Wok Cooking Basics | Woo Can Cook
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- čas přidán 6. 06. 2024
- hello hi everyone! Wesley here. Today once again (as you might notice) we’re not in the kitchen, but in my studio, cause we are instead adding onto our series dedicated to the fundamentals of wok cooking. More specifically, we’ll be getting to a topic that a LOT of folks have been asking for, which is a (hopefully) brief guide to wok cooking on a home range, and how and why it’s so different from cooking in a normal frying pan. For those following along, a few months back we also did a quick guide to pantry essentials which seemed to be really helpful for folks building their pantry for the first time, but I also know we fully glossed over everything related to the actual cooking process because…it was already a 17 minute long video.
So! In this video we’re finally gonna touch on some of the most asked questions that have come up over the years, which is “how do I chose a good wok? How do I season it properly? How do I cook in it properly?” and finally most importantly “why are all of my stir fries mushy?” I’ll start by mentioning that the answer to a lot of these questions is really just gonna be related more broadly to good cooking fundamentals in general. That said though, I do also think that there are a number of wok-specific techniques that are pretty unique to Asian cooking and (at least to me) stand out quite a bit from euro-centric cooking, especially with regards to high heat cooking, stir frying, and just generally how to cook in a giant frying pan shaped like a big ass bowl with a handle.
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Wokman LLC
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0:00 Hello Hi Everyone
2:20 Wok Types
5:22 Gas Range Wok Cooking
7:50 Electric Range Wok Cooking
9:35 Wok Burners
10:56 Wok Burner Cooking
13:49 Let's Eat!
14:41 Thanks For Watching! - Jak na to + styl
I was the kid snapping snow peas and doing my homework at the first table...lol I had to jump in and help in emergencies which led to my first job. I used to take everyone's order without writing anything down, everyone always has a million questions about Chinese food that is why you must be knowledgeable. People used to be in awe of me asking me how I was able to serve so many tables at once and make it look effortless. I'd just say it's what Ive been doing since before I was born as my Mom was pregnant with me while waitressing. We even worked together for at least 8-9 years. She died a couple years ago. She taught me countless things that always made me the best server anywhere I worked. There is a serious lacking in both skill and personality/professionalism everywhere I go nowadays it's nice to see this young man appreciative his father's kitchen wisdom.
this is amazingg!!
Thank you for such an interesting commentary! How sad that your mother died! 😭
Just subbed your channel and binge watching your videos. Very educational without gimmicky delivery. Loved your pantry basics!!!
Yayy thanks!
Extremely Underrated channel
😀thanks!
For the induction stove, I recommend choosing a lightweight flat-bottom cast iron wok (not the super heavy ones). The woks retain good heat. Make sure to choose a wok that fits your plate's surface diameter on the stove. Don't cook in too big batches, and different vegetables cook at different times. If you over-crowd the pan, the heat in the pan will drop and things will start to steam/boil rather than stir-fry.
nice!
I’m new to induction and tried stir fry the other night with my carbon steel wok and some refined light olive oil. It didn’t go well. I thought you are supposed to get it as hot as possible but on high the oil smoked a lot, charred the bottom of the wok and even burst into flames at one point. i wonder if the heat from induction is too focused in one small area. Or maybe it’s because in restaurants they lift the wok off the flame off it starts to get too hot?
Love the instruction and explaining!
Liked and subscribed!
🥰🥰 Yayy thank you!
i totaly agree with your point about seasoning. just use them well keep them oiled, and they season themselves. I have seasoned Woks and end result is the same.
Yep exactly!!
Recently picked up a cast iron wok, definitely can't do any fancy tossing but it is an absolute beast even on electric coils. Just need to give it time to preheat thoroughly and keep the heat high
awesome!!
The last time i bought a stove I brought my wok with me to see how it would fit on the burners (gas of course), I also brought along the ring to see how even it would fit on the largest burner. Imagine my surprise when i found a high-end stove on sale as a close- out special that had two grates over the four burners for half price!
The best part was that over the largest and hottest burner was a trivet built into the grate that when turned over could hold a round' bottomed wok!
It was designed for that specific purpose.
I still have the stove some 14 years later and will shed tears someday when parts are no longer available for it.
Niceee that’s dope!
Thanks so much for this video, super helpful for me
yayy thanks david!
Very well made video. Thank you for the help.
thank you!!
Thanks for the video! My English is not very good! What do you think of a large cast iron wok with two handles (Southern Cantonese if I'm not mistaken)?
Yeah totally, I used to own one, actually! I find they’re great for electric ranges, or any scenario where heat retention is an issue. The only real downside is that it’s gonna be way too heavy to wok toss (that’s why they put two handles on it I think, haha). This also makes it kind of a pain to store, but if you can manage all that though, they work great…!
I have a flat bottom wok that works pretty well with my induction top stove.
nice!
Hope you're doing ok brother, thank you for the cooking tips from a different perspective.
Yayy you too!
DuPont went mad with PTFE - branded Teflon. It's been used in so many places where it's totally inappropriate. Cooking utensils being a very example as you cite here. It was also used in an engine oil additive called Slick 50. Allegedly to reduce engine wear. All it did was clog up oilways and oil filters. DuPont was very robust in it's response say that suspended solids have not purpose in a circulating lubricating system.
I have a carbon steel wok here and I love it. Once it's seasoned it'll work for weeks without any difficulty.
That’s crazy!
Very helpful thank you
Cheers
Thanks rob!
I like that tennis Tournagrip on the wok handle
Haha yeah it didn’t last very long unfortunately. Those grips don’t last long on tennis rackets either tho, so 🤷🏽♂️🤷🏽♂️
Very well spoken - congrats
Thank you!
I've seen some on cruise lines that are induction woks with basically a rounded induction bottom that the walk sits in so that all sides are touching. These I've recently seen available on Amazon. They have two pieces, the rounded bowl induction burner and a 14-in carbon steel walk. What are your thoughts on those or have you done a video about them?
Yeah! I’ve never used those induction burners, but I’ve seen them a few times though. It seems like they achieve comparable heat. My guess is there’s a limitation to heat retention since the wok would essentially stop heating as soon as you pick it up to toss, which basically means that you can’t cook in large quantities (I imagine smaller 2-3 serving cooks would be ok though). Obviously, the main downside being that there’s no open flame, so you’ll lose out on “wok hei” smokiness, which is a fair trade off. Definitely looks interesting…!
@@WooCanCook Thanks! If you happen to get a hold of one those, I hope you will do a video on its pros and cons. 😁 Subscribed now. ✌️
@@RBickersjr yaaa definitely would love to do a video on one, if i manage to get a hold of one...!!
thanks a lot for this informative video. However you missed those high power induction stoves with a wok spherical bowl above the also spherical coil and with stepless heat adjustment from min to max. There is no On/Off phase with these heaters and the are very powerfull up to 8 kW or even more.
yeah! i'd love to do a review on one of those burners. Sadly i've never managed to get my hands on one though. I heard they work well though...!
Thank you! 😀👍💕🌸🌱👏🏼
🥰🥰🥰
I have an induction hot plate that we use on the table for hot pot. My main problem with the induction burner on the hot plate is the pan must stay in constant contact with it while the burner is turned on. My typical cooking with a frying pan or wok involves moving the pan around, but when I do that using the induction hot plate the hot plate turns off every time I jiggle the pan. I don't know if this is also a problem on induction stoves, but it has me very underwhelmed with induction cooking. I certainly don't want to spend the money to get an induction stove just to test this out.
hmm yeah this has been my experience with induction tops as well. i haven't used them all too much, but i've found that a solid cast iron wok solves this issue best, since the wok will retain heat during these brief off-periods. The downside to this is that they're very heavy (so you won't be able to wok toss) and you'll want to be especially careful not to put it down too hard, or the weight of the cast iron could break the induction top.
good luck!
Recently bought a CS flat bottomed wok, I had one 20 years ago. But I also had a gas range then. I have a nice glass top range now (not induction) with a pizza oven and a regular sized oven. I'm wondering if I should have bought a stainless steel wok. I don't see who I am going to season this wok properly. Would love your opinion. Thanks so much!
Ooh cool! Cast iron woks are definitely my favorite for any type of electric range wok cooking. I’d say with a glass top, the main concern is…don’t break the glass top, cause the wok is so heavy haha.
As for seasoning, my process for cast iron has always been pretty similar to carbon steel. Heat it up as hot as possible, add a LOT of oil, and then pour it off and wipe down the wok. That should get u halfway there, and then after that, just start using it, and it’ll develop its seasoning after a few cooks.
I can’t imagine you’ll have too much issue with maintaining a high temp on the wok, but if u do tho, I’ve also heard folks alternating between burners to help maintain temperature. Let me know how it goes for u!
@@WooCanCook Thank you so much for your advice. I have been told that cast iron should not be used on my glass top range as it could superheat beneath it and crack the glass (it's in the literature it came with). My husband just figured out the wooden handle comes off and I have read you can season them in the oven. Do you have any thoughts on that? Thank you again!
@@lindafarris7363 yeah totally! oven seasoning is pretty much the same concept, except the heat comes from the oven, rather than the range itself (the same process, except use an oven, instead of the stove top).
As for the glass top issues, I haven't experienced that myself, although to be honest I haven't had much experience cooking on glass tops either (aside from a few friends' houses, all of the electric ranges that I've regularly cooked on have been old school coil top ranges). That said, I can't imagine how a cast iron could get significantly hotter than any other pan, though. kind of seems odd...? like, what about dutch ovens and skillets? 🤔
in any case, i'm very curious to hear back on what kind of results you get here. keep me posted...!
What are the opinions on diamond coating?
hmmm i haven't used diamond coated pans much to be honest! the concept definitely sounds interesting though, since it does seem like they are produced at a relatively similar pricepoint as teflon pans.
from what i've read though, it does seem like the primary benefit of the use of diamonds in the pan is for their ability to conduct and retain heat, which is already achieved pretty well with a copper-core or cast iron enamel pan. i'd be interested to see how they perform side by side with something like this...!
someone please send me one to try! :-D :-D :-D
The weather has been terrible here so I’ve been cooking with a butane burner at home in my kitchen and just open the window. They claim it for indoor/outdoor use.
I can’t figure out how to send photos or I would but I’ve discovered for my level which is the beginner. It worked quite well. 15,000 BTUs pales in comparison to your jet burner but I believe it would do it, especially if you were gonna put on the cooking demonstration somewhere indoors. i’ve been eating out of it since I received the wok and the burner, it. I’ve mistakes but I’ve had a lot of success and I’ve been learning a lot. today I steamed some broccoli and red potatoes, to tender😅 crisp, and I Insta pot a family pack of bs chicken breast, and cut them up and added some to my broccoli and red potato mixture . I used peanuts oil for seasoning and cooked the garlic and ginger mixture in olive oil then added the rest. It got the edges of the the chicken and the red potatoes crispy.broccoli was perfectly tender but being at the level that I am I decided just to use salt, pepper, and chili flakes for additional flavoring, I’ve worked with sauces and stuff but I’m just trying to get the textures of my food right.
I have an electric stove and I bought a wok on a whim. It’s non-stick. I’m not off to a good start 🤦♀️😂 Now I’m searching online for cast iron lol.
haha oh nooo!!
Get carbon steel uncoated. Not cast iron
I just bought a portable butane burner off of Amazon that claims to be the best choice for woks in that category. After just your video I'm not so sure that this will adequately heat a 13 inch wok. This stove with fuel will fit inside my backpack. I guess I'll just take it to a park and try something simpler like broccoli and chicken and hope for the best. it'll be a Wok in the park😅 that would be a good name for a series if I had a you tube channel but I don't Wok Very well.😂
ooh interesting, let me know how it goes!
In my opinion , the best benefit of using a wok burner is not the heat distribution, but the wok hei.
If you're in the S.F. Bay Area, The Wok Shop on Grant in S.F. is the place to go.
Nice job....wok before you run.
haha thanks!
What’s that Long Yayo thing?
Yeah totally! A “long yao” is a process that comes from Chinese wok cooking where we add room temperature oil to a ripping hot wok. This process plays a critical role in developing a non-stick surface in your wok (as opposed to adding cold oil to a cold wok, then heating it up). Some restaurant chefs do this process with very large amounts of oil (half a cup or more) to maximize the non-stick surface, then pour off all but 4 tbsp, since they will eventually use up that oil during their normal day of cooking. Home cooking in smaller volumes works just as well with 3-4 tbsp of oil, though.
Sucks that it seems like the wokman isn’t a business anymore. At least I’m not getting anything when I go to the site.
i knooow! I've been trying to order a second burner for a while now. maybe if enough people ask, we can get them to start manufacturing again...!
Even the famous Martin Yan improperly demonstrates wok cooking at an oddly low temperature. Buy a carbon steel wok and burn the hell out of it. Disagree about the flat bottom. Go round.
Wonderful guideline for the 3% of the people who still use their body temperature to measure heat. 97% use °C and don't know what you are talking about.
C to F isn't exactly rocket surgery. Literally just Google "c to f" and enter your numbers. Certainly much quicker than typing your necessarily condescending remark here.
@@Im2Old4ThisShite YOU DISPLAY FACTO-PHOBIA
And rockets don't need surgery; you are on the wrong boat and calling out your lies is not "condescending"
Excellent reply sir, and so true, really no bloody need.@@Im2Old4ThisShite
Most U.S. residents still use and prefer Fahrenheit.
Just a bit of constructive criticism from someone who excels in public speaking. Tone down the arm gyrations, as they are distracting and don’t add to your presentation. Otherwise, you do an above average presentation.
He’s a real person, a lot of CZcamsrs are tryhards with their over done setup. Just let him cook
@@kevinvinci679?
Watch Scottie the auto mechanic several million subs and his arms are all over the place
I agree, very distracting
Leave him alone he must be Italian
IAM THE WOK!
😂😂😂
25000 BTU home range ? ? ? no such a think , your stove from this weejio tops out at max 6000 BTU if you are lucky, hayaa
I just bought a small butane camp stove that puts out 12000 btu... I don't see how any stove that this guy is using could put out less then that
@BhikkuBandish My high-end Thermador puts out 22K BTU on one burner (only). Agree that most home stoves probably max out at 15-16K.
@@billzigrang7005 hold on, you are talking about a $5000 stove, which is basically a fancy but still commercial restaurant style stove, which is designed for high output, I’m talking about normal home ranges.
@@BhikkuBandish it’s improbable that a “regular made in china” camp stove will put out 12000 btu , it can say on the box 12000 btu but in reality it’s more like 5000-7000 BTU
@@FreeYourBrains I researched it abit and I found that the BTU are closer to your stated number for a home range...plus or minus 1000. Of course I would not rule out a much higher rate...
looks like Wokman LLC is gone.
anyone know were i could find an equal product(burner)?
i know, so sad!! i'd love to know if anyone's found anything similar as well. I've now gone through i think five different burners (all with varying degrees of success), but none equal to the Wokman. Here's what I've found out though.
The 32 tip Jet engine burners that are in the wokman burners are more commonly found in natural gas wok ranges, for commercial kitchens. I've yet to find one built into a propane burner, so i'm guessing the Wokman folks just ripped out one of the jet engine burners from a natural gas range, and installed it into a housing for a propane burner.
The multi-tip style burner is pretty essential to achieve the type of flame featured from the wokman burner (or for that matter, most commercial wok ranges). it's the key to how the flame can stay yellow, while also creating the disbursement around the rim of the wok for wok hei.
The closest thing I've found so far has been the ones found in Chinatown restaurant supply stores (they don't have a brand name) but this is essentially it:
www.coolerdepotusa.com/products/details/101037/19-ins-commercial-chinese-wok-ranges--cw1?gad_source=4&gclid=Cj0KCQiA1rSsBhDHARIsANB4EJaDKMDeorPD1BBEJw24dWBnTqpoQNFjn9IEh4kOym5C5vQBNgLT3ocaAkJyEALw_wcB
These burners have two separate burner units, one for an "outer" ring that controls the spread of the flame, and one for an "inner ring" that controls the flame that hits the bottom of the wok more directly. I've personally found these to be a little more finicky because it takes more fussing to get the flame temperature exactly right, so you'll end up burning a lot of stuff. Once you get a feel for the dials though, they work ok. Their housing is also pretty cheaply made though (pretty much just raw sheet metal with very sharp edges), so for the cost, I'd honestly expect more attention to detail.
I've also tried the stansport and big kahuna burners, both of which had housings that were really flimsy and cheaply made, so I was constantly worried about them tipping over and burning the building down.
then I've tried the concord burner too, which achieves a similar spread to the flame, but also has trouble controlling the blue/yellow of the flame though, which again, ends up resulting in a lack of control over the temperature of the flame itself. Over time, I also found that the burner tips get clogged with oil and eventually will start to fail too, which is a major downside for me.
Anyway, good luck!