Not-Too-Sweet Wok-Popped Coconut Kettle Corn: A moderately sweet version, because no holiday is complete without the sweet.
Cafés are filled with "brickwork trays of saffron sweets / brass woks frying flamingo-pink syrup-tunnelled / jalebis networking crustily"; a woman "with purple / nails and henna soles... softs / the parquet of lemon petals".
Fragrant "wok basil shrimp and scallop" with sweet peppers, onion and bok choy had star quality, as did curry hot pot with scallops, shrimp, white fish and that excellent tofu -- all in a mild green curry sauce.
Or butterflied, flash-fried salt-and-pepper shrimp ($11.95) that speaks to a sure hand at the restaurant's deepest wok, with its delicate, crunchy batter atop sweet and greaseless flesh.
Chef Wang's spin on Chongqing chicken, nuggets of meat buried in a mountain of whole dried chiles, is called "Dry spicy tasty diced chicken with ginger and peanut," ($14.95) and has slivers of sweet young ginger and halved peanuts added to the wok; it has become Legend's most popular dish.
It's quite sweet, and perpetuates Zac Efron's persona as one of the wokest hunks in Hollywood (along with Channing Tatum).
The menu at Echo is organized by five elements: Water (beverages, sushi, seafood and shellfish); Wind (small plates to begin the meal); Fire (from the wok); Earth (meat, game, poultry, vegetables) and Echo's fifth element: Flavor (desserts and sweets).
Seek out organic oils. 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced paper-thin 3 to 4 cups organic canola oil (or enough for about 3 inches in a wok, deep-fryer or wide saucepan) Salt to taste (optional) 1. Prepare the sweet potatoes while you heat the oil in a wok, deep-fryer or deep frying pan to 360 to 375 degrees.
Clouds of steam and sizzles arise from fiery woks, and the air is filled with the mouthwatering scents of grilling meat, pungent spices and the hot sugar of frying sweet dumplings.
