takadi

Contrary to some egulleters, I would have to agree. It's all about the wok hei and making the wok as hot as you can. The key is also getting good Thai dark sweet soy sauce, the main flavoring ingredient. You can buy it at your local asian grocery stores or buy it here http://importfood.com/sakh2102.html

How does enthusiasm and passion for a subject translate to obsession? It's not like I sit at home all day and think about woks and how to light everything on fire. Yes, I am a human being and I have a hobby. Perhaps egullet and I are on two very different pages, as I see the pao technique as an artform rather than just a mode of practicality or a mundane everyday occurrence, or worse, a hindrance to cooking and the enjoyment of it. To be honest, I only get this type of reaction here.

I can't be the only one in egullet that has an interest in this concept of wok cooking

I don't know if any of you are into bokashi composting, but just in case, I got a couple of questions about it Can you keep adding fresh food waste to the bin or do you have to let the whole thing ferment completely before you add new stuff? Also, do you have to keep adding new bokashi wheat bran culture to the pile or can the previous fermented material be used to continue the culture (sort of like yogurt)?

I just started composting for the first time by just piling up all grass clippings, yard trimmings, and shredded newspaper in one huge heap. It's one hot and heavy mess and it is awesome. Might get into worms and maybe get a biostack or something fancier like those compost tumblers (or the almighty naturemill) but just don't have the time yet or the money (I can't believe they charge hundreds of dollars for a plastic container) Is there really an advantage of worms to regular composting though? Seems like alot of extra work for nothing.

Much appreciated post V gautam. Unfortunately, I'm young, I'm stubborn, I'm stupid... I wouldn't be the youthful scientist eager to bag the shark if I wasn't...well...eager to bag the shark. The image of the battle hardened stir fry veteran does remind me of this quote though: "I am tired and sick of pao. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a propane jet burner nor heard the shrieks and groans of the singed who cry aloud for flash, for smoke, for wok hei. Pao is hell."

Does anyone know how to make this stuff at home?

I'm thinking botulism

According to this great website hummingbirdkiss showed me "The following information is for the highly managed pile and the optimum finished compost in the shortest amount of time. Decomposition occurs most efficiently when the temperature inside the pile is between 104 degrees F and 131 degrees F. Compost thermometers are available at garden shops and nurseries. It is best not to turn the pile while it is between these temperatures, but rather when the temperature is below 104 degrees F or above 131 degrees F. This keeps the pile operating at its peak. Most disease pathogens die when exposed to 131 degrees for 10-15 minutes, though some weed seeds are killed only when they're heated to between 140 degrees and 150 degrees. If weed seeds are a problem, let the pile reach 150 degrees during the first heating period, then drop back down to the original temperature range. Maintaining temperatures above 131 degrees can kill the decomposing microbes." http://www.compostguide.com/

I think grain fed beef is superior to grassfed when it comes to grilling

Induction cookers are pretty expensive aren't they? Plus I don't know if they put out enough heat for a stir fry I only know two ways to get decent stir fry on an electric stove. Either use a copper wok (unrealistic), or get one of those heavy American cast iron woks. I highly recommend Lodge's pro logic 14 inch wok. It's flat on the bottom and round on the inside, so you get all the benefits of the wok plus being able to conduct heat efficiently. The only issue with this is that it is difficult to control the temperatures and it is extremely heavy. You'll have to adjust your ingredients and cooking methods around this, but you'll get pretty decent temperature levels and your food will come out pretty good

tamari is technically soy sauce without wheat. It's the liquid byproduct of miso production

Hi V gautam How does the stand alone induction wok work? Does the wok have it's own power supply or something? Do you have to buy a curved induction stove? Seems really good for casual wok cooking and extremely efficient compared to flame stoves, but it seems like the price might be out of the ballpark range of casual cooks. I subscribed to chefbalcer a while back, he seems like he knows what he's doing. His techniques and set up are very professional, so I don't think his situation is applicable to home cooks unless they are extremely passionate about wok cooking

Wow that looks great, and not a bad price either! I was gonna ask about wattage and see if it just ends up wasting electricity, but it only uses 10 watts.

Hmm I wonder why is that. Maybe freezing helps break down cell walls?

Wow it looks a little daunting...seems to have a great deal of science behind it. I always figured that you just dump whatever that is considered trash into a huge pile and let it rot, lol. I've bought some thai basil and hot pepper plant seeds, so I can't wait to give this a try

Just bumped up the gardening thread The only real food product I'm scared not to buy organic are meats. Not really sure I trust eating meat from an animal that was abused, fed dead matter from its own species, and pumped full of chemicals and hormones. I figure that since animals are higher on the food chain, the acquire more of the chemicals in their bodies

Does anyone have any good time-tested methods for making compost heaps, especially out of old grass clippings and food?

I know it has little to do with food, but is there a thread for composting? I've always wanted to try my hands at it and make a nice vegetable or herb garden from it, but I don't really know how Also I think this topic gets into the discussion of "local vs organic". I tend to prefer local first to organic, especially for produce, because I feel there is little significant difference between a conventionally grown vegetable and an organically grown one that requires it to cost several dollars per pound more. And I figure a great deal of that expense comes from fuel used to transport it. I'd rather buy from a local farmer produce that is at peak freshness and didn't travel 1000 miles just to reach the grocery store. Even so, alot of local farmers probably use organic farming methods as well.

They have a term for that: The Calorie Restriction Optimal Nutrition diet

You could have cut the tension with a knife!

White truffle oil??? I hope that car has delicious emissions! A nice twist on biofuel that's for sure. Btw, here are a list of my favorite youtube chefs (some of them have either retired from youtube or gone on to better ventures) ChefJeanPierre BBQtalk BarbequeWeb (it's all about the voice!) wokfusion WinelibraryTV (they have their own site I think) egeefay peter691107 chefbalcer thebrewdudes The foodwishes guy used to be called "learn2cook" but he upgraded from that and decided to turn off his comment section and switch everyting to his blog. He now has his own "show" on about.com. I kind of liked his old videos better, it's obvious that he is trying to advertise his blog in the new ones and it kind of takes away from the video. I save so much money on cooking lessons, I have learned almost everything from these guys!

Hi inferno Is your wok burner similar to this? http://www.indiajoze.com/equipment.html I've been trying to find something like yours for such a long time, but to no avail. Either the valves aren't powerful enough or there aren't enough holes to disperse the propane flame. So when you turn up the heat, the flame has a tendency to go out in some of the holes. Outdoorstiryfry.com sells something similar but the rim is too big (13 inches wide) and it is incredibly expensive. Apparently it goes up to 160k BTU's, but I don't know how accurate his claims are The guy at indiajoze.com apparently sells one for 90 dollars but I'm not sure if the site is even active anymore. Plus it seems way too cheap to be true. The wokshop sells one that looks really similar but it claims it only goes up to 32k BTU. I'm not sure if I believe any BTU rating anymore http://www.wokshop.com/HTML/products/steam...tove_32000.html There are also a bunch being sold on ebay starting at dirt cheap prices of 20 bucks not including shipping. The picture looks decent but seriously...20 bucks. The other alternative on there is being sold for about 300 bucks (being shipped from Australia).

Awesome thanks for the link! I see there are alot of different models for the Elph, is the 850 the only one with the macro mode?

To tell you the truth, I've never owned a camera in my life (I am a deprived child), so I really don't know what to get, let alone know what DSLR means, lol. I see alot of egulleters here shooting such beautiful pictures though, but I figure those are the result of some pretty expensive cameras. I wouldn't want a piece of crap, but I don't really need a professional style camera either, just one that will be able to take clear enough pictures to be aesthetically pleasing (and preferably below 200 )