I am extremely fond of Chinese cooking

Thank you for everything.

The flame from the stove is blue at the bottom but it is yellow at the middle/top portion of the flame. Is that ok?

 I noticed the flame comes from the holes in the center, but at few places the flame also comes from the rim. Any chances that this is being caused due to a leakage at the rim, or is this how it is supposed to function?

I have just experimented with the stove couple of times. The first time I used a non-stick wok and it kind of burnt from inside. So I will be visiting our China town soon to buy a new wok. I guess I should not have used the non-stick wok on such a high intensity flame. Well few mess ups are necessary to master the technique… what do you say?

We do not recommend non-stick wok since the non-stick layer can not withstand high heat (sorry for you to find it out in a hard way).  We neither recommend buying iron wok.  Iron is very good in conducting heat however it needs additional step after cooking (such as cleaning, heat drying and then applying cooking oil to prevent from corrosion).  We recommend using stainless wok.  There is an example from our product web page stainless wok.

I have been having fun cooking on the new stove. Initially I burnt the food couple of times but I am slowly getting the hang of it. I usually invite my friends over for the Chinese food and this stove is also becoming quite popular with them.

 I had few questions for you. Would really appreciate if you could clarify them for me. I am trying to understand basic concepts of high  power cooking and I just want to know the right way to do it:     

 I usually start cooking by tempering the wok and adding the oil to it until the oil shimmers. Then I add some garlic/ginger to it. Now how high should the flame be when I saute the ginger/garlic mixture? Should it beat its maximum or should it be medium? How long should we fry the ginger garlic to get good flavor out of it but not burn it? Should we cook on the high flame all through out?

 How do we get that ‘smoky’ flavor in the food, the way they get it in the restaurants?

 How do we get the fire in the wok when the food is being tossed in it it? I usually get the fire at the beginning of cooking by adding few drops of water in hot oil. But how do we get the fire while tossing the food towards the end? I have realized that the fire brings in lots of good flavor with it.

 Which is tastier oil for cooking Chinese food… peanut or lard? Will lard work fine for stir-fries?

 How do we get really crispy deep fried chicken, the way they do it in the restaurant? What I do is marinate the chicken with some soy sauce and egg and then dry coat it with the mixture of corn and regular flour. Then deep fry it when the temperature of the oil is 360 degrees. But it still doesn’t come out quite crispy and tasty as the they get in the restaurants. What else do they use, and which oil do they use to deep fry the chicken or pork in?

 I would really appreciate if you could tell me these little secrets. I am getting closer, just need to get a better idea of the flame. I have been having real fun playing around with it.

Glad to hear that you and your friends appreciate our product.

 The power output of the stove is adjustable.  You can adjust the flame to your comfortable level (your material handling speed) such that your garlic and ginger are just brownish but not burnt.

 I do not remember any stir fry dish from restaurants has smoky flavor.  I would love to taste how it likes.  My understanding of using a high power stove is the capability of cooking a dish fast such that the ingredients remain fresh and thus crispy.

 In terms of getting the fire at end of cooking a dish, you might have to teach me.  Generally we do not recommend people to toss and get fire simply due to safety reason.  However, it you find a way to do it safely, please email me such that we can share with others.  On my end frankly I do not toss and do not get fire into my dish.  And I do not believe the taste of my dish is any worse than what restaurant provides.  I might be wrong here.  It might be better for you to tell the difference in taste.

 We usually use vegetable oil since it contains the least cholesterol.  If you are talking taste and not afraid of high cholesterol, then the order would be lard – peanut oil – vegetable oil.

 The preparation of crispy chicken can be the same as Chicken_Fingers (Google groups requires login to view). The only suspect from your description is the soy sauce.  Try replacing the soy sauce with a little salt (and ground black pepper, optional).  You can still use your way of deep frying.  Let me know the outcome.

 Have fun!