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Welcome to Wendy Wok's World

Sam Lui's fascination with the wok laid the foundation for Wendy Wok's World. Through the language and culture surrounding wok dishes, Sam discovered a sense of definitive standards. She explains, "For every wok dish, there seemed to be a certain set of standards that they were judged against; a definite right or wrong that recalled the rectitude and ideological purity that I was personally consumed by."

 

To immerse herself in the practice of the wok, she began her journey at a modern Chinese restaurant that welcomed newcomers, providing her first exposure to the art. However, to truly grasp the fundamental techniques, she spent time in traditional Cantonese establishments. It was through relentless practice at her own wok range, experimenting and investigating the techniques unique to each dish, that Wendy truly flourished. Sam likens this process to "studio time," where Wendy's character progress took shape.

When discussing the concept of "objective perfection,” Sam explains that in wok dishes, the principles of timing and heat control reign supreme. As the majority of these dishes are cooked at high temperatures within a short span of time, every second becomes crucial, and precision becomes paramount. Each dish adheres to its own set of standards, contributing to its individual pursuit of perfection. And this delivery of precision and rigidity is experienced through the dishes, as well as made uniquely visible to the guests via a live-streamed performance during the dinner.

 

Wendy is more than a character; she is a wok apprentice who embodies the very essence of the cooking style itself. Wendy personifies the values intrinsic to this culinary art form. Sam explains, "Wendy is a mode of being; a mode of being principled, rigid and adhering to an authoritative set of rules, a mode of ideological purity."

Entering Wendy's headspace aligns perfectly with the practice of the wok. By assuming this alter ego, Sam delves into the necessary mindset required to master the various techniques. "This is precisely the process and my reason for having an alter ego," Sam reveals. Becoming Wendy allows her to fully immerse herself in the practice.

 

Preview five out of the six dishes below. 

SALTED EGG YOLK TIGER PRAWNS

A dish that demonstrates the art of deep frying in wok cooking. The heavier salted egg yolk flavor should be juxtaposed with the delicate light crisp coating on the prawns, achieved by flash frying in extremely hot oil to seize the starch into a hard crisp.

STIR FRIED GARLIC CHIVES

Highlighting the "stir fry" element of wok cooking, each of the many ingredients have their respective timings and order in which they are added to the wok. The garlic chives should be slightly charred, the fresh squid soft and juicy, the cashew nuts crunchy.

BEEF & POTATOES IN HONEY BLACK PEPPER SAUCE

The potatoes are the main feature of this dish. They should remain crispy and crunchy even with the black pepper honey sauce coating them. The key to frying the potatoes is in controlling the oil temperature in the wok, knowing how to watch the subjects and adjust as they fry.

LOBSTER E FU NOODLES IN SUPREME STOCK

The seeming indulgence here actually has to be managed and honed. The rich flavor of the sauce made from cooking the lobsters in a "supreme stock" should be kept in check by the amount and thickness of it draping the noodles. E fu noodles should be fed the right amount of stock to lightly plump and flavor them, but kept "dry" by cooking them so they only just absorb the liquid. The lobster and sauce that is then poured over should only lightly coat the noodles, with no excess sauce on the plate.

SUGAR COATED TARO

Known to be a "kung fu" dish, the taro sticks have to first be fried in low heat to let the taros cook through whilst keeping a firm exterior. Sugar is melted in water and stirred constantly as it boils in order to keep it from browning. At the right moment, the taro sticks are tossed in and coated with the thickened liquid sugar. As the wok is taken off the heat, the taro sticks have to be continually tossed as the sugar cools down and starts to solidify into a coating. The tossing should be fast enough to beat the time of sugar cooling, but also gentle enough to not break the taro sticks, all the while making sure the sugar does not brown. The result should be taro with a soft and chalky interior and a crunchy sugar coated exterior.

The collaboration between Sam Lui and the Swiss Institute came to fruition after meeting artist Lap-See Lam in Bangkok when both were involved in Ghost2565, a video and performance art series. Sam, along with Hillary, her sister and the producer of the series, gladly accepted the invitation to be part of the Swiss Institute's public programming.

The series kicked off on May 22nd and 23rd, at Cafe Hong Kong in Chinatown, New York City, with a second round that happened on June 5th and 6th. Each night had two sessions, one from 6-8 pm and the other from 8-10 pm, during which 60 guests were served six courses of wok-specific dishes, all cooked by Wendy.

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