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A few years ago I bought a Capital Culinarian range and loved it - especially the 25,000 BTU burners and wok ring. I did not, however, like the gas oven much for baking bread. I left the range behind when I moved and am now ready to do a remodel of a new home. I always figured I would buy a Culinarian rangetop and go with electric wall oven....but when you factor in the need for a powerful hood and new requirements for Make Up Air Units my 30" range starts getting spendy -- 5 grand probably w/o cost of oven. I'm thinking I should consider induction. What I see as pros: Most of my cookware is either All Clad or cast iron so that's not really an issue. Living in a hotter climate now Ease of cleaning Can get comparable BTU power as Culinarian (I think). The biggest con for me is not being able to use my terrific round bottomed, well-seasoned wok. I know there are flat bottomed woks available for cooking on induction but do they work well? Is there another option for wok cooking I should consider? For those of you who have induction, do you have the "freedom zone" type unit or wish you did?

More shishito peppers, fresh picked, wok blistered. Grab them by the stem, touch the tip in sea salt, just a few grains, and eat all, but them stem. HC

Tonight did not go according to plan. I intended to make something completely different, but around 4 pm got a call requiring me to head off early tomorrow morning for a short (two day trip) for work. I don't really want to go but it pays for my beer and noodles. So instead I picked up a bag of frozen shrimp. Bad mistake. My seafood girl would never forgive me if she knew. Then quickly fried them up with some garlic and chilli and served with linguine. The shrimp were undercooked, so I threw the whole thing back in the wok for about 30 seconds and re-plated - now they were overcooked. I haven't under or overcooked shrimp for decades. Never again. I ate it anyway.

Last night's dinner: gai lan with oyster sauce wok seared hake (fish share of the week) fried rice

I am a combination of methods (being an Italian married to a Chinese). Most often I stir-fry the Chinese way. Or if a want a lighter taste and a little healthier I cook in a wok, using just the water I estimate will be enough for that vegetable (I especially like green beans and broccoli and cauliflowers in this way). So I put the water required in a wok and bring to boil, add some salt, the vegetables (also I don't overfill) and cover about 3-4 minutes depending from the vegetable and the size, I keep it at fast boiling. Then I uncover and, at this point, only a couple tablespoon water should be left in the wok and the vegetables should be al dente. I stir the vegetable to make sure the sides don't scorch and add a little bit of oil (only extra virgin for me) to coat for flavour, adjust for salt if necessary. In the microwave the vegetable I like best are zucchini coins, cooked with no water and a touch of salt.

I have strong opinions about Gen Tso. Most have too thick breading and are kind of gross. Having said that , I love a Gen Tso that 's made well. To me . the Ideal General is not as crusty as Col Sanders, but is lightly floured, cooked fast , and lightly sauced. Not in a deep fryer but in a wok. And needs more soy than the time-honored Gen T allows. Yes, I know it isn't authentic chinese. Neither is chicken tikka masala indian.

When Anna was talking tots, I bought a couple bags. The ones I steam-baked where underwhelming - squishy, with an insubstantial crust. This, ladies and gentlemen, is what I'm talking about: Deep fried in beef fat, dipped in chile con queso. Awesome. I'll never do tots in the CSO again. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about convenience foods, but you give up too much quality with steam oven tots. Deep frying is a little more hands-on than the CSO, but no slower. I needed to reseason my wok anyway, so not much extra mess& fuss in the scheme of things. A light, healthy, and nutritious breakfast. The toast was made in the Cuisinart, though, and it's unrivaled in that function.

I hope that deep fryer or wok is a lot easier to clean than I am imagining it to be. I can't see all the sugar staying put without coming loose into the oil. That snack looks wonderful, though.

Sorry Anna. As a companion to the Cuisinart, I just acquired some commercial grade bamboo steamer baskets... They just fit over a 14" wok, and although the specs were given in traditional Chinese chi, I believe that converts to half a metric shit-ton of steamed product. Alas no steam bake function. Off topic I realize; I'll be back on Project Brown Bastard once the jet lag clears.

Clockwise from top left: 1/4 cup soy sauce; 1 tbsp. sugar; 3 minced scallions; shredded ginger; 9 crushed and peeled garlic cloves; 1/2 cup rice wine; 3 tbsp. sesame oil. Not shown are 4 chicken legs and 4 chicken thighs. Warm sesame oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or wok. (Sam Sifton's recipe: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017456-three-cup-chicken has you do it in a wok but I've made this successfully in a Dutch oven.) Add aromatics and fry on high heat until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. I will get a wok eventually ... one of these days. Add chicken, skin side down. Reduce heat to medium and fry until chicken starts to crisp. Sam has you do it for 5-7 minutes, but I like to brown the chicken for longer than that. 15 minutes should do the trick. Add sugar, soy sauce and rice wine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the sauce begins to thicken. Shut off heat and stir in a generous handful of basil leaves, then serve. Three-cup chicken. You'll note that the pic has the addition of crushed red pepper flakes. That's because my partner doesn't like spicy food so I omitted them from the recipe and added a pinch to my portion.

I don't own one of these, but I have been reading along here. It seems that this device is best suited to heating frozen fried foods, as they have a considerable amount of fat coating them already. -And coating them really evenly. I think it's going to be difficult to take vegetables from scratch and get them to rival real fried foods. It may be useful for quickly cooking other random foods, like that braised meat, but I am not really feeling it. I think I'd rather pan fry in a cast iron skillet or my wok.

I myself (as opposed to I myself someone else?) have never found shell-on shrimp/prawns tricky. I have a fond memory of my niece visiting a few years back. On her first day, I took her to my local market where among other goodies we bought some live wild shrimp. Back home I prepared some sea salt and some Sichuan pepper by putting it into a rice bowl. Then a very hot wok, shallow frying amount of oil and applied heat. Niece was instructed that her function for the day was to catch any of the shrimp which jumped out of the wok when I tipped them in. She thought I was joking. I waited until the wok was damned hot then threw in the shrimp. As I knew they would, the more lively leapt back out and niece scampered around the kitchen trying to find them, then throw them back into the wok. Few leapt out twice. The salt and pepper was tipped in and the shrimp and seasoning energetically stirred. As soon as they were all pink, they were served. Niece announced they were the best shrimp she had ever eaten, which will do me. Yes, they have to be eaten immediately, though. But that's how I always cook them. Shell-on is the default around these parts, although there are also shelled preparations. One generally prefers the shell-on dishes. Shell-on shrimp with green tea is a favourite. I'd give the recipe for the live shrimp, but it is so complicated that one isn't sure one can do it justice.

It can be tricky for a home cook, and tricky for me too. Often there is a trade-off between crispy shells/heads and still-completely-succulent flesh. One needs very hot oil in a big pan (or wok) and the place will smell for a while. ;-) So I might go for a "professionally-done" dish in a restaurant sometimes instead. :-) Still, a couple of examples I've posted here on eG: here, here. One tries to select fresh shrimp with thin shells, not too large. Chilling them helps also. Cornstarch helps. A couple of recipes here, here. Folks use Sichuan peppercorns in some recipes (general search here) but I myself never have. The formerly-active prolific eGulleteer hzrt8w posted a pictorial here too. Oh, one needs to eat it while still hot. As the dish/shrimp cools and sits on the plate the shells etc get UN-crispy faster and faster. With a big plate of this stuff I often end up peeling the shells off the last few shrimps.

Biased sliced about as thick as a nickel, shaken with flour. Shake, or brush off the excess flour. Toss in a watery egg wash and shake in a mixture of seasoned bread crumbs with copious amounts of garlic powder and tajin, Fry ( I use peanut oil in a wok) until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and serve with aioli. In this picture, it is spicy lime and garlic. Great with cocktails or cold beer. ` Here are some with a lemon, garlic aioli: And some as a breakfast side (they are good with hot sauce too). HC

Another breakfast for the "zucchini files" that I have a feeling I will be putting together. These were thin sliced and stir fried in a screaming hot wok with garlic, tajin, salt and pepper. Dusted with parmesan cheese on the plate. I remembered the hot sauce this time. HC

@Deryn, I don't know what kind of wok you have, but I have a one that needs an outside heat source and isn't very heavy. It's stored upstairs in my spacious linen closet along with my heavy V-rack for roasting whole poultry or prime rib, long-handled fish grilling basket, grills for the barbecue, stash of disposable dinner ware for power outages, 18" perforated pizza pan, and a bunch of other stuff that one would never think of storing in a linen closet. I have kitchen stuff stored in every room of the house including the bedrooms. That doesn't help much with your heavy appliances, except maybe the wok. They take up a lot of space. There is a free-standing pantry cabinet that doesn't look out of place in the foyer which leads into the living room. I keep kitchen linens, spices, novelty serving dishes and stuff in there. I put shelves from the floor almost to the ceiling in the laundry room for canned goods, pasta, and other pantry items. I am like Lisa Shock. I can't stand cleaning that greasy, dusty film off appliances so my blender, toaster, electric can opener, coffee maker and everything else are stored either in cabinets or another room. I don't have any really heavy stuff like you do, though. Something that might add flexibility is a rolling kitchen island. You could move it where you needed it. Some are quite attractive.

Those are great ideas, Lisa. Thanks. My real problem though goes beyond aesthetics .. it is (lack of) open counter space. I already do have a fitted cover for each of my KA mixers .. but they sit on the floor most of the time. Since they are heavy it is such a nuisance to hoist them up to counter height to use them. Same issue with my ice cream maker (which I lifted up yesterday in preparation to make some Orange Pineapple machine). Whoa is that thing heavy and awkward to get out of its almost floor level cubbyhole - and you have to keep it level because it has a compressor in it. My Thermomix is on the counter but due to its height, I can't keep even the lid on it (so I have to store that and the Varoma piece elsewhere) if it is pushed back to the wall .. and my Vitamix doesn't fit under the top cabinets at all. The wok is on the counter but it takes up almost all of the only really good space I have for cutting things up (so no room left to prep for what needs to go into it). I had to haul in another table to put the IP on .. and now that is also where the toaster and waffle iron sit since I use all of those most often. And there are more .. many more unfortunately that I need to house but also want to use - and will use more frequently if they are already out. I suspect I need a complete kitchen overhaul .. pull down the top cabinets and just extend the countertop run at least 20 feet unobstructed. I was joking when I said I should 'hang' my appliances from the wall though if there were strong enough magnets I might try! ... but perhaps (alternatively to a full kitchen renovation) I need to devise some kind of 'hanging shelf' system with a remote control that would raise and lower individual appliances down to counter height but store them neatly in a line or several lines near the ceiling. Kind of like a parking garage in some cities where they stack the cars and use elevators to bring them up and down.

Parted out a leg of lamb roast . We usually can eat a leg of lamb, so i dissect out 2 roasts and grind some left over for burger. This was a roast Sous Vide 4 hrs @135 finished on the " Big Kahuna " ( Outdoor wok ) served with Tators and corn ( Not shown ) Seasoning - Penzy Turkish, fresh parsley, rosemary and garlic

I have looked for years for a black steel wok with a flat bottom it had to be thick steel to stop it from warping on the induction cooktop 3500W Burner. Well I found it made by the French company Mauviel it is 12.5" diameterwith 3mm thick steel the flat bottom is 4 1/2 inches, although it has a flat inside too it cooks wonderfully. The weight is 5lbs heavy but manageable .The cost is $100 considering there is no alternative it's cheap.Here is my review. I know there are people looking for a good wok for induction so I hope some find this post good information.I do have a JWright cast iron wok that I've used for 5 years and it too is great but it's discontinued. This M Steel Wok is much better. Posted some images of the seasoned wok so you can see it . This is after oven season @500 Degrees.Turning black already non stick .Happy ! Mauviel M'Steel Black Steel Wok, 11.8", Steel If you have any ?? please post i'll do my best to answer.

Biased sliced zucchini coins shaken up in a bag of plain flour, dunked in an egg wash, rolled in a mixture of bread crumbs, garlic powder and a hefty amount of tajin, then shallow fried in peanut oil in a wok and drained on a paper towel. These would be great with a cold beer or two! HC

from what Ive seen ( video's ) and read induction tops do not need vents. if there is an over right older one, the oven would need a vent not the top. at my HightEnd store I looked at 30 " blue stars. very nice. the unsealed burners put out 22,000 or so ( don't quote me ) and the rep said used them would melt the built-in hood/microwave. sealed burners are around 19,000 and much easier to clean I think. I can't imagine needing more than that ( just me ) in a home setting. just leave the wok on longer to preheat, or get take-out.

This is a de Longhi electric oven with gas cooktop now nine years old. There is no mains gas here, so it's plumbed into two LPG tanks at the side of the house. I would like the wok burner to be hotter. Other than that, it's a great cooktop. The long burner is good for gravies or a grill pan. The trivets make sliding pots around pretty easy. The oven has had its problems with temperature control. They seem to be fixed after a $250 visit from a tech a month or so ago. There is a largely useless range hood above it. Searing lamb equals smoke detector, if we had a noise detector it would go off too. Next time I would get the motor installed outside, and we've always suspected it vents into the roof cavity.

Ive been looking at ranges recently. Im considering a dual-fuel range ; gas on the top, electric for the oven. Of course, what Id really like is a range with an induction top, not the kind with discrete zones, but a continuous induction surface, sometimes called Vario and a combi-oven doesn't exist. Im not interested in replacing the standard 'hood' which is a microwave built in above the current gas stove that just pulls the warm are out to the kitchen so there are some BTU limits to the gas top so it won't melt the Micro. I don't mind as I don't need a bazillion BTU gas burners for a Wok. sealed burners appeal to me, they have less BTU and are easier to keep clean. the more professional ranges have these in the 19,000 BTU any idea if this is needs a new vetting hood by code ? Miele has a very interesting full electric range w an induction surface ( discrete zones ) but a steam injection feature for the oven for baking bread . Im allergic to contractors so its going to have to be a slide-in 30 " model. as If been meaning to get an electrician in here to add a few more 20 amp circuits to the wall outlets, a 240 V line for the oven is not out of the question. any one have a dual-file range ? any idea on the BTU limit for a vent/micro above the unit ? many thanks

SV is not always the way to go with certain foods and, to me, squid or calamari is one of those foods. I do calamari three different ways: Pressure cooker - http://www.hippressurecooking.com/calamari-in-umido-calamari-tomato-sauce-or-side-dish/ which produces a soft and succulent result. Wok - quick and easy, especially when serving with stir fry veg as well. Grill - this works best with calamari steaks, based with lemon and butter or with other additives such as garlic, chilli - just use your imagination. I do not deep fry calamari but sometimes do pan fry if doing only a small portion. Calamari also makes a lovely salad when mildly pickled.

Trying to finish these today as I have a busy few days coming up. Eight San Jiang - oil tea Time: 3o minutes For the tea: Dried tea laves (about 5 grams in total) 300 ml water For the Glutinous rice: around 0.5 kg dried Glutinous rice. more than 100 ml oil Others: Two bowls (one big, one small) Method: First, you should dry the Glutinous rice, then you can cook it. Put the oil into wok, then fire the dried Glutinous rice, if it looks yellow, then you can put it into the big bowl. Second, clean the wok, after that, put water into it. When the water become boiling, you can put dried tea leaves into the water, then add salt, but you shouldn't add oil. Last but no least, put some fired dried Glutinous rice into the small bowl, then add water tea into it, so you can have it. Sanjjiang (三江, literally "Three Rivers") is a so-called autonomous county in the north of Liuzhou prefecture, bordering Hunan province. It is home to the Dong ethnic minority. Oil tea is a staple there. It is served daily, but also plays a big part in traditional formal welcoming rites. Guests are presented with it and expected to drink/eat at least two bowls. However, good hosts will refill your bowl every time it is empty. If you have had enough, don't empty the bowl! The first time I had it, I thought it was awful, but over the years I have actually developed a taste for it. It is usually served with peanuts as well as the glutinous rice she mentions. Note: "Fired" is a common misspelling of "fried" among Chinese learners of English. By the way, I'm told English is this girl's 4th language.