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Why, indeed?! Don't ask me how my brother found this, but here it goes: link to whole article Didn't really search the internet for the documents, but I'm sure somebody else will post it. note: maybe this belogs to another topic, like food media? Nah, I'll just stick to my first instinct note 2: how do you edit the title? Just noticed a typo!

Yesterday I was watching someone stir-frying in a well-seasoned wok. They put the wok over high heat, poured in oil, and intentionally ignited it. Immediately after the aromatics went in the flames died. It made me wonder about the relationship between wok hei, high heat, and smoke/flame points of oil. I mean, I never try to ignite the oil when I'm about to stir fry in a wok. What gives?

Last time my mom went to target, she grabbed me some little $20 wok to go with my other one. After seasoning, I cooked with it an hour later and the thing rusted! The handle was split when i got the thing and it gave of a metallic taste, too. Any reccomendations of a wok that may actually last a while?

I'd like to try and organize a dinner at Rocking Wok, seating is not really limited unless you count a cap of about 30 to be limiting. So the more the merrier. Would you guys prefer before or after the holiday season? Any requests? What price range is comfortable? They are very willing to put together a menu that will satisfy any budget and desire, especially for the "weird" stuff. Rocky

Got a thick and glossy brocure in my mail today advertising the Grand Opening of California Wok's first Hawai`i location int he Ala Moana Center. It informs me that: etc. The menu looks pretty standard Chinese-American (Beef with Broccoli, Beef Szechwan Style, etc.) And while the prices look very cheap, and I'm all for low fat, the whole place just comes across as too generic - and not just because it's a chain. On the other hand, it trumpets the fact that Zagat has rated it the best "to-go" Chinese. . . So what's the real deal California denizens? Is it worth trying after all?

For almost 30 years I used the same 14" flat-bottomed steel wok. Even when the handle loosened i wouldn't give it up. Last November everything changed. I bought a new wok, still flat-bottomed and still 14" and still made out of steel. But it was a thinner gauge metal, a highly conductive metal that heated more quickly and didn't retain the heat very long. It worked better! Could've knocked me over with a feather. It was hand-hammered and made in Hong Kong. I LOVE it. Haven't used that old wok even once since then. What kind of wok do you use, and why, and for what?

Can somebody explain the difference (if any) between an Indian wok and a Chinese wok? What are woks used for in Indian cookery?

The food diary thread (keep them coming) has got me thinking about my relationship to Asian (particularly Chinese) food. [i'm not going to start trying to make sushi at home except maybe as an entertainment.] Although I think its incidence may have been exaggerated over the past couple of weeks, it's clear to me that Chinese and related cuisine is a very regular part of my diet, but that I almost never attempt to cook it at home. There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, experience: I am confident I know more or less what I'm doing with European dishes generally. Meats and fish turn out fine, pasta and risotto probably better than the average decent restaurant over here (although some notches below the best). On the other hand, my occasional attempts at Chinese dishes are unarguably worse than the average decent restaurant. Of course, this is related to the relatively tiny amount of experience I have. The main issue here is fear of the wok. This may be partly rational, viz. the widespread line that you can't cook well with a wok on a domestic gas hob. Related to this is the speed of cooking: I am used to tasting throughout the process and adjusting amounts, speed and heat accordingly. Wok-cooking seems more like Superman in the telephone kiosk: when do you get to respond to what's happening? Then there's the sheer number of ingredients that seem to be involved in many Chinese recipes, versus European ones. Concerns here include both managing the increased number of variables and simply managing to control a decent larder of useable ingredients. Then there's the fact I don't have a rice cooker ... Firstly, then, is this something I should be pursuing, or is it best left to the several good-to-very-good restaurants within comfortable walking distance of where I live? And if so, am I best just continuing to bash along until I improve, in which case can somebody recommend a good book to work through, or should I think about an evening course or something?

I am one of the many disciples of Fuchsia Dunlop, and now devoting a great deal of my cooking to Chinese, and particularly Sichuan food. Like most home chefs, I am frustrated by the use of my western -- in my case Viking -- stove, and the problem of getting enough heat into my food quickly enough to sear it without steaming. I have gotten some improvement by switching to a cast iron wok, which seems to get a good bit hotter than my carbon steel wok, but its still not quite what I would like. I read the post about the WokMon below, and will consider that, but it looks a bit scary to be using in a home kitchen, and I'll need a stool to reach up and cook over it. I see that Viking makes a special grate with a wok cutout that theoretically will allow the base of the wok to get into closer contact with the flames. I'm wondering if anybody has used this, and can comment on its effectiveness. Thanks. http://www.allvikingparts.com/CWGT_Wok_Grate_for_Custom_Series_p/cwgt.htm