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Curious if anyone out there has had any experience with induction wok burners, for restaurant or home use. Up until recently the only ones available have been pricy restaurant models or equally pricy built-in models. However, I've noticed a few much cheaper options coming to market. For home use, there's this Nuwave countertop model — $169, but it looks like it has sold for $99 at some points in the past. 120v, 1500w I'm also seeing a number of much less expensive countertop restaurant models: Galaxy GIWC18: 120v 1800w, $229 Avantco IWC35: 240v 3500w, $359 Sunpentown SR-34BWC: 240v 3400w, $612 Wondering if anyone has any experience or thoughts on any of these new models. I was thinking of adding a 240v outlet when we renovate our kitchen, but one of the 120v options might be a nice stopgap. I can't find any reviews on the restaurant models. The Amazon reviews for the NuWave are mixed, but a lot of the negative reviews seem to be from people who don't have a clue how to season and use a carbon steel wok. There's also a wok cooking teacher in Florida who seems to like the NuWave as an alternative to an Iwatani butane stove.

Hi everyone, My flamethrower - oops I mean wok burner has finally arrived! I got a friend living in Thailand to send it to me via snail mail (sea mail) and a month later, its here! I've been trying to recreate that taste that appears to only be obtainable from the huge gas powered woks in chinese & thai restaurants/takeaways. This elusive "wok hey".... and now I can confirm that I am able to get similar results... sure the marinades and sauces are kept secret, but thats just a process of trial and error... now that I've got the equipment there is no stopping me . Last night I made a dish similar to that known as "ants climbing trees" - a mixture of stirfried pork mince, soy, rice wine, bean thread noodles with some tobanjiang (chilli bean paste) and other assorted sauces and ingredients. I cannot describe the difference between cooking on this and my stove top wok burner (which is not bad at all, it puts out about 20000 btu according to the manual). Instead of the mince oozing out water and liquid and it almost boiling in its own juices, the second that the water/meat juices come out, they _instantly_ evaporate, so that even with a tiny amount of oil, the mince is being stirfried not boiled. Due to the high heat, the meat gets this unique flavour that was never present with my stovetop wok burner, and it gets that beautiful caramelised colour too. The only problem is that you have to have EVERYTHING ready and you have to be extremely quick handed... leave something for 5 seconds without stirring and its burnt... put the sauce in and turn around - by the time you turn back again it has evaporated and the sugars in it have burnt. Its all about speed and when you get it right oh man, its beautiful. Anyways enough raving on... I have tried to take photos, but either I have a really crappy digital camera, or flames are VERY hard to capture properly. I tried it at night and during the day, with and without a flash, with and without lights on... so I have included the best shots I could get. All I can say in addition is that these photos do not do the flame justice. The SOUND of the flame is scary enough on its own, sounds like someone has cut open a huge city-wide gas pipe and your ear is right next to the high pressured gas rushing out. And the flame itself is completely blue when its set to the highest, and about 1.5 feet high. This little baby uses a high pressure regulator and runs off LPG.. at its peak, it is putting out 120000 - 125000 BTUs (per hour). Day shot of the wok burner in action on "Medium-high" setting: Night shot of the wok burner on "Medium-high" setting: Night shot of the wok burner on "Medium" setting: Night shot of the wok burner on "High" setting... notice the blue flame wrapping around the wok. Night shot of the wok burner on "High" setting... notice the blue flame wrapping around the wok... futhermore, notice the wok actually glowing orange because it is so hot (this shot is about 20 seconds after I turned it on)

I've had these wok tools ever since purchasing my first wok some 40 + years ago: 14" long, maybe they are cast iron or carbon steel. The wooden handles came loose 39+ years ago, but surprisingly have never been lost. Now that I've resuscitated a wok (not my first one) and am using it frequently, I really like the sound these tools make when stir frying. I wish I could decipher the hieroglyphics inside the bowl of the ladle... Anyone still using these tools? And Grace Young (amongst others) has her opinions about the shovel...

Uncooked rice is often used here when seasoning a new wok. It is 'stir-fried' in the dry wok between washing off the machine oil the woks are coated in for shipping and then the hot oil treatment. I've never been quite sure what the rice part actually does. If anything.

Wok prep ready. Hanger, peppers and shitake. But now I want mountain lion...

No question long-term induction the way to go. I’ve tried a couple of the 120 V plug-in models. These get overwhelmed with anything more than say half a pound of protein also compared to a gas wok. The induction woks seem to have a smaller hotspot as well. I would like to get a bigger induction wok burner the question is what? My gas outdoor wok is 18 inches and it’s great other than in Calgary winters or when there’s lots of insects it’s time to move indoors with it. I have a control freak, which spoils me in terms of flexibility and temperature control. I’m not sure if I can find an induction wok with the same amazing technology. Garland has a neat system that uses three temperature sensors as opposed to the one essential one in most induction burners that looks promising. Anyone have any experience with it?

I also have a 32 cm wok and agree that most people would recommend a larger one for a family of 4. However, with an induction cooktop, you don't get as much heat transfer up the sides of the wok as you can get with a gas burner so some people suggest cooking meals in multiple batches instead of letting everything get steamed. In that case, a smaller wok could work. Though if I used a wok a lot for a family, I'd get the bigger wok and a separate wok burner.

The easiest meals I know that only use one cooking vessel are stir-fries. I am assuming you are allowed to call it "one dish" even if the rice gets cooked separately. Very little to clean up after a wok friendly meal, and a well seasoned wok practically washes itself. All you need is one burner and an electric rice cooker.

Yes. I was just about to say the same. 99% of my meals are cooked in one pot - a wok - apart from the rice which is done in the rice cooker. Even when the meal is composed of several dishes.Many of my friends and neighbours only have a wok and a rice cooker. Standard Chinese cooking method, but adaptable to other cuisines. ETA. Some meals can be prepared entirely in the rice cooker.

Should you choose to use the steamer in a stock pot or skillet rather than a wok, the ring can be used to hold the steamer above the bottom of the pot so the steaming water won’t flood your food. Not usually necessary if using a wok.

Homestyle Tofu from “Woks of Life” with wok-fried tofu, dried wood ear mushrooms, red and green peppers, scallions, ginger, garlic, star anise and a sauce made with cornstarch, oyster-sauce, Shaoxing wine, light and dark soy sauce and sugar

I have been reading up and I have purchased "The Wok" by Kenji López-Alt. I have his recommended burner and a stainless steel wok. So I am good to go there. I still am very much a novice at that sort of cooking though. I also been experimenting with various instant pot recipes for SE Asia cooking. I am in the North Carolina in the US.

The wok seems small to me for a family of four. I live alone and one of my woks is 32cm which is just big enought for me.

What a fun packed life I live! Today I bought a new wok brush. The Present Its handle is a different shape from the ones I've being buying for decades! I'd better go lie down before I get over-excited. The Past

Wok-cooked tomato & scrambled eggs. Not that anyone needs a recipe for this but I followed one from Kenji in The Wok where he adds a bit of fish sauce to the eggs and it was a nice addition. Should be in a bowl with rice but I went with a plate & toast.

I got mussels in this week's fish share so I put them into this recipe for mussels and rice noodles in green curry broth from Kenji's The Wok Very quick and easy. I just may have to do this again,

That looks like a huge room. Is it all one room in those photos, or are you showing us more than one kitchen? What's this in the foreground, if you remember? And is this a long-handled wok with a lid on? Is it set into a recess atop the stove?

We are gathering ingredients for The Woks of Life's Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup. One of the ingredients is Spicy Bean Sauce (辣豆瓣酱, Là dòubàn jiàng). Is the pictured package, offered by a local Chinese market, Là dòubàn jiàng?

Dim Sum items like these are seldom made at home. However the internets have several recipes of varying appeal. A search for 'lo bak go', the Cantonese name should point you in the right direction. I'd avoid the Woks of Life recipe, though. When a recipe writer says he doesn't know what he is cooking, it hardly inspires confidence!

The wok burner I linked is cheaper than any side burner for a grill $550. Figured it was two fold use. I also make maple syrup and process my own animals making bulk stock so a large outdoor burner is logical. Any other simple side can be done in a wok instead of a pan. I had read liuzhou's link before and probably should have clarified why I wanted a wok burner outside. Glad you all caught that it was only a 12" from Madein though as I just don't contemplate woks in diameter very well. I have a 38cm one from a chinese grocery store I use in the blue star all the time and would hate tossing things in the little 30 for our family.

Yes, I shouldn't have written "wok burner" when what I had in mind was something simpler like this Iwatani butane burner (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) Not that there's anything wrong with a wok burner if that's what someone's set on. They do look pretty dramatic. It's just too scary and would be overkill for me.

I get mine done by a man on a bicycle. He comes by every couple of months banging an old wok lid with a stick to attract customers,then sits in the communal area with his various stones, sharpening the neighborhood. Can take him two days to get through everyone. But he does a great job.

I have an aversion to eating food that is on the table. Even if it is on paper. I would hate that. And it sure doesn't leave you much room for your drinks or whatever. In that last photo where they are dumping the wok, I see the corner of a phone right next to it. I'd be having a heart attack if that was my phone.

I use a wok and infrared gun, too. Always double fry chips (fries). First fry at 120℃; second at 180℃. No room (or desire) for an extra gadget.

For "Japanese movie night" I was more hoping for Ringu. Can't quarrel with sake though. Dinner here last night was dumplings on a bed of ken-cut cabbage, steamed in my new bamboo steamer and German wok.