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How can I use my wok to create wok hei?

Customer (PF13LQN120): 

I have a question.  How can I use my wok to create wok hei, when the wok adapter is not secure AT ALL on top of the wind guard.  

Outdoorstirfry

The wok adaptor ring is flexible to be oriented to protect the flame come up to burn the hand accessing the wok handle.  It should just sit snuggly on top of the wind guard. 

On Wok-Hei, please read https://outdoorstirfry.com/?s=wok+hei.   I believe if you search wok-hei on internet, you will come up with a lot of sources.

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wok hei chemistry

Inquiry:  

Hi, I just read your site saying “The flavor is complex, and it is caused by a mixture of sooty compounds from the combustion of oil, caramelization of oxidized sugars, and Maillard reactions” — can you refer me to any resources or research with more detailed information about the chemistry of wok hei? Thank you!

Outdoorstirfry

Please read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wok#Wok_hei.

Inquiry: 

Thanks — I’ve read that and spoken to the sources it refers to, but I’m still looking for more detail.

Outdoorstirfry:

The wiki page is the main source of our reference.   You might want to talk to someone doing research on food chemistry.   Let us know if you find more in depth understanding on this subject.

Advanced Stir Fry Technique (Wok Hei)

Definition from Wikipedia on Chao (炒) and Bao () http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stir_fry, both are stir fry techniques.  The Chinese definition is at http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/炒 for chao (炒) and http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%88%86%E7%82%92 for bao ().

PowerFlamer is great for these two classic stir-fry techniques of Chao (炒) and Bao (), both of which can provide the alluring smoky flavor of Wok Hei.

Chao technique is the familiar stir frying technique, and involves heating the wok to a high temperature, adding a small amount of oil, followed by spices, meats, vegetables, and liquid in succession. In bao technique, the iron or steel wok is heated much hotter, to a a dark red glow (approx 1200F of following table, see http://www.threeplanes.net/toolsteel.html for more detail), and the oil, seasonings and meats are added in rapid succession and rapidly tossed. Besides the high heat from the stove, cooking technique is extremely important for both Chao and Bao.

Wok Hei Colors

Other dishes like beef chow fun (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry-fried_beef_with_hefen) traditionally have more wok hei, and experienced chefs will catch flames several times (example GongBaoChicken). The flavor is complex, and it is caused by a mixture of sooty compounds from the combustion of oil, caramelization of oxidized sugars, and Maillard reactions between amino acids (from the proteins in meats) and reactive carbonyl groups of sugar. These are similar to the chemical reactions which cause toast, or barbecued foods to have a rich taste.Wok Hei (Cantonese ) is defined at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wok_hei and can be caused by high heat cooking, and it is enhanced if you catch some flames inside the wok which tossing your ingredients. Too little flame, and the flavor can taste flat; too much flame and the flavor will be overwhelmingly sooty. Some dishes, like stir-fried greens benefit from one or two small bursts of flame.

Wok hei is related to the PowerFlamer’s flame (the temperature), the oil, and the metal (iron or steel or aluminum) of the wok itself.

Aluminum will melt at high temperatures, and only iron and steel are suitable for very high heat cooking. The material of the wok itself is important. Traditional Chinese woks are made of iron; modern woks are made of lighter metal or stainless steel. Many Chinese restaurants use iron woks, although iron woks will rust and is more difficult to clean (see article on this site about caring for and seasoning your wok); but both problems do not hinder the restaurant chefs because they use the wok every day.

Wok hei is complex to achieve, and it is often used as a measure of a Chinese chef’s skill. Besides practice and practice, here are some pointers that might help you:

1. Pre-heating time: For Bao technique and Wok hei, lengthen the time for the wok to pre-heat, so that the wok reaches a very high temperature just BEFORE you put in the oil, raw vegetable or meat. In general, the wok must be heated when the cooking oil in it starts to vaporize (blue vapors). To achieve even higher temperature, do not put in cooking oil when the wok pre-heats; pour in cold cooking oil just before you put in the raw food — this way, the oil won’t chemically decompose due to the high temperature.  (Also, different types of vegetable cooking oil, such as corn, canola, olive, peanut, have different vaporization temperature points.)

2. More cooking oil: In general, more oil is needed to for Bao technique and wok hei, than for Chao. The amount of oil must be carefully controlled; too much oil, it becomes “frying”; too little oil, you won’t get the Wok hei. The flame inside the wok arises because boiling water from your ingredients causes a spatter of fine oil droplets. That oil mixes with oxygen in the air, and catches on fire if you deliberately toss the wok so that the oil spatter comes in contact with the PowerFlamer flames. More oil tends to produce more flames. You can control this through your technique for tossing the wok, and mixing your ingredients. Usually flames will die down within 1-2 seconds.

3. Right amount of water moisture in the raw food. The water moisture is an important ingredient in Wok hei. Water moisture comes from the raw vegetables, and also from water left on vegetables after washing. Too much water moisture, and the food is soggy; too little, the food is dry and burned. This part is difficult to control, but you can experiment with the moisture control by letting the vegetable air-dry for varying amount of time before cooking.

4. Amount of the raw food (vegetable or meat). Good chefs are able to achieve Bao and Wok hei, because they do NOT cook too much food in the wok in one go — they prefer to cook a small amount. The smaller amount is important for quick stirring and for temperature control (for maintaining the high heat during stir frying) — think about heat-to-weight ratio (weight of the food). A light-weight wok (made of aluminum) is able to heat up fast but to retain LESS heat (once heated up); in that case, you need to decrease the amount of raw food for cooking with a light-weight wok. I suggest that you start experimenting with small amount of food (just enough for a small dish).

You can put out flames by covering a wok. NEVER throw water into a flaming wok to put out a fire.

Please try some of these, and tell us what you think. Happy cooking!

Some links on this subject (Wok hei, wok material, wok maintenance):

1. See what outdoorstirfry.com offers as products that can help you achieve wok hei.

2.  See what Kenji Alt says on his Serious Eats – (The Best Outdoor Wok Burners for Restaurant-Style Stir Fries.)

2.  See The New York Times Article “The Elements of Wok Hei, and How to Capture Them at Home” by Kenji Alt.

2.  See one of our customers cooking (Link to Youtube).

3. Here’s the seasoning process as described by Ala Luke (Link to Youtube).

4. Wok in the street of Phnom Penh (Link to Youtube).

5. Learn about basic Chinese cooking equipment – wok, ladle (Link to Youtube).

6. Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wok_hei.

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I like to understand the effect of wok-hei on flat noodles with some fish sauce and sweet sauce.

   I like to understand the effect of wok-hei on flat noodles with some fish sauce and sweet sauce. i tried many times and failed to achieve this at home. pls advice. many thanks.

We would not want to claim that we are expert on wok-hei. So if you have different opinion, please let us know.  If you can speak Cantonese, than you should understand that wok-hei can be directly translated into “smell or taste from a wok”. Typically this applied to some food that can be coated with cooking oil, then the cooking oil catches fire briefly, to leave a layer of initial charring type smell or taste. Catching fire seldom occurs at home cooking since it is unsafe in an enclosed space and quite messy. Thus wok hei is rare and favored.  If your noodle is wet and you apply various sauce, then the surface of your noodle will have hard time to catch fire. Another condition for fire catching is that your wok has to be at quite high heat and you have open flame from your stove (electric stove does not have) to introduce the flame to your wok surface.

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Can EF series stoves achieve Wok-Hei?

(D. Luong, PF9S70) I bought a power flamer PF9S70 for my parents a couple of years ago and they are happy with the power. Since I’m getting the EF11SQN50 for myself because of the size and natural gas, I’m concern whether the 50 BTU/Hr is powerful enough for stir fry and achieve the sought-after wok hei.

I wish you have PF stove that is as small as the EF but with 70 BTU.

(outdoorstirfry.com) EF series uses low pressure gas which cannot match up PF series.   You can achieve Wok-Hei with EF stove by doing smaller dish or wait a little longer for your wok to heat up.

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How tall should the cart be for an averaged height person?

Inquiry: 

Is the Power Flamer with IEI a newer model to the Power Flamer with EI?  I assume there is a benefit for the extra $60? From your videos, it looks like the burner configuration has changed?
Also, If I build a wide metal cart with a properly sized hole in the middle to hold the wok, how tall should the cart be for an averaged height person?   Thanks in advance

Outdoorstirfry: 

IEI is a newer addition to our product list.   It comes out because of one of our strongest patents.   Sometimes people like indoor gas range single knob approach.  For further difference between EI and IEI, please read https://outdoorstirfry.com/?s=difference+IEI+and+EI.

We would recommend table height around 2.5’.

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Wok questions

Inquiry: 

Hello, I was just curious but what is the maximum size wok that you would recommend using with the Powerflamer Propane 160? I have a 14 inch flat bottom for indoor use and recently put in an order for a 14 inch round bottom wok. However, I was thinking about going bigger since this has the power to accommodate a 16 inch wok for example. That being said, I was thinking about staying to the 14 inch regardless since a 16 inch is quite unwieldy.

Also, I forgot to write in the previous communication but does it matter what type of wok is used (e.g. pow vs the one linked below)? I purchased the pow wok but am also considering purchasing the one below at a later date. However, I am not sure if that would work well with the Powerflamer.

https://www.newquistforge.com/products/two-ear-handle-round-bottomed-wok

Outdoorstirfry: 

About size of wok, the PowerFlamer stove can handle >20” wok as its flame surround bottom of the wok.  In terms of handling weight, smaller size wok is preferred, especially if you plan to toss.  In terms of serving size, of course bigger wok can accommodate more people.   We personally use 14” wok. 

The stove wind guard has one side (about ¼” perimeter) with high wall which blocks flame.  This is where the wok handle should be placed before hand touches.   1 ear of a two-ear wok will be exposed to flame.   People hand can be burnt if accidentally touches the hot ear (sometime people’s mind travels miles away from task in front of their face).   We would prefer your so-called pow wok with only one long handle. 

Let us know if there is any further question.

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We integrate the wind guard and the wok support ring.

For the latest generation PowerFlamer propane 160 stoves as of December 2022, we have integrated the wind guard and the wok support ring.  Integration of wind guard and wok support ring enables smooth flame flow from the burner to the wok and outside.   For the detail look of the new wind guard, please visit out product page at https://outdoorstirfry.com/product/powerflamer-propane-160-long-lead-time/.

During cooking, wok handle is preferred not subjecting to direct flame for safety of the cook.   Typical wok support has one long vertical wall to accommodate the wok handle by fencing off the flame .   The new wind guard provides flexibility allowing final installation with three options to mount on to the burner base plate, thus enabling 3 preferred positions for wok handle as below.

Position 1 with wok handle to the front of the stove.

Wind guard position 1
Wind guard position 1
Wok Position 1
Wok Position 1

 

Position 2 is 120 degrees counter clockwise from the front of the stove.

Wind Guard Position 2
Wind Guard Position 2
Wok Position 2
Wok Position 2

 

Position 3 is 120 degrees clockwise from the front of the stove.

Wind Guard Position 3
Wind Guard Position 3
Wok Position 3
Wok Position 3
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Loving the outdoor wok

Customer (PF13L160EI + wok set): 

Just wanted to take a moment to thank you for the set up appreciate the fact that I didn’t wait for 6 months and optimized the garden a few photos to share with you. I’ve probably made 20 or more dishes only took pics of a few.  Thanks again 

 

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Heights of Short and Long Leg PowerFlamer Stoves? Are the legs (bend) done properly?

Customer (PF13L160_Stabilizers)

Are the legs done properly ? Is the completed height 31”. I thought there were short legs for tabletop operation and extensions to use on the floor. Are the places where the longer legs attach considered the short table legs?

Outdoorstirfry: 

The short leg stove uses the short legs from the base plate, about 1.5 inches.  The long legs have bend such that they can spread out wider to increase stove stability.  Entire long leg stove should be about 30~32 inches in height.   This is to consider a wok depth of 4 inches, such that the wok handle height is at 36 inches.   We consider 36 inches as the average height for people’s elbow, comfortably lifting the wok with elbow in horizontal position.  

For how the long legs spread, please see the “Usage Examples” section of the stabilizer product https://outdoorstirfry.com/product/long-leg-stabilizer-for-long-leg-stoves/.   For how to spread the long legs, please see “How to achieve stable long legs for PowerFlamer propane 160 stoves?” at https://outdoorstirfry.com/support/product-documentation/.