Cook, Add Water, Cook
Next comes the first real cooking time (of course all the wok ingredients are always cooking even when the wok is uncovered). We cover and cook the fermented black beans, ginger, garlic and yellow bell peppers and portabella mushrooms for about 1 minute to 90 seconds with out adding any water. We can hear the moisture from the fresh garlic and fresh ginger and peppers sizzling. When we start to hear the change in sound as the moisture is completely gone, we add about 10 ml of water to the wok. We add the water without lifting the wok lid (just pour it at the edge). By not lifting the wok lid, we prevent the steam from escaping. We want to use as little added water as possible or we risk making a wok soup - which we don't want. We cook for another 1 minute or so as the hot steam starts to cook the peppers and mushrooms in the covered wok.
Cooking the peppers and portabella mushrooms