I've taken a few stir fry classes, really stir fry recipe classes. I've never really "learned" technique other than what I picked up watching the instructor. Thank you for a really great class, it's Chinese for dinner tomorrow. When we built our house, the stove I picked came with a wok ring...My husband was the only one who understood why I was adamant about having a stove with a wok ring!

I'm currently an Asian culinary student in Vancouver, BC. Commercial woks are vastly hotter than what's normally available to the home cook - ours our 150,000 and 200,000 BTUs - home units are typically 10,000 or less. Affects the ability to achieve "wok hay" but as the demos showed, you can still produce a good product in a short amount of time.

What I'd like to mention though, is Chinese restaurant equipment stores have special wok brushes, which are completely amazing at dislodging bits of stuck food. They're like extremely coarse handbrooms (think bristles like fettuccine), last forever, and I think I paid C$3.65. Sample photo at http://shop.waiyeehong.com/images/Products/Products_0003726.jpg

My husband and I really love stir fry, but they never really ever seem to turn out. I am very excited about this lesson, and (hopefully) any other that will be in this series! I was once told to season our wok by sticking it in a 400 degree oven for 4 hours. I'm glad I didn't do that, your way seems much better.

Stir fry's are a thing I love to eat and something I enjoy cooking. They turned out nice every time but there was always something a little off. Things would go a bit mushy and I've just realised that although I knew it was a fast cooking method using high heat I'd never actually followed through and cooked on high heat for the duration. I'd get worried the heat would burn things and turn it down, thereby completely missing the point and having to leave things in the wok longer, causing them to soften and lose colour. Y'live and y'learn. Thanks! Great lesson.

Ive been using a non stick wok which has held up well even though une the hottest gas I can. After this lesson I'd go for a carbon steel wok but it seems almost all CS woks here in the uk have some form of non stick or other chemical on them. I've so far only found one that looks silver wih no non stick properties:ken hom green) but the reviews mentioned that the bottom bucks and wobbles so not sure! I will keep looking but if anyone knows of any uk outlets let please let me know.

Thanks for another great lesson. I have been stir frying for some time but knowing how to do it correctly is always beneficial.
Now I have to go and buy another new pan for my collection. :)

Hi Scott,
I have a professional range in my home with burners that can reach 18,000btu. Almost double of a standard residential setup but light years away from a commercial application. Crazy!. Overall I'm pretty happy with the output except for stir-frying where I would happly accept double or triple of what I have. My current setup includes a 18" round bottom carbon steel wok (chinese market for under $30), a cast iron wok ring that fits my burner grates, and of course, the bamboo wok brush ($3.99 for mine :). Makes for a pretty decent setup.

As usual, this is a clear, informative, and useful lesson. I bought my wok, seasoned it, and am ready to go. Any idea when will there be a stir-frying lesson with some edible assignments?

Very soon Robert. In fact, it's locked and loaded, so stay tuned. Cheers!

One of the best classes. Western people use to think that a wok is just a big pan. With this lesson we've understood what is it, how it works and why. But please, is this the first lesson without practical recipes? I can't wait for something good to cook with my wok.
Cheers!

Love this lesson!!! I'll date myself and tell you that I actually own an electric teflon wok (hey, what can I say...it's fire engine red and real pretty)....thank you Rouxbe for showing me the way!!!

Hey there,

I have completed both lessons on Stir Frying and was just wondering when adding rice back into a stir fry, it said the rice should be completely cooled prior to.

Does this mean room temperature, or do you cook the rice ahead of time and place in the fridge?

As well, should the cooled rice be added back to the wok at the very end, to heat it through?

Thanks so much
Mark

Yes the rice should be made ahead and chilled. However, it is best to bring it closer to room temperature before you stir-fry it. As for when to add it to the stir-fry, this will depend on the recipe. But generally, the rice is added near the end, to heat it through, absorb the flavors and in some case fry the rice. Cheers!

Possibly a silly question, by not cleaning the wok with soap does it not mean the wok will retain a certain smell and when putting it back in cupboard I'm worried it will smell the cupboard out!

I guess one could cover it in a box or something?

No, your wok will not smell. Because it has a natural, non-stick surface, hot water is sufficient enough to get it clean. If there are some stubborn bits, you can gently scrub them off with a sponge but trust us...wash the wok out thoroughly with hot water as soon as you are done cooking and it will be completely clean. Cheers!

I have an electric stove and was going to purchase a flat bottom wok. Can I season it using the ginger/chives method on an electric burner? or will the heat not be high enough? I've read that some people have difficulty getting the sides hot enough to season accurately.

Also, does the underside of the wok (outside) need to be seasoned?

And finally, is it OK to use Extra virgin olive oil to season the wok or is the smoke point of the oil too low?

thanks!

Yes, you can use the ginger/chives method on an electric burner. The entire carbon steel wok gets quite hot. Just make sure to keep pressing the mixture up against the sides so the inside gets completely covered.

It is not necessary to season the outside of the wok.

Do not use extra-virgin olive oil. There is a drill-down attached to Topic 6 of this lesson that lists the Smoking Points of Oils and Fats. It is very important to use an oil that has a high smoke point. We used peanut oil. Cheers!

On a modern teflon-based non-stick wok, one would stay away from using metal utensils in order to not scratch the non-stick layer and ruining the pan. Since we're creating a similar non-stick surface here (at least the way I understood it), is there really no danger in using metal utensils without scratching away the non-stick surface?

If you watch any seasoned stir-fry cook they are all using metal utensils. they are just better at getting under the food etc. Using metal on metal, even with the patina, is okay.

In the beginning, when the wok is new, the utensils will likely scratch the surface a bit but that's totally fine. The more you cook with the wok, the thicker and more resistent the non-stick surface will become to scratches. The real reason metal is so bad with teflon-type cookware is because scratches will ruin the pan, not to mention the fact that you be ingesting the bits that come off. Hope that helps. Cheers!

We recently purchased an induction cooktop range for our kitchen. This type of heat source works much better than any other electric heat source for stir frying. The high iron content of the carbon steel woks make them excellent for use on induction cooktops. I have used 30,000 btu gas burners and the induction source seems just as good!

Does anyone know of a store that sells wok rings in a variety of heights (preferably cast iron)? The "standard" wok rink I have puts my wok too far above the gas when it is sitting on my grates, but if if remove the grates it is not high enough.

Thanks!

Not sure where you live, but I would try your local kitchen or restaurant supply stores. Alternatively, you could try searching online. You may also want to try the ring without the grate. Depending on how it is sitting it could be fine if it is sitting quite low. Cheers!

Sheri, you may want to try the Wok Shop in San Francisco.

That would be www.wokshop.com

Thanks Dawn & Andrew for your help.