Wok hei: why do stir-fry dishes taste better with the ‘breath of the wok’?
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- čas přidán 18. 05. 2023
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Wok hei is a term that foodies often use to describe the flavour of a perfect stir-fried dish. The Chinese words, meaning “breath of the wok”, refer to a distinct feature of Cantonese cooking, and being able to whip up wok hei is a benchmark skill many professional chefs strive to acquire. Post reporter Lisa Cam spoke with two chefs in Hong Kong to learn about the sometimes elusive art and science behind wok hei and why it has become so beloved with Cantonese food fans around the world.
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4:44 No way that restaurant name is not intentional 😂😂😂
about to say that too😂😂
I will never be able to say the name with a straight face. 😅
I was furiously looking at the comment section. Glad I was not alone XD
Where's the tone when you need em 💀 but hearing it again, I think it's intentional. I don't know much Chinese, but I can tell that she uses tones when in 6:26
I'm from Hong Kong and yes, that shop name at 4:40 is intentional, hahah. This is because that combination of characters has no meaning in Chinese or Cantonese, and the chef who speaks on behalf of the shop is also fluent in English. I just never could've imagined someone actually made a shop name out of this pun, and a successful professional one at that.
I like that restaurant name 😂😂 4:40
That is so intentional
This is at Hong Kong right? It's definitely intentional 😂
Any tourist walking past will immediately have a small giggle at the name inside before pretending to get offended haha
5:23 can't help but wonder if the host & crew were dying to resist the urge to giggle. At 5:32 she averts her gaze to avoid bursting into laughter
Here's some more potential restaurant names, for inspiration. Put them in google translate and press the Listen button: 哈利石特, 哦麦哥德, 瓦特福克, 阿斯霍尔
This is the first time I've heard someone explained wok hei that makes sense. 👍
Wow saar, thanks for showcasing this invented in Singapore cooking method. Just Google Wok Hey, and you will know Singaporeans invented it long before Hong Kong, China, Taiwan or any other Asians even existed.
I love indian culture and civilization , Especially as a northeast asian, but I must say many if you come off as extremely lnsecure, Constantly reminding the world how you are the best at something Or the first while rarely providing any sources.
@@00Julian00 thank u sarr for acknowledging we are stronk💪🏾💪🏾. Actually our population and gdp growth already defeated the evil ccp-land. We are already world class superpoower. But we are humble because we still friend with USA. lately USA media seem to be provoking us from time to time 🤬, they likely jalous of us, but they better watch out of our poower
Wok heat or heat of the wok
@@jaihindersingh Take your own advice and Google your country's history vs China's. The video literally showed wok's been around in China for at least 800 years, way before the founding of your country.
I work as a washer at a cantonese restaurant and they have 6 of these woks lined up and 3 guys working them. It's a great experience to see them up close.
LINED UP? U guys not indoor right? Its the kind of outdoor like street stall right?
Otherwise 3 woks lining up side by side is literally human barbecue...
@@Rncko I’m pretty sure if they have jet engine stoves they have ventilation fans prepped for global warming.
@@Rnckoyou have never been in a hotel's buffet kitchen before..there are at least 5 in it line up.
@@Rncko It's pretty common indoors. These kitchen space are not small
@@Rncko a big chinese restaurant that serves few hundreds in a sitting has at least that many burners to handle the dishes... also they have separate stations for steaming and deep fry..... plus a completely separate section for dim sum..... another station for live seafood...... another section for food prep....
This is why Chinese takeout gets cooked so fast. It's those afterburner woks. You order something and within 10 minutes or so it's done.
Microwave
Imagine all after burner in kitchen, not in war airplane jet....world peace......
They can reach about 100-120k btus, about twice as hot as most home barbecues can get
The cooking itself is rarely more than 5 minutes. Actually saving more fuel or gas that way than cooking in a pan for 10 minutes
It takes an hour to prepare the ingredients for that 5 min wok show
More than magic, it’s an art.
Grew up working for shops with Chinese and Filipino dishes. We were trained to never wash the woks or pans with soap just water and a wooden brush. Everything tasted better especialwith wood stoves.
@t rex Wood-fired stoves. That's a whole another level of amazing cooking.
@t rex For tens of thousands of years, people made fires and cooked using wood as fuel. Shocking, I know. I heard a crazy rumor that was actually how humans first discovered and used fire.
The Chinese tradition is to keep the thin layer of natural non-stick film intact by not washing with soap. There are many YT videos demonstrating creating the layer when the wok is brand new.
basic seasoning of any iron/steel woks and pans...... eastern, western cookings follow the same rule.... never soup wash iron pans and woks
This is so fascinating. I’m a French trained chef but THIS is where it’s at.
only like 2 mins into th video as of typing this.
but i don't the video is accurate scientifically.
wok hei is closer to methods like smoking, except instead of scented wood like in american bbq, its the stuff in the wok. so its "controlled micro burning" rather than malliard reaction/caramelisation.
to do this in a wok, requires skill for sure, but the point is, its technically possible to reproduce without a wok etc, using some kind of set-up.
Both cuisines and cooking methods are great in their own right.
French trained is better than Chinese trained , Chinese food is at the botttom of the culinary chain , how often do you seee fried rice and lemon chicken get recognition and respect .
@@kalnitez maybe that's because racists like you don't know how to appreciate diversity in culture and cooking techniques.
@@kalnitez Respect from who?
Eat without your nose, and you'll find out. High temperature wok style cooking is an art form. People don't recognize this enough.
Many culinary arts like baking so much knowledge and expertise is being lost to machines and cheaper mass producing methods
Wow saar, thanks for showcasing this invented in Singapore cooking method. Just Google Wok Hey, and you will know Singaporeans invented it long before Hong Kong, China, Taiwan or any other Asians even existed. 💪🏾💪🏾
@@jaihindersingh nah everyone knows India created wok hey ❤
@@blzy965 thank u sarr, finally found someone understanding our kalture. Jai Hind bhai 🙌🏾🙏🏾💪🏾
@@blzy965the wok was literally created in China. It has zero original connection to India. “India created wok hey” no, because “wok hei” is literally a Chinese language term it’s just translated to English here.
I watched many beef stir fry noodles videos …I have not seen one like this … the output is so much nicer than those others.
Really love the charred smell and taste of noodles. So i tried to learn the technique. Bought me a high pressure stove. 1st try, i ended up causing a fire in the kitchen. Thankfully, theres a fire extinguisher nearby. But that didnt stop me from trying again. Now, i sometimes gets the charred taste sometime i dont
Practise will get you there . After all it takes years to become a competent chef 👩🍳.
The wok is one of the best cooking equipment you can have in the kitchen
With electric cooking, it is not so useful. You also need to have gas to really enjoy it.
@@missj.4760 Bought a house with all electric appliances so my wok was not as useful. Then I got my nice gas grill on my deck with a sear station that kicks out some heat. Works great as I get higher heat than a regular gas stove and I am outside so no smoke detectors going off.
In easter part of asia (east and south east asia) every house has a wok or similar shaped utensil. And almost everything can be done using wok (from cooking fried rice, stir fry, curry, to just boiling instant noodles)
The second best cooking equipment you can have is definitely the rice cooker
@@brandonlouis1542 To be, the best cooking equipment is a high quality stainless steel cookware set.
Newer generation tend to move towards sous vide and pan fry.
Nothing wrong with any method preparing the food.
But
Wok Hei is the real deal! 😎🤝
What? No. Most Chinese households still use the wok for almost everything. However, the air fryer is a trending cookware.
@@niubilities
Ah. I meant restaurants or cafes method of preparing food.
Of coz household still have that generation to generation grandma wok!
Yes agreed. Air fryer. Pretty convenient though.
@@kahwailam3313 Not really. Maybe in US or Europe. Not in Asia.. Taste is hard to change
one thing to correct here is that Wok Hei is almost the golden standard for all Chinese fry dishes but not only limited to Cantonese cooking.
My mom has mastered wok-hei cooking but I'm still learning. Wok skills and flick of the wrist is vital to wok-hei cooking. It makes that fried rice sooooo fire though
flick too much, the wok loses heat...
So incredibly graceful this style of cooking. What a show!
I've never alt tab'ed so fast until today after i heard 4:41
"Stir Fire King" is an absolute thrill ride for the taste buds at any Cantonese restaurant - it's my go-to dish every time! It's fascinating to see how each chef puts their unique spin on this classic favorite. It's a thrilling gastronomic adventure that continually wows, delivering an exhilarating and captivating dining experience each time it's served!
Because of freshness. That method cooks food quickly and some dishes are mixed with wine
This is what Uncle Roger considered the utmost important part of cooking.... :)
Man I’m glad I live in upper Toronto where it’s a gold mine for talented Cantonese chefs… hope I can do my culture proud and master this technique one day 🙏🙏
There is no place called "Upper Toronto"... you mean North Toronto, North of Toronto, York Region, etc.?
@@coolspot18 I'm like north Scarborough, just under Markham
Guys need to try the beef hor fun in wong gok. 7 Kennedy. Those old sifus are legit. And cheap. $7.5 but you taste the wok hei.
@@dennisha2147 is there a different name or address? 7 Kennedy seems to be a residential area and the only Wong gok on google maps is in New Zealand 💀💀
If the Chinese chef is experienced, you can smell and taste the “breath of the dragon” immediately.
Yes, only then the taste of the food will come in a few seconds later.
Okay - that video was amazing! Thanks to all involved. Subscribed 🎉
admire all the chefs with their wok skill/ cooking!!! great! 👍👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👍
Never heard about Wok Hei before until i watch Uncle Roger videos
We Cantonese understand it as a wok's aroma.
Food tastes 2 times better with wok hei. But make sure to drink a glass of fizzy fruit salt later because it is very heaty and might cause a sore throat.
Cantonese dishes is one of my favourites Chinese food.
This is GREAT KNOWLEDGE!! Thanks for beautifully depicting the essence of wok and the versatile dishes ❤
Excellent video. More wok cooking please
Wok hei makes all the difference in Chinese cooking. Without wok hei, food will taste like it's steamed. With wok hei, food will taste like it's cooked over fire and yet the food does not get burned.
5:28 😂 I can't
Great story, Wok hei is extremely underrated
My wok is my favorite cooking utensil. Thanks for this video.. Wok-hei, here I come!
I'm from Hong Kong and yes, that shop name at 4:40 is intentional, hahah. This is because that combination of characters has no meaning in Chinese or Cantonese, and the chef who speaks on behalf of the shop is also fluent in English. I just never could've imagined someone actually made a shop name out of this pun, and a successful professional one at that.
that’s so clever!!
Learned nothing more than i already knew, but I love the way this episode was made..👍👍👍
MashAllah great recipe 🤤😋😋👌👌
I believe a certain uncle would be happy with the wok
underrated
fuiyoh
Cantonese Wok-hei cooking is hard to do inside. Commercial burners are impressive in terms of how hot they can get, and I’m lucky that there are still great Cantonese chefs in Hawaii.
I was drooling watching this video. 🤤
We are losing Cantonese chefs in New York. Hard to come by Cantonese flavors 😢. Even with Chinese American fast food, it don't taste the same since most are cooked by chefs from another region of China. Different way of cooking and seasoning. 😢
@@ah8yan Yeah. Some are better with specific dishes. I need to rest the new cook’s Stuffed Duck at one of my regular places.
@@ah8yan We in the US don’t have too many great Cantonese restaurants and chefs. Shorts of going to HK, we make trips up to the GTA (the northern suburbs) several times a year just for the Cantonese food.
Always came out from wok is the best tastier foods that nothing can compare, I set up outdoor cooking especially for fry. Vegetable nutrition never dropped down level and the best healthy food always come to my meal table after wok. My family loves it, the freshness and smoky flavor fried. ♨
Chef Chan NEEDS her own show!!
I have lived in Toronto, Canada for over 35 years and have yet eaten a stir fried beef noodle with the so-called Wok Hei. A trip back to HK visiting reminded me exactly what that is !
Lived in Toronto basically my whole life and I love me a restaurant that does its Wok Hei well. The upper Scarborough/Markham region is a gold mine for Cantonese food 🔥🔥🔥
Hoping to visit Hong Kong one day to see how it’s done there 🙏
there are quite a few restaurants in Chinatown, NYC comparable or better than Hong Kong. it all depends on the head chef or chef they hired, the same goes for roast meats.
agree. Wok hei in restaurants in Hong Kong are at a distinct level. Those restaurants at Toronto or NYC, despite serving delicious food, their wok hei is literally none.
Uncle Roger must love this
The best way to mimick this at home is with a blow torch, keep it at a medium ish fire, and just hover over the food, just to create a little amount of the charr/burnt looking color. Its the closest u can get to wok hei at home.
Take note that you do not clean a seasoned wok with soap, just water and scrub (sometimes even just wiping it) is enough
Or if you do have to use soap for what ever reason, you need to apply another layer of seasoning etc.
Thank you so much for sharing😋🤗
Wok cooking is a master skill that I have much respect for, to hot, and hard for me.
You gotta have biceps muscles doing that
Now I want Chinese stir fry. Mission accomplished SCMP! 👍🏽👍🏽🤣🤣
My mouth is watering
Wok cooking technique is really one of the most fascinating things in Asian cooking for me. Asian chefs normally use the most basic cheap ingredients and seasoning, so that means all the flavor comes from their cooking technique.
No they use fairly complex and expensive seasoning. Brewed, fermented items and msg are not simple or especially cheap.
this is a wildly oversimplified statement
@@airgunfun4248 that is correct. They would have cost a fortune if it were made anywhere in the west or Japan.
All things equal. You can find super high end Chinese restaurants serving premium ingredients that will cost you a bomb and super low end western food like McDonald’s 😂
Some Chinese sauces take days to prepare.
Asian stir fries, including Indonesia's Nasi goreng or Malaysian Char kuey teow or Singaporean Hor fun are all made using wok and needs to generate enough wok hay to bring that slightly charred taste.
Continuously smoking its ingredient with evaporating aromatics - so you don't have to rely too much on sauce / seasoning games.
If you don't have rocket motor stove or outdoor kitchen in your house (you can use wood or charcoal-burning stove), in Italian cooking, there is this "drowning" (affogati) technique that could produce similar result with smaller burner - making your vegetable smells olive oil & garlic as if they are cooked in wok. Heat olive oil in a sauce pan, throw in chopped garlic chunks and chili pepper to your preference, heat it until bubbling, throw in the vegetable, and close the lid for 10-15 minutes. Season with salt, that's it!
About this "affogati" technique, can you show me some examples?
I tried searching it on youtube and google, but couldn't find one (drowned by affogato instead XD)
It doesn't produce a "similar" result at all. Just someone talking about wok hei that has no idea what it tastes like.
impossible to achieve wok hei with olive oil thats why no chinese restaurant use olive oil.
Olive oil cannot be used for any sort of high heat cooking due to its low smoke point. You don't know what is wok hei
@@honkitchang1489 wok hei is actually partially smoking the oil itself
What Cantonese chefs share with kung fu fighters - speed and timing, necessary to produce ‘breath of the wok’ textures and flavours: sc.mp/kc0g
and "interesting" hairstyles....
Lol any physical job requires speed and timing … China probably has more professional line workers than kung fu fighters
Human stomach like roasted food because it need to do less work to convert to essential components for cells regeneration. Also anything lightly smoked. Like crystals forms immediately when u put small crystal in a jar. With wok smoking the food is easy
Cooking with wok is unhealthy with so much carbon smoke. But if you are food lover its best cooking vessel ever.
Thank you for enlightening the people .
4:41 holy what??!!
F*ck
Wok the Fok!
Whenever I interview candidates, I told them to make fried rice & fried noods, this is the secret
Wok hei is about achieving a distinct smoky flavor in the dish, without over cooking or burnt taste. Unfortunately no matter how hard you try you'll never get woke hei in home cooking...unless you have an outdoors wok.
@Skele-Ton Hammer lol technically yes but your stirfry taste torched and will have off-aromoma.
@@coldsoul333 that's why there's an order on putting in ingredients and seasoning...
the way she described it makes me wanna see an anime film of a Cantonese chef with all the dramatic and poetic moves she talked about like... wow. SHE needs to be a main character of an anime
There's already an anime of cooking using wok. Its an old anime, forgot the name. Not shokugeki of soma of course.
Cooking Master Boy
It very convenience why you can control the heat with knee while you toss the food
I really like this cooking range
*while*. youtube dont aloow me to edit commet 😅
I could taste this video! Now I am STARVING... 😂👍🇭🇰
Great explanation i love wok hei keep trying at home
You can't really do it at home because the fire must have a very high temperature unless you are using the Commercial Gas Stove
@@johnnymah5187 He could do it with a charcoal stove.
@@classiccasualgaming If you cooking area is out side your home.
I loved this video.Very interesting and informative.
Kinda like cooking a prime ribeye steak over a hot charcoal fire vs a gas grill. Open flame wins.
I do have a wok but don't have the BTU's to get that certain flavor. The wok does contain my food when tossing my ingredients. :)
That is how Wok hei should be explained to those that don't understand yet, in that it is the same exact cooking process of obtaining the smokey flavor & smell you get from charcoal-grilled (or char-broiled) steak & burger meats. Some of the smoke that rises from the grill gets stuck onto the meat & vegetables on your grill, preferably with charcoal/wood. Today, there are other "false" ways of getting that smoke flavor, either using "liquid smoke" or a "smoke infusing" machine. It's not quite there, but it can get close if you experiment enough. As said in the video, if you want to get that wok hei at home, you need to get your pan really hot, when you start seeing some smoke coming off the pan. But don't let it go too long before adding oil or the pan will get so hot that it will make your cooking oil catch fire once poured & possibly make the rest of your kitchen catch fire! Even if you are using high smoke-point oils, like vegetable, canola or sunflower. Try not to use olive oil. The other thing too is the type of smokey smell & taste you can get & one way is to wipe onion or green onion onto your wok pan as it is getting hot which will char those onions. And of course the technique of tossing your food in the hot wok is how you get a lot more of those smoke particles to stick to all over your food.
How would you try to do this at home? You need like a 40KW stove which really no one has at home.Therefore It`s not possible to achieve Wok hei at home kitchens anyway. I got a 20kw outdoor Wok stove to try if I can make it happen, but the best result you can get with that is slightly close to the real cantonese Wok Hei flavor I got to try in china.
Those who haven't tried authentic wok hei food, gotta try it at least once in their lifetime.
I eat it everyday. and I hate it so much when I go to America and eat the food there.. Even michelin star food taste blah
wok and oils also give aroma when near boilling point
Still learning & need more training to handle heavy cast iron wok.
This is what people love to watch top cooking video.
Amazing
It is most certainly not just maillard reaction. Maillard reaction occurs when steaks are fried over pans but you don't ever taste "wok hei" (鑊氣) in them.
It is mainly maillard, but imagine every single grain of fried rice being 'seared' to give that light crust, smoky taste whilst keeping inside not overcooked. It's very analogous to a steak seared on a pan, but done on every single component within the wok. That's why it has to be tossed quick and gracefully.
4:40 This is a must visit restaurant.
Best name ever. 😮
"holy f_ _k" 😂😂😂😂 honestly...... just funny! nothing else👍👍😀
I so love Chinese Cuisine
Best cookware in the kitchen by far
I wonder if the chefs can get the wok-hei with the induction stove in our home's kitchen.
I think Cooking with Lau's channel answered this years ago. Quite simply, they can't, they need very high heat, delivered very quickly.
@@petervan7372 8:50 The chef clearly said it can be done with home small gas stove. But I only have induction stove, so I want to know if induction stove can also do that given the fact that induction stoves have no fire and the cooking apparatus are made of different materials.
@@feizai245 id be very dubious of an induction stove giving you the sheer temperatures you need
事实上有商用电磁炉和对应的炒锅。它们的功率甚至高达5000w。
这种电磁炉还有特制的外形以贴合炒锅，好便于颠勺。
中国已经已经有非常多餐厅使用商用电磁炉来替代气炉。
@@shaozhihao 5000w电炉.家庭电力拉的起吗?
4:37 best restaurant name ever
Amazing chef!
Now I am craving a beef chow fun. The wok hei elevates the noodles in a smoky slightly charred taste. Wok hei is where it's at! 👍
We Uncle Roger fans know.
Haiyaaa
fuiyooo
And knowing is half the battle.
That restaurant name is brilliant 😅
This is the type of content why I watch south china morning post.
Is he talking in Cantonese? He sounds distinctly different than what I'm used to which I think is Mandarin, but what do I know LOL...
I love wok hei!😂
Wok breathing 2nd form: Wok Clash - **beheads and cooks all vegetables**
The lady chef speaks excellent English!
shes,the interviewer i think, not a chef
So a gentle touch of violent heat
Wok hei is not just the Maillard reaction... If it is, all browned meats would produce that distinct smokey flavor...especially steaks...that's a bad explanation.. wok hei would also be present in stir-fried green veg and the maillard reaction there is much lower due to lower sugar levels..
Explanation is incomplete...more research pls
It is the maillard reaction at its root chemistry reaction, but applied differently. The idea is to apply quick high heat onto surface of the food, without overcooking the inside. The challenge for wok hey is to do it for every single component within the wok. For fried rice that means every single grain of rice, which is why those that mastered wok hey skill has the ability to toss every single rice evenly and have each grain semi charred.
Wok is so fkin universal... i have 3 at home myself
Wok Hei for life 😋🔥🔥🔥
wok hei yes, black micro carbon everywhere no.
wok hei is actually can be very simple according to that chef. BUT dang, it can be as difficult as rocket science with both mental summation and physical calibration all at the same time in your computer like mind ... Blind as a bat yet able to ascertain the right amount of wok hei to make it WOK HEI.... Dang !!!!!
wok are very durable cookware.
The best restaurant name ever - Holly Fck.
The Legend of Fried Rice, Breath of the Wok
you know the thing gets serius when they put a friggin' rocket engine in the kichen lol
This is inspiring.
I love my CS wok and pan.
this is now going to be my de facto reference/explanation video whenever someone asks me what wok hei is :)
I've been doing wok hei without knowing it for years. Just add some butter on water while frying
also applies to grilled food
i call it grill hei
I believe the name is intentional to grab more attention. It's in central after all, a place where westerners/party goers mostly go to for a night out
Nah that's his dad's name.
@@reivaldoaurelio4895 did his grandmother named his father that after she discovered she got pregnant?
Isn't high temperature deplete nutrients in meat and vegetables? Just asking, with love from Alaska.
Modern food is so abundant and nutritious that losing a small portion in high heat is ok.
No, it's like flash heat. Just like you don't lose any when flash freezing
Here in California, just about every food I prepare and eat is lightly grilled for a few minutes in the oven which kills the germs/bacteria and also keeps the maximum amount of nutrition in food.
Great video!
4:41 I'm sorry but come on, that name gotta be an inside joke. lol
Learned something new