WOK WITH TAK
Maiden Resistance is located within the Streator Incubator, which is a city owned building with the purpose of growing small businesses within its walls. The goal is to allow entrepreneurs an affordable opportunity to test their business model before they take it full time. Without the Incubator, Maiden Resistance wouldn’t exist.
Right next door to us, in the Incubator is a business called Wok with Tak. Owned by a former Illinois State University professor and immunologist, Tak focuses on the basics of healthy eating and stir fry techniques. One thing I hear most from clients is that they have trouble eating well. Between their family’s busy schedules and the time it takes to make a hearty meal, they felt that their eating habit suffered. Wok with Tak was the perfect solution, so a partnership was born.
Tak has what he calls a FAST cooking system.
Flavor Chasing. Advanced Prepping. Stir-frying. Template-Based Cooking.
With this system, you can make a meal for your whole family in under 20 minutes. This type of system is exactly what the Maidens need, so we planned a weekend to take a two part course with Tak. In the first part, Tak focused on advance prepping. He showed us how to properly use a knife to prepare a multitude of vegetables. Tak allowed the Maidens to handle a ceramic knife, which is used for cutting vegetables with a soft core, like tomatoes. He also allowed them to handle a knife with a higher blade, meant to cut vegetables like broccoli and onion. During class, he taught the claw method, which is a way to hold the food you are cutting to ensure you are not cutting your fingers. After the Maidens prepared all of their vegetables and chicken, they got to watch Tak prepare five separate dishes in under thirty minutes, proving that his system is actually FAST.
There is a special way to store all of your advanced prep so you can grab everything out of the fridge and have it ready in an instant. The most amazing part of this system is how the meat is stored. Tak stores meat in the freezer in a way that only takes him 10 minutes to defrost. During class, he took out a bag of chicken, and put it in a bowl of warm water. Tak went on to teach us more about the prepping method, and when he was done, the chicken was defrosted. If you have everything prepared according to Tak’s plan, your meal can go from the fridge to the table within 20 minutes… TOPS!
The second part of the course focused on stir-frying techniques and wok selection. With many woks to choose from, the Maiden picked one to cook from for the entirety of the evening, and Tak was quick to give a pro and con list of each type of wok. He taught the Maidens which woks would bend when heated, and which could withstand being put in the oven. The Maidens were taught how to season a wok, and why non-stick woks are not good to use. I’ll be the first to testify to this. I bought a nonstick wok after my very first class with Tak, before I took the class with the Maidens, and I immediately regretted it. After that, I bought a wok from Tak, because he knew exactly what I needed for the type of cooking I do. Tak covered how to clean the wok during this class as well, and it is also fast! Because the oil serves as a nonstick coating, you really only have to wipe your wok out. No soap is necessary.
Cooking a meal together and being able to share it with one another was the best part of the class. It was a nice bonding experience. The Maidens felt fulfilled by all that they learned. They trusted Tak from the get-go and learned a skill that is practical for them to apply to their household. Because Tak has an extensive YouTube channel (over 19k followers), the Maidens can continue learning from him. Tak also does live cooking demonstrations and he allows viewers to ask questions during the demonstration. You can sign up for his email list to be notified of these demonstrations.
It is amazing how perfectly Maiden Resistance and Wok with Tak fit together so that clients can learn how to take care of their whole health. Because Tak’s techniques are centered around whole foods, clients can receive the nutrients they need. Partnering with Tak is such a joy. Even though I’m a certified Nutrition Coach, I only have a sliver of the knowledge Tak has about healthy eating. Because he is an immunologist, he understands how certain foods interact with the body and conveys this to his students.
This class was offered to the Maidens a few weeks ago, and recently I checked in with them. They are all using their wok regularly and implementing the FAST cooking system with their families. It has allowed them to balance their busy schedule with cooking healthy meals. Having many vegetables in the fridge and ready to go, with a large seasoning selection means that you won’t ever make the same dish twice. You’ll get really good at knowing exactly what you like the more you experiment, which is why this system is so much fun.
We are so grateful to have someone as skilled as Tak next door to us. His mission fits perfectly with our’s. This gives the Maidens the ability to learn about their health as a whole and take care of themselves even better than before. Tak, thank you so much for opening your doors to us! We loved our time with you and we hope we can cook with you in the future!
To you, my Maiden Friend,
- Coach CoJo