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I have quite a few goals for this year. One that's definitely queued up is to get a flamethrower of a wok burner to go with my spiffy new carbon steel wok. And use it. Another is, for the first time (ever), to explore baking a bit. I'll probably start with some simple sourdoughs and expand from there. Always been a stove-top kinda guy, but I just got an oven. The absence of an oven may seem a bit unusual, but not here. I live in Bangkok, Thailand. A couple more that I'll do, funds permitting, will be exploring sous vide (I'm keen, but may not have the budget this year) and a Thai cooking course (something more in-depth than the usual tourist courses, possibly studying privately with a restauranteur friend of my wife's, time permitting). It's going to be a fun year.

sorry if i did not make myself clear enough. If you follow the recipe in the 2 links you found, the soaked beans are drained and then put into wok over low heat and 'dry fried' until the skin breaks or looks like the pics in the links. i would suggest you try this method first, just dont burn the beans. You can do a taste/chewyness test as you go along. It is a very simple recipe, you cant go much wrong with it. there are many variants, just like recipes for beer nuts, or the boiled peanuts that some chinese restaurants serve as a free appetizer. Using oil is one of them..but gives different texture. start off by keeping it simple and experiment, the ingredients are cheap enough that you can throw them out,or feed it to the ducks? if it does not turn out the way you want. have fun

i do not know how much of the Chinese language you do understand or how good you are at using the online translators. On the link that you posted above, if you scroll down to the bottom half of the link, you will find that it gives specific quantities in the recipe, and i believe the instructions are explicit enough. (There are many variations on this recipe, some including fresh bamboo shoots, etc) Here is my translation of what the webpage you linked to says (disclaimer: i am not a professional translator) the comments in brackets/parenthesis are my own, as an indication of how i would do it. 材料 ingredients 黃豆 600克 Soybeans 600 g 水 600克 Water 600 g 醬油 50cc soya sauce 50cc ( i would use less) 甘草 15克 15 grams of licorice 八角 3-4顆 3-4 pieces of (whole) star anise 糖 1T Sugar 1T (1 tablespoonful, or to ta 鹽及胡椒粉 適量Salt and pepper to taste Method: 把黃豆以清水洗淨, 將所有調味料 Wash soybeans and all ingredients. 1.及600的水, 倒入黃豆中浸泡3-4個小時,平均每一個小時翻動一次 Wash the soybeans, (pick out those that dont seem too happy), put all other ingredients into 600 gm water (it becomes the marinade); pour soy beans in and soak for 3-4 hours, turning once every hour on average (i would soak overnite, and if i remember to do so, change the water once or twice). 2.把黃豆瀝乾水分,倒入炒鍋中以中小火炒約半個小時,炒至黃豆顏色變深且表皮出現裂痕即可起鍋 Drain the beans, Pour into wok, fry over medium/low heat for about half an hour, or Saute until beans become darker in color and skin breaks. (stir fry, as often as you have the patience, (until it looks like the pic of the final product on the webpage). 3待黃豆涼後即可裝入罐子內保存,趁新鮮儘快吃完 can be cooled, put into jars for later use, or serve fresh asap. (the flavors seem best if cooled kept in fridge overnite for flavors to blend). (there are many variations, some use oil in the stir fry, some add fresh bamboo shoots , etc).

Dry Stir-fried Cumin Beef - Hakka style as presented in The Hakka Cookbook - Danford Dragon Restaurant Thinly sliced beef stir-fried in a hot wok and a little oil. Removed from the wok. Chopped onion, ginger, garlic, hot peppers, cumin, red chili flakes and curry leaves (my addition 'cos I love the flavour!) fried separately until fragrant. The beef is tossed into the veg mixture. Add a splash of dark soya and thinly sliced green onions. The recipe called for Asian chili sauce, but the peppers gave enough heat, so I left it out. This is the best version of dry cumin beef I've found. Served with stir-fried bell peppers, blanched gai lan and rice.

I've had good luck with my purchases over the last 40 years. I am still using a set of pots and pans that I purchased when I was 18 from a custom kitchen store. They were made in Norway and I've long forgotten the brand name. A few years ago, I also got a set of All-Clad pots and pans as a gift, and we have a huge collection of Lodge cast iron. Out of all those, I've lost a Dutch oven (Lodge) that exploded on the stovetop and a saucepan from the Nordic set that had the handle come off and I couldn't get it repaired. Oh! And a wok pan and whistling tea kettle that I just wore out. Electric appliances just wear out. I'm on my third food processor in 35 years, but I still have my original KitchenAid mixer. Toasters and coffee pots don't seem to last long; 5-7 years maybe. My cutting boards are old Boos Block boards that I've had for 25 years or more and they are still in good shape. I clean them after each use and oil them quarterly. Knives. I have enough to start a surgery. Some are sentimental (FIL was a butcher) and the others are workhorses. Bamboo utensils are disposable, as are plastic and rubber spatulas. By disposable, I mean you don't buy them and expect to pass them on to the grandchildren. Like Porthos, I have a utensil forest. I am fond of my tongs and will miss them when they give up the ghost, but there are more at the store. The most recurring expense I have are tea towels and pot holders. I stain them with sauces and burn them with oven racks. My favorite apron is older than my youngest child and looks like it's never been washed because of the stains, but I love it. I have several others, but I don't like them and don't use them.

I've used safflower and sunflower oils to good effect. I don't know how they compare to flaxseed oil, but both are very high in polyunsaturated fats and it polymerize easily and durably. I've used them to get longlasting results on several cast iron pans, a huge carbon steel wok, and an aluminum griddle. I wasn't sure if they would work on the griddle ... that was an experiment ... but now the thing is black as night, even, and durably stick-resistant. I usually use safflower because where I shop it's a lot cheaper. People may be having problems with sticking because polymerizing is only part of the process. You actually have to burn the oil a little. The resulting carbon soot mixed in with the polymer gives the stick resistance. Pure, clean polymerized oil is sticky. I like to buy brands like Spectrum, that print the smokepoint on the label, and then set my oven to 25° higher. I prefer the oven to the stove because it heats the whole pan evenly. Then it's just what everyone's saying: very thin coats wiped on with a paper towel, cook until smoky, repeat. You can put a bulletproof coating on anything in under an hour. Just don't expect miracles. "Seasoning" isn't teflon. If you're cooking eggs you still need good technique and a lot of attention.

I used to be firmly in the 'Gas'-camp. Having cooked on electric and ceramics (the ones with the heat lamps, not sure what you guys call them stateside), I was convinced any electric kind of cookery wouldn't be for me. However, as we got our new place in 2011, there was an B-brand induction unit in the installed kitchen - and with money pretty tight after some 'minor' refurbishing, I was kind-of forced to give it a go. Most pans turned out to work (think I threw out 2 that were leftovers of my student days), so that was a bonus. At first, I found it to be acceptable: there is a bit of a learning curve as to what setting to use for which application, as opposed to 'just' judging flame size. I think it took me about a month to get the hang of it and I was 'quite ok' with using it. Fast forward a couple of years: I decided to do some remodeling of the kitchen, as I REALLY hated the built-in electric oven. I decided I wanted a Neff oven due to its brilliant Slide 'n Hide door system which I saw on the Great British Bake off. As it turned out, the old induction hob didn't fit above the new oven, so I had to get a new hob as well. With both gas and proper electrics available, the choice was wholly open. Being 'quite ok' with the induction setup and having been quite happy with gas in years before, I decided to go out and test some setups. Fortunately, there's a wealth of great kitchen stores in the area, and they were all happy to accommodate some testing during 'cook-ins' they organize. I'll save you the details, but at the end of the day, I ended up with induction, although it was a pretty close call: I still like gas a lot, especially for the 'oomph' it has, but I got a flex induction setup (also from Neff, also available in 90cm/36"), which gave me so much flexibility on the stove top, it won in the end. I don't have the space for it, but I wouldn't have mind a large, high BTU, wok-burner on the side - although I can reach pretty some awesome heat with the hob's 'Power'-setting - prawns just get done in an eye blink. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem the Neff brand is available in the US. Bosch and Siemens have similar setups, though - and they come from the same BSH-manufacturing plant ;-)

Gas rocks...I have a 30" BlueStar, and it is a pleasure. Regarding cleaning, I find it loads easier than a shiny sealed top. It has open burners, so I line the drip tray w foil and toss it out when I clean. The grates are cast iron, so they don't show every little drip or speckle. When really dirty, the grates lift off, and a sprinkle of Barkeepers Friend and a scouring pad gets the job done quickly. The oils will eventually polymerize and harden, seasoning the grates just like a cast iron skillet. I can stir fry in a screaming hot wok.....but I did install suitable venting over the stove. Too many people neglect the vent hood and settle for the silly toy hoods peddled by major appliance manufacturers. Gas is cheap in my part of the country, so it is significantly cheaper to fuel my gas stove than an electric. I have multiple natural gas hot water heaters, gas stove and oven, and whole house gas heat....in the depths of a cold winter this year, the gas bill didn't break $75/mo. I don't buy the hysterical arguments about inefficient combustion....all over my region, gas is the rule and not the exception for home and water heating. No reports of health problems on my local news, lol. (Of course you should have a carbon monoxide detector, but newfangled smoke detectors also do this.) Seriously, if you have problems catching things on fire while using a gas stove, you need to be more careful. Get some silicon pot holders and stop using the dish towel as a hot pad. I looked at induction and decided against it. No one could tell me how long these loaded-with-electronic units would last, nor could they guarantee that the circuit boards controlling the displays would still be available in 5 years. I can fix all the moving parts on my BlueStar with a screwdriver and a wrench. I can safely say that the BlueStar is good for decades of service.

picked up a new carbon steel 14" wok at Tap Phong in Toronto on the weekend. after initial burn in and seasoning

Hi everyone, keep the great questions coming and let me know if you disagree with anything I said. Tell us more about searing: TL;DR: We take it to an extremely high temperature and hold it there with little variance. That means great results with less black smoke, less waiting time, and less fiddling with the power/gas knob. What you want for searing is sustained high temperature. This is difficult to do, and where our control system really shines. As you may know Maillard happens at a range of temps and is strong from 350-400F, and I personally like a little char which is the pryolosis reaction at 400F +. That's the temperature you need the surface of the meat to reach on a sustained basis*, allowing for moisture loss (remember that drops to 212F). Remember you are dropping on a “cold” piece of meat onto your cooking surface (let’s say it’s a steak cooked to 135F). At no point do you want the cooking surface to drop below 350F into the “grey zone.” The cast iron skillet is the high-temp thermal equivalent of the water bath. It’s a large thermal mass that you can heat up to prevent against a temperature drop. You heat the pan to a very high temp like 650F, and keep the heat cranked. However, 650F is above the smoke point of all fats that I am aware of (even my high temp safflower says 445F). That means lot of black smoke, and oil splattering everywhere as you are closer to the flash point than the smoke point. High heat is also damaging to various components. Non-stick is nice, but teflon becomes soft around 450F and starts to smoke around 500F -- that's one reason we went to ceramic. Electronic circuit boards deteriorate, solder can melt, and plastics don't like it either. So you have to design the whole system for this and most electronics aren't. If memory serves the latest Cuisinart claims to hit 500F, but if you really want this performance get ready to drop over a grand for the Lynx. We took an infrared camera to existing grills and found that the whole plate will not reach a high enough temperature, and that this temperature will drop quickly once a cold (relative to the high searing temp) piece of meat is added. This leaves you in that gray zone between maillard and low temp cooking. It turns out that to create a responsive, clean system that can sear propoerly is non-trivial. So you need a responsive control system, availability of high power, a thermal transfer that quickly moves heat from the coils to the food, and cooking plates that support high temp while staying low maintenance (think of the care your iron skillet requires, and the time that takes). Plus you need to isolate the electronics to an onslaught of heat over years of cooking with no degredation. And that’s what we developed with the Palate Grill. We use multiple, high accuracy temperature sensors, the ability to send high power to the cold areas, a plate structure that both responds quickly and maintains enough heat, and placement of the control board to keep the electronics cool. It’s actually better than any restaurant-grade equipment we’re aware of; again they’ve been going to a high temp, running a strong fan to suck smoke away, and not concerned with non-stick. In the current process, you do remove the meat while you transition from the low temp to the sear. We expect to have that down to 2 minutes in the production version, and then it's a 45 second sear. So in total three minutes right before you sit down to eat, and as you know with precision cooking there's no resting period. And it's fun to throw the steak on to sear. We are working to shorten this time in the future. Oh I also wanted to point out that all the food you see on our website was cooked on the Palate Grill prototype, so that steak, with the thin sear band, is the result you would get. A little more on why you don’t actually need 650F the entire time, take an extreme example: think of the holy sous vide MAP torch at 3,700F. I’m looking at the Bernzomatic site which points out you can cut steel at 1,300F, so clearly that temperature would pulverize your food. Therefore so you hold it away from the food and modulate the distance and time to get the surface just to the temp you want (more like 500F range, allowing for moisture loss). Torches are fun to some, but for all take experience and attention, and can result in disaster or off taste. *Remember that any moisture must burn off at 212F which is why salting, patting the steaks dry before searing, and/or using dry aged Can I only use the Palate Grill with an iPad? Most of our customers already own an iOS device and use it in the kitchen, and it gives us the control to create the best experience. As we expand and add more resources we look forward to supporting more devices in the future. As it is there are too many screen sizes and OS versions of Android for an early start up to optimize the experience. I have many friends with android phones and understand that many people prefer it. Note that without a smart device you can set the temperature with one turn of the dial, which means you can do everything your existing electric grill, or even frying pan, can do only with more precision. What’s the seal like? We wanted to restrict the ability of colder ambient air to touch the food and pull away heat, without completely sealing the cooking area which could result in pressure changes. In the future we are working on ways to fully seal the cooking area to control humidity which might be useful to bake bread or allow the Smart Grill to function as a wok. What’s the size of the cooking area? The design requirement was to minimize countertop space and let you cook 2 NY strip steaks at once. That’s about 10” x 10”. We know that horizontal countertop space is important so we minimized that by creating a unique mechanical hinge mechanism that moves the bulk to the back. We plan to offer additional sizes in the future. A larger one for families or dinner parties, and a smaller one for dorm rooms or singles. EJN

I am the inventor of the WokMon. I have dealt with the low heat issue and lack of wok hei when using conventional home gas ranges all my life. When I was a young boy my relatives used to bitch about it. I finally decided to do something about it 20 years ago. With my technical training and many prototypes later, I came up with a safe, user-friendly design which any adult can easily setup in minutes for a real stir-fry experience. My claim that the WokMon increases the heat intensity by about 50% is right, and confirmed in the short time that Kenji of SeriousEats tested a WokMon prototype firsthand. The power of the WokMon goes up proportional to the size of the particular burner. With the smallest (2") to the largest (4-3/4") gas burner, the WokMon would create in all cases a very strong flame of varying degrees. Cooking times will decrease. Some batch cooking may be required on smaller units depending on burner size. Whatever technical/scientific arguments are presented in this and other forums, nothing can dispute "your sense of smell and taste." That's the bottom line and isn’t that the reason we strive for that great taste? The WokMon has been tested by both average Chinese home cooks and restaurant chefs using it on their home stoves. Their initial skepticism was gone after experiencing the significant power surge produced and their general response was that "any power increase to the center of the wok is much better than none." FYI, the science of stir-frying/wok hei requires that you move your food through the hot center of your wok and up the cooler sides in order to sear the outsides of the food but leaving the insides tender. My crowdfunding pitch video includes a History Channel clip that explains this clearly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5FO8OVWPzo I am satisfied with Kenji’s review and conclusions on the WokMon’s performance. I have posted some replies at SeriousEats to similar comments like those here. Please feel free to read them at http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/05/the-wok-mon-converts-your-home-burner-into-a-wok-range-solution.html. Sorry, I wish I could reply to each and every comment but I have a campaign to run to bring the WokMon to a stove near you. My first idea to market was EZ-Sticks, the Original Mechanical Chopsticks in the 80s. At the time it was the only kid on the block but then the block got a little crowded with "me too" copies. I am not afraid to start changing paradigms again. It's part of the ever-changing landscape when something new comes around for the better. I believe logic and reason will prevail in the end. One more thing: I recommend getting a WokMon... not so you can help fund my project but to prove to yourself that the WokMon will produce wok hei like never before on a regular gas stove. Your taste buds will convert you and your foodie friends.

I'd like to see Christopher Kimball and ATK weigh in on this. Just this week (on ATK Radio) he seemed to continue his jihad against woks on western stoves. Given that Kenji seems to be an ex-ATKer, it would be an interesting development.

I wonder if the Wok Mon + thin carbon steel wok will have advantages over a normal fire + thick copper saute pan in terms of stir frying. The idea is to supply as much heat as possible, so the Wok Mon, along with the quick response of a thin wok will heat up quickly, but only over a small area it seems. On the other hand, a thick copper saute pan will be able to maintain heat longer, but may not be quite as responsive nor quite as hot.

It was a toss up between my Dali marble mortar and pestle (Dali being a town in Yunnan province of China famous for marble*, and not the Spanish surrealist (unfortunately)) and my hand held cooking thermometer. Unfortunately, yesterday evening, I dropped the latter into a wok full of oil for deep frying and melted the readout display. So Dali wins. Until I can replace the thermometer. *So much so that the Chinese for 'marble' is literally 'Dali stone' - 大理石 dà lǐ shí

It depends on what kind of fish and how I am cooking it. If steaming (my preference for many fish), then I don't turn it*. If frying whole or filleted fish in the wok Chinese style, I use a normal wok scoop. If frying filleted fish in a western style, probably a fish slice. *Among many Chinese people who fish for a living, there is a taboo against turning a fish, either in the pan or at the table. The turning of the fish is symbolic of the overturning of the fishing boat - a bad omen.

I usually cook the recipe for Singapore noodles from Joyce Jue. It's in Savoring Southeast Asia cookbook or the Cooking from Singapore cookbook, or possibly both. Jue also mentions that this dish is unknown in Singapore itself. To expand on the excellent suggestions already posted -- Muted flavors and soggy vegs go to method. It sounds like everything is overcooked, and that can happen if you try to cook a large amt of noodles all at once in a wok. Asian street vendors make great noodle dishes by cooking small portions very fast. Excessive curry flavor goes to ingredients. I suggest checking out garam masala recipes, there are a zillion out there in cookbooks and online. Commercial curry powder is heavy on the turmeric (it's cheap). You could consider experimenting with fresh turmeric, which has a different (IMO, delightful) flavor compared to dried turmeric. You can buy fresh turmeric in Asian and possibly Indian groceries. Peel and grate it like fresh ginger root. The place to start in your quest is your imagination. While you know what you don't like, are you clear on what you want? Go from there to attain the flavor profile you're seeking. good luck!

I've not seen that brand around but pretty much every hardware store that sells gas burners sells something similar; it's a standard 'high pressure' gas burner. When I go all-in I'm going to get a proper Chinese-style range. They come tricked out with a blower, but I'm not sure what it's real purpose is (i do expect the leaping flames they cause are for more than show). I won't be able to afford my flamethrower in 2014 as I'm planning a trip to the States, and the baht's tanked a bit since the coup. I did buy an inexpensive, two-burner stove for interior use. It has an infrared burner and a normal gas burner. I doubt they can get as hot as the high-pressure gas burners but my perception is that they get a lot hotter than western high-end gear. When I first got it, I wanted to play, and used too much heat with my cast iron griddle pan. I decided my best/most fun option would be to burn off the patina and re-carbonize the thing. Not only did the infrared easily reduce it to bare iron, it even caused a glowing orange spot in the middle--black body radiation! THAT. IS. VERY. HOT. When I get an infrared thermometer I'll post exactly how hot, and maybe a picture of the thing, but it's not a particularly exotic stove in these parts. They're everywhere. Since I can't afford a 'real' wok burner any time soon, I'm going to start attempting to get wok hei on this thing.

Heads: Peanuts and sweet dried fish: Sichuan Dumplings sitting in spicy sauce: Soft dumplings with pork. House made skins were super delicate but, yet held together.. There was hints of sesame oil.. Delicious: Spicy cumin lamb with green bell pepper, jalapeño, scallion, sichuan and red chiles.The lamb was sliced in strips and covered with cumin, then wok tossed with these peppers. Holy cow, if I just ate this dish I would have been so happy with the dinner.. The lamb was so tasty, the best cumin lamb I have had. Sliced fried fish tossed with chile peppers: Unbelievable. A large bowl of rice: Fried spareribs.. Here the ribs still had a little bone. The ribs were fried and got to the temperature where all the sinew and fat liquified. There was a little bone that easily disconnected from the meat with a some little mouth work. Again tossed with peppers. It was amazing how many of the dishes appeared to have the same preparation but, were so uniquely different. Eggplant.. It was served piping hot, the eggplant was super melty. The sugars came out of the eggplant and it was just so wonderful. One of the better eggplants dishes I have had in a long time.. It was just so expertly prepared. I love eggplant but there is such a margin of error for me that often times I am left very disappointed. This was perfection. You have to have some greens: I am almost embarrassed to admit how much the three of us ate. There were two dumplings, a little eggplant, some greens and then just plates of dried chile peppers left over. I wish i lived closer to this place, i would probably go here once a week. Service was so nice, prices were very reasonable. I can't wait to go back and try the numerous dishes that we had to pass on. I have eaten with these people all over China and we have unanimously decided this was among the best places we have eaten.

Wow, what great memories! And a family heirloom, to boot. As a young boy, I was captivated whenever my grandmother cooked on my great-grandmother's wood cookstove. There was something primal about it--it involved all of the senses, and you had to prepare for it. I vowed that one day I would have one, learn its cadence, apprentice to its dampers and drafts, and feed it well. I finally found my stove 2 years ago (and a house to put it in), and it's been an absolute joy to cook on. I smile to myself every time I "adjust" the heat by moving pans. Trivets, warming cabinets, a cavernous oven--features no longer generally available. You mention the "lids"... I recently discovered how well my pow wok sits down into the firebox. Above a good coal fire, I can get as good wok hei as over my gas wok burner. Do you have other pans with histories similar to your preserve pan? If you tell me you have a family jamboniere, I'll be terminally jealous.

One that I can no longer easily lift, even when empty - but is a wonderful preserving and candy pan, is this round-bottom "sugar" pan that requires a wok ring. I had a free-standing propane burner (like the ones made for deep frying turkeys) with a ring in which the pan sat securely. It has bronze handles and was made just before the turn of the last century. I've made jams and preserves in stainless steel and enamel on cast iron pots and in my personal opinion, the bare copper simply works better at cooking the preserves with no hot spots. I have a smaller one for making caramel. I also have this tin-lined soup kettle. It's a 14 quart. I've taken very good care of it, the tin lining is fully intact - I've only used wood or silicone utensils in it. Again, it is too heavy for me to lift when it is full of soup or stew - age and arthritis has limited my activities. I decided I have to part with it so it is on ebay. I do much better with a wider and shallower pot which is easier to ladle from.

I'm a soon-to-be first time homeowner, and am looking at adding a vent hood to our new place before we move in. My wife and I are currently in a condo with a pitiful recirculating hood/microwave combo, and are sick to *death* of it. I've worked in a few professional kitchens in my time, and my cooking tends to reflect that - lots of high heat, smoke, vaporized oil, wok use, etc. I've promised I'd sort out our vent hood situation, and after pouring over this forum (and others) know I need A. a fuck off vent hood, preferably several inches larger than our cooking surface, with baffle filters. B. an external blower, because I'd like this to be as quiet as possible C. a CFM rating of 1200+ (rather go overkill than be disappointed), and D. to put my DIY tendancies in the closet for a weekend - I want this to get done properly. My problem is, I can't seem to find any site (After hours and hours of googling) that has any sort of comprehensive or reliable comparison of range hoods, or their accompanying blowers. I don't really want to just walk into a home depot or something, because I don't trust a random home depot guy would understand the kind of shit I want to throw at this vent hood, or have any sort of off-the-cuff expertise in venthoods with external blowers - something I gather is sort of rare in home kitchens. I also don't know how to find someone who would have hands on experience with a variety of blowers / external venting setups, and know how to minimize noise and maximize airflow/effectiveness of the hood. Anyone have any resources or experience to share on the topic? Or am I basically just buying a giant metal box and a fan, and design / brand doesn't matter all that much? Thanks!

I just wonder though, whether concentrating the heat right under the center of the wok might not make enough of a difference to be effective, perhaps combined with a cast iron wok (Chinese style, not Lodge/LC)

The bottom of the wok and the oil in it get hot, but they don't have the heat capacity to store very much energy. And a home stove can't replenish the energy very quickly. So when you dump a bunch of meat into the bottom of the wok, it sucks most of the stored energy right out of it. The meat gets hot, but not hot enough, and your left with steaming meat on a warm wok. It's not for nuthin that chinese restaurants have 100,000+ but/hr burners.

It's always puzzled me how the oil in a wok can be smoking beyond belief and yet it still isn't hot enough. I once left some oil to heat in my wok on high heat and it ignited, but the same stove renders more than half a pound of meat watery.

Kenji at Seious eats posted a review. It looks like a heat focuser. The bottom of the wok will get blazing hot for a good sear, but there won't be enough energy to maintain that heat, except with very small batches, as everyone's saying.