Post by gracoman on May 16, 2016 10:34:27 GMT -5
Wok Hei is sometimes translated as "breath of the wok". It refers to the taste, the char, one can only produce with a high heat wok burner and it is why Asian dishes taste so much better in a good Asian restaurant than at home. I stir fry plant based dishes frequently and have been eyeballing wok burners for years. When the Eastman Outdoors 65,000 BTU Kahuna burner went on sale recently at Gander Mountain I placed an order. This burner was $67.00 delivered. It is not a commercial style wok burner but wok hei can be produced with 35-40,000 BTU's and it was cheap and portable to boot
I picked up a new 16" carbon steel wok at a local Asian market as my 14" kitchen wok is to small for this upgrade. I needed a professional wok. It was $16.00
Burning the new wok before seasoning on the new wok burner
Newly seasoned 16" wok
65,000 BTU's is enough to make me re learn how to wok. Food can burn quickly so one needs to pay attention
After a few trials I am comfortable enough to turn the heat up to half. Last night I did a Japanese Udon noodle fry loaded with veggies and tofu. Asian restaurants aren't especially healthy with the amounts of oil and sodium used. The same can be said of restaurants in general. When you cook at home you know what you are eating. Stir fry really only requires small amounts of oil.
Japanese Udon Noodle fry completed in the wok. Flame is off.
Plated with toasted sesame seeds. We have wok hei. That elusive char that is distinctive of good wok frying. I have improved my game immensely. It takes only a few minutes to fry in a wok over high heat. I'm pretty happy with this new set up.
I picked up a new 16" carbon steel wok at a local Asian market as my 14" kitchen wok is to small for this upgrade. I needed a professional wok. It was $16.00
Burning the new wok before seasoning on the new wok burner
Newly seasoned 16" wok
65,000 BTU's is enough to make me re learn how to wok. Food can burn quickly so one needs to pay attention
After a few trials I am comfortable enough to turn the heat up to half. Last night I did a Japanese Udon noodle fry loaded with veggies and tofu. Asian restaurants aren't especially healthy with the amounts of oil and sodium used. The same can be said of restaurants in general. When you cook at home you know what you are eating. Stir fry really only requires small amounts of oil.
Japanese Udon Noodle fry completed in the wok. Flame is off.
Plated with toasted sesame seeds. We have wok hei. That elusive char that is distinctive of good wok frying. I have improved my game immensely. It takes only a few minutes to fry in a wok over high heat. I'm pretty happy with this new set up.
