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I think what's missing from the equation with all these posts is the knowledge of the layout of our kitchen and house. There is a choice of two locations for the range, on an interior wall and next to the back door. However, I don't like the latter choice because it puts the cook's back to the pass-thru area between the kitchen and dining area peninsula. This is the current configuration to the range and I feel this is rather dangerous, because someone can bump you while you're cooking. Hence, we have a longer run for the hood ducts and have the heat of the stove further into the house. Also, I think our space limitations prohibit allowing the extra room for the insulation necessary with a commercial range. Also, we don't have a semi-outside area in which to install a heat producing item such as a previous poster suggested - except for the grill, which we already have. Actually I use the grill side burner for the wok a lot because of the heat and because it has a higher flame than the current stove burner. I do have a question about the salamander. Where do they get located? If they are over the range, how do you vent the range? Thanks, Rachel

If you are able, consider following the lead of my good friend who, while buying a hotter-than-normal stove for his kitchen, installed a gas line and a honkin' hot double burner stove on his patio, near the kitchen door. This he uses for his woks, his deep fat frying (extinguuisher handy) and for boiling crabs, lobsters, corn. Keeps the heat out of the kitchen, yet allows high btu use with safey.

in the vuccirria, Palermo's market district... this guy had a sort of wok-like pan that could've been an old hubcap sitting on a propane burner...thin slices of raw beef (it could've been veal) were piled up on the high side, and a pool of olive oil bubbled at the bottom...he slid some of the meat into the oil, cooked it briefly, piled it onto a hard roll, and squeezed a half-lemon over the whole thing...mmmm

In no particular order and some of these may fail to meet one or more of your criteria. Also, some may no longer be available where I found them. A good sized squid cooked sort or teriaki style and served on a skewer at the side of a very winding mountain road in avery rural part of Japan. Alcapurrias and bacalaitos fritos at the beginning of what used to be a dirt road to Loisa Aldea from Isla Verde, Puerto Rico. As the best were deep fried fresh for you, these may have not made the 2 minute cut. Most, by the way, were wretchedly leaden, greasy and awful, but it's human nature to always live in hope that the next will be better. Also some of the stands grew into huts and there were often some tables and maybe even chairs or benches. The steamed pork and cabbage buns that were reheated on a griddle under a wok top and developed a thick bottom crust. There were sold on the south side of Canal Street around Baxter and Mullberry. It's been a while since I've seen them anywhere in Chinatown. I've always blamed Rudy Giuliani's skewed vision of quality of life for their demise from the street. Nothing in the way of street food I've found lately in Chinatown compares, but my favorite baked char shu bao these days are from a little bakery on the south side of Grande Street between Mott and Elizabeth Streets. Ice cream, gelato and frozen confections all over the world. Nasi goreng and bami goreng. Balls of fried rice and fried noodle purchased from an automat-like window on the streets of Amersterdam.

What IS Aussie food? I'm going to answer this question by describing the kinds of foods you might eat - or merely encounter - if you were to visit Australia. If you have Aussie friends, they'd most likely insist that you try Tim Tams - Australia's answer to Oreo cookies and our most-loved uniquely Australian product. A Tim Tam comprises two rectangular chocolate biscuits, wedged together with chocolate icing and dipped in chocolate. Your Aussie friends - if they're regular people, not rampant foodies - might also feel inclined to introduce you to the delights of Aussie-style burgers. That is, a regular burger with a couple of slices of canned beetroot added. If these same Aussie friends decided to cook you an Aussie meal, it'd most likely be a reef-n-beef / surf-n-turf backyard barbeque. That is, seafood and meat. There'd be a few self-serve salads, and maybe a Pavlova for dessert. A Pavlova is a meringue that is crunchy on the outside, marshmallowy on the inside, topped with cream and doused liberally with passionfruit pulp. But say you called in on these friends at short notice, and they said "stay for dinner". What would they be eating? An Asian-style stir-fry, perhaps. In a recent survey, 90 percent of respondents said they own a wok and make stirfry at least twice week... TO BE CONTINUED!

Here's what I'd do, as a Western cook, to make this dish. I'm not talking about the authentic method, but rather my French/Nouveau-American take on it. In the morning, I'd take the two lobsters and, while they're still alive, I'd remove their claws and tails. I'd clean out the bodies and heads and separate them into the two pieces they naturally separate into. I'd roast those heads and bodies in the oven at 375 degrees for about an hour. While that's happening, I'd cook the claws and tails in a pot of boiling water: Assuming 1.5 pound lobsters, first the tails for about 3 minutes, then the claws for about 6 minutes (I want them to be somewhat rare), immediately dropping them into ice water when the cooking time is up. I'd remove the meat from the shells and put it in the refrigerator for later. If these are spiny lobsters, as are more prevalent in Asia, I'd do the same thing but of course only with the tails. Then I'd skip the chicken stock altogether because I'd make a stock out of the roasted lobster heads and bodies, with leeks, carrots, celery, and fennel (or any combination of seafood-stock-acceptable aromatic vegetables). I'd let it go for a couple of hours with the shells in it, then I'd strain it and put it back on the stovetop to reduce for a couple more hours until it's extremely rich. At this point I'd salt it to taste, or perhaps fortify it with a little bit of a salty Chinese condiment like soy or XO or oyster sauce. I'd cook the E-Fu noodles in two changes of salted water, or, if I had extra lobster stock, I'd add some of it to the second pot in order to begin imparting the lobster taste to the noodles. Then I'd stir-fry ginger, garlic, and scallions and then I'd add to the wok or saute pan the noodles and enough lobster stock to make them pretty wet. Once that stock came up to the boil, I'd cut the heat to low and add chunks of lobster meat, stir everything around until the lobster meat is heated through, and serve with sparkling wine from Oregon. Does anybody know the real way to make this dish?

I have a relatively inexpensive high powered induction burner (my apartment building has no gas service) and I have the same issue as the OP. Cast iron conducts heat relatively poorly so on induction you wind up with hot spots just above the induction coil if you crank the heat up right away. I also did a great job of warping the bottom of my flat bottomed carbon steel wok! When I do anything on cast iron, I let the empty cast iron pan heat slowly on relatively low heat for maybe 10 minutes before I need to use it. Using an induction compatible pan with aluminum or copper sandwiched in the base will make your heating much more even. Hopefully soon I'm going to get a better (and unfortunately not inexpensive) induction burner that supposedly has a more even magnetic field distribution - but I'll know more once I get it.

for my mise, I usually put separate piles on a small plate, then use the sled to push each pile into the wok as needed. BTW, speaking of wok, I just got a relatively inexpensive 240V 3500W induction hob. It's not that controllable, but from the little I've used it so far (I've stir fried some morning glory and some bok choy), it's great with my carbon steel wok. I can get a great sear and char on things, then turn it down so it doesn't light the whole place on fire....

I use a wok spatula I've had for years, but almost every professional Chinese cooking video I've seen, they're using the ladle, so wondering what the major differences are apart from the obvious (that the ladle can hold liquid)

I use the wok sled all the time. I can't read all of your hieroglyphics, but the middle says Hong Kong.

The brushes used to be standard part of a wok kit (as seen on TV). Like @weinoo give me a green scrubbie or the one with blue scrubbie on one side and sponge other side. I like the bamboo one as a decorative element in the utensil holder-pot.

Hmm. I don't think I want to know your sponge habits. I get through a bamboo brush about every two weeks, but I do use my woks at least once a day; usually more.

You should see how long I keep a sponge! Only kidding - remember, I wasn't a daily wok user, so they lasted; probably longer than they should have.

My traditional bamboo wok brush arrived today. They are becoming more difficult to find in the city. I ordered this one online after my usual store didn't have any.

. I see. I have a massive carbon steel wok my brother in law bought in the market in Trivandrum and brought over in his airplane luggage to England. It's been my favourite bit of kit in the kitchen for the last few years. So versatile for Kerala cooking, stir-fries, fried chicken, tempura... If you're reading this thread you probably know! And it has the added sentimental value. We've recently moved house, and we now have an electric ceramic hob rather than the gas hobs we've had for decades. We're strongly inclined to fit a gas hob, but I do feel the lure of induction. I think that old wok is going to make the decision for me.

It has become very difficult in recent years to find round bottomed woks, even here in China. Most department stores, supermarkets and other domestic kitchen supply shops etc only stock the (at least slightly) flat bottomed type. The reason is very simple. Induction cookers. Whereas in the past people used gas burners for the ever-popular table top hotpot style of cooking (even in restaurants), it quickly became apparant that free standing induction cookers were more convenient and safer. I'd say that that's what 90% of people use now. It is still possible to buy the traditional type, but only in artisan craft shops or professional, restaurant suppliers' places - sometimes not even there. I have both types.

I have a flat bottomed wok. It works fine. From what I understand, flat bottomed woks are pretty common throughout Asia, unless you're a restaurant.

Thank you! I need to go and do some research. I was under the impression that the round shape of a wok made it unsuitable for use on induction hobs.

OK - I guess I wasn't clear for what I do though... my braise in the tamarind liquid would be for about 15 minutes tops... I don't know if I'd do a 2 hour braise in the seasoned wok, but most Asian wok braising doesn't take that long. I'm going to attempt it teh next time I make that dish... I'll report back my findings.

One fact is that I've been cooking such things in a wok for a quarter of a century without problems.

Interesting.... I guess it doesn't really matter - especially since you don't use that much water anyway, and the wok is already hot - you rinse with hot water regardless of the initial water temp!

My late sister-in-law regularly made 4 or 5 dish dinners plus soup. All cooked in the same wok. No one here would even think that remarkable. It's normal.

Main vessel... or only! But the good thing about the wok is that it cleans fast (just a quick rinse in hot water) and the stir fried veg cook super fast, so you can plate your braised dish (typically family style), clean the wok and cook the veg and the braised dish will have barely cooled down. That's my experience anyway..

Chinese way would be to finish the braised dish, then stir-fry the veg in the same wok (after a quick clean). After all, how long does it take to stir-fry a vegetable side? Alternatively, revolutionary idea, have more than one wok! I have three, but rarely use two of them.

And I can understand why people do, especially if it's the main vessel used for cooking. I like a Dutch oven or a rondeau for braising...that way, I can do a braised dish and use the wok for stir-frying a side veg.