet. In particular learning to cook Asian food, especially Chinese and Indian cuisines. In these countries meat until recent times has been a luxury or not eaten for religious reasons so they have always been creative with rice, vegetables, beans and pulses. I recall a few years back in 2017 when some food banks and charities declared they didn't want tinned tomatoes, chickpeas or lentils. These ingredients are staples for Indian families and throw in some rice and vegetables you could a feed a family for less than $10. It comes down to education. Cooking under lockdown has become a necessity, but unfortunately out of lockdown it isn't, because of the availability of fast food, takeaways, ready made meals and processed foods. People are simply not acquiring the skills and knowledge to cook food from scratch. It's unfortunate that there are now generations of people around the world who simply can't cook.

21/04/2020

Lockdown Day 26. Fish and Chips with green salad. Funny how life works. On Sunday I was thinking how much I miss fresh fish. Yesterday our neighbour who works at a fishery gave us fresh tarakihi for tonight's dinner. One positive that has come out of this dreadful pandemic is hearing all the amazing stories about how neighbours and neighbourhoods have come to together to support one another during this time.

20/04/2020

Lockdown Day 25. Pasta al forno con pomodori e mozzarella (Baked pasta with chorizo, mushrooms and mozzarella). My new favourite hobby is foraging for mushrooms when I go on my runs. It's also fun discovering new trails/parks in our area looking for them. Another early food memory I have was going on morning mushroom hunts on our small farm when we were kids. It would always be foggy and more often than not we would come home with an abundance of mushrooms and have mushroom soup or mushrooms on toast for lunch. Delicious! I added chorizo and mushrooms to Jamie's recipe. I have a few of Jamie Oliver's cookbooks and find his recipes to be simple, easy to follow and always tasty.

19/04/2020

Lockdown Day 24. Lamb Rogan Josh with roti, peas, tomato, mint chutney, mango chutney and lime pickle. I haven't been to India yet but I will get there one day. India is a lot like China where you have such a vast country with so many diverse cultures, dialects, religions and cuisines. They literally must have thousands of different recipes and dishes across India. I've seen different posts and articles lately about what restaurant and takeaway food people are craving in lockdown. For me it would the Paneer Methi Matar Malai (Cottage cheese and peas cooked with fenugreek leaves in the cashew creamy gravy) from our local Indian the Great Spice in Bureta. This is the best Indian in town and the service is exceptional. The hospitality industry has taken a massive hit during Covid-19 and will continue to struggle for some time yet. So it is vital that we get out and support these local business if and when they open their doors.