Flaming Woks

[Rubashov]

I've been wokking around for a couple of years now but have always been uncertain about something which manifests itself as fire about twice a year. I'm hoping somebody can help...

Everything I've ever read about wok cooking says that in order to produce the desired wok flavor ("wok hei") you need extremely high heat. In fact, many sources say that this level of heat just isn't possible on a home electric range. The need for greater heat leads many wokkers to go outdoors where they can use propane burners to really heat things up.

I also know the principle that "the wok heats alone." In other words, heat the wok, add the oil, and then the ingredients.

So here's what happens to me twice a year: I put my carbon steel wok on the largest burner on my electrical stove at home. I turn the burner on high - it may not be rocket-engine heat, but it's as hot as I can get it. I let the wok get good and hot. Really good and hot. Then I add the oil, drizzling it around the sides so that it can warm up on the way down, something I read somewhere. I use peanut oil because its high smoke point.

And almost as soon as the oil hits the center of the wok it bursts into flames. On goes the lid and out comes the smoke.

For the next six months I do my wokking over lower heat where I know it's safe, yearning for the real flavor of the wok. And so gradually I creep upwards, letting it get hotter and hotter until one night the cycle is reborn out of the ashes of my flaming wok.

Obviously I'm a bit confused here: if my electrical range is theoretically not capable of produceing wok hei heat, why does the oil still go up in flames? Wouldn't the problem be just as bad, if not worse, if I were using a powerful burner at higher temperatures outdoors?

And of course, the more practical question is how can I crank my stove up as hot as possible and get what wok hei I can but avoid the fire?

[Chris Amirault]

I think it's because your wok is getting superhot in only one small spot, and when the oil hits it...

[DerekW]

The thin steel wok is going to have very little capacity for retaining heat - and being steel, it will not conduct the heat from the very hot bottom contact patch up the sides well either. By the sound of things, leaving the wok on the element for a long time is resulting [on conflagration day] in a wok base which is above the flash point for your oil, while the sides inevitably remain cooler than you would wish.

A large gas burner will deliver heat over a much larger area of the wok, the spread of heat being achieved by the burner, rather than by conduction through the metal. Big BTU capacity allows the wok surface to remain hot even when the cold ingredients hit.

The eGullet CI course on cookware is a great go-to resource for explaining cookware performance issues.

[Restorer]

I agree. Carbon steel is not a particularly great conductor of heat in the first place, and carbon steel woks tend to be thin - the thinner the metal, the less heat conducting capacity across the cooking area.

The fundamental difference between electric stoves and gas is that an electric stove will bring the coil up to a very high temperature and rely on the conductivity of the cookware to pull the heat away and distribute it to the food. If you turn an electric stove coil to high, let it begin glowing, then put some aluminum foil on it, it will meat the aluminum.

Gas is less about temperature and more about power. Gas burns at a constant temperature - the flame is the same temperature whether you have it on low or high - the only difference is the amount of flame. So, you're transferring heat energy from the extra-hot gas into the cookware at the point of impact. The still-very-hot air "rolls" up the sides of the pan, progressively heating the metal all the way up, producing a much larger area of heating.

If you have a very heavy, conductive pan, the differences will be minimal. But the less conductivity-per-area your wok has, the more the differences will be apparent. That's why carbon steel woks just don't work the way they're supposed to on an electric range, and heating a pan on an electric coil on high heat is generally a bad idea.

[Shalmanese]

The magic of wok cooking doesn't come from getting the pan hot, it's from keeping it hot. Any stove, no matter how wimpy, can get a wok blazing hot if you're willing to keep it pre-heating long enough. The problem with electric stoves is that as soon as you add the food, the wok will cool down and theres not enough power to heat it back up again.

[takadi]

I've actually preferred electric stoves to gas stoves when cooking with a home stove. I could never get my gas stoves hot enough. I've actually always wondered why it lit on fire on an electric stove instantaneously but on a actual wok stove it took a couple seconds. So I guess it isn't actually from having a hot wok, but just really hot spots. I almost always burned my food with an electric stove.

If you don't mind the lack of temperature controls and heaviness, I'd recommend buying those heavy cast iron woks i.e. from lodge. I'm trying to save up for one. I'm pretty sure those pack some heavy heat with their ferocious heat retention. It would be a plus on an electric stove.

Edited May 7, 2007 by takadi (log)

[Rubashov]

Thanks for the analysis, everyone. I knew the bright minds on eGullet would know the answer. I'm just embarrassed I didn't think of asking here earlier...

Interesting suggestion with the cast iron wok. I may have to look into that. I do most of my cooking with cast iron already and have a good feel for how it handles. Does anyone reading this have any stong feelings - either positive or negative - towards cast iron woks?

Here's another thought: I once saw Alton Brown advocating pre-heating a cast iron skillet to "NASA hot" temperatures in the oven before using it to sear duck. I wonder how well it would work to pre-heat a cast iron wok in the oven before throwing it on the stove for the cooking. Might help with even heat distribution. Thoughts, anyone?

As you may have guessed, the reason I'm thinking about workaround solutions is because I unfortunately don't have access to a nice wok burner, whether inside or outside.

Of course, this is all theoretical at the moment, as I'm in Moscow for the next few months and won't be doing any wokking until I get back to the States. Hard to find good Chinese food of any sort over here

[Magictofu]

Thanks for the analysis, everyone.  I knew the bright minds on eGullet would know the answer.  I'm just embarrassed I didn't think of asking here earlier...

Interesting suggestion with the cast iron wok.  I may have to look into that.  I do most of my cooking with cast iron already and have a good feel for how it handles.  Does anyone reading this have any stong feelings - either positive or negative - towards cast iron woks?

Here's another thought: I once saw Alton Brown advocating pre-heating a cast iron skillet to "NASA hot" temperatures in the oven before using it to sear duck.  I wonder how well it would work to pre-heat a cast iron wok in the oven before throwing it on the stove for the cooking.  Might help with even heat distribution.  Thoughts, anyone?

As you may have guessed, the reason I'm thinking about workaround solutions is because I unfortunately don't have access to a nice wok burner, whether inside or outside.

Of course, this is all theoretical at the moment, as I'm in Moscow for the next few months and won't be doing any wokking until I get back to the States.  Hard to find good Chinese food of any sort over here     

←

I own a bad cast iron wok. It is bad because the base is quite small for the wok and quite thick compared to the walls of the wok itself. I like the idea of using the stove to pre-heat the wok... this way, the whole wok will be hot. I might try this sometime this week.

I am still sold to the idea of using a cast iron wok. Mine just has a design flaw. Cast iron does magic when you need some sustained heat!

[takadi]

The one I am saving up for is the Lodge pro logic cast iron wok. However, it is relatively expensive. There was a really good deal on amazon, but they have discontinued it. I'm trying to wait to match the price. Ebay constantly pops up with the old 12 inch Lodge woks.

The awesome things about these woks is that it's flat on the bottom and it's round on the inside, so you get the benefits of a wok with the efficiency of a flat bottom for a home stove.

[qrn]

I've been wokking around for a couple of years now but have always been uncertain about something which manifests itself as fire about twice a year.  I'm hoping somebody can help...

Everything I've ever read about wok cooking says that in order to produce the desired wok flavor ("wok hei") you need extremely high heat.  In fact, many sources say that this level of heat just isn't possible on a home electric range.  The need for greater heat leads many wokkers to go outdoors where they can use propane burners to really heat things up. 

I also know the principle that "the wok heats alone."  In other words, heat the wok, add the oil, and then the ingredients.

So here's what happens to me twice a year:  I put my carbon steel wok on the largest burner on my electrical stove at home.  I turn the burner on high - it may not be rocket-engine heat, but it's as hot as I can get it.  I let the wok get good and hot.  Really good and hot.  Then I add the oil, drizzling it around the sides so that it can warm up on the way down, something I read somewhere.  I use peanut oil because its high smoke point.

And almost as soon as the oil hits the center of the wok it bursts into flames.  On goes the lid and out comes the smoke. 

For the next six months I do my wokking over lower heat where I know it's safe, yearning for the  real flavor of the wok.  And so gradually I creep upwards, letting it get hotter and hotter until one night the cycle is reborn out of the ashes of my flaming wok.

Obviously I'm a bit confused here: if my electrical range is theoretically not capable of produceing wok hei heat, why does the oil still go up in flames?  Wouldn't the problem be just as bad, if not worse, if I were using a powerful burner at higher temperatures outdoors?

And of course, the more practical question is how can I crank my stove up as hot as possible and get what wok hei I can but avoid the fire?

←

I agree with chrismirault..You are getting a small area that is in contact with the redhot heating element, hot enough to vaporize the oil which then makes it very easy to light off..Think about deglazing with brandy, and how easy that lights...Granted its a product with a much much lower flash point but the concept is the same when its vaporized..

Bud

[slkinsey]

Here's another thought: I once saw Alton Brown advocating pre-heating a cast iron skillet to "NASA hot" temperatures in the oven before using it to sear duck.

Unfortunately, in saying this Alton is showing some limits in understanding for the way these things work. A cast iron skillet in a 550 degree oven will never get over 550 degrees. I can almost guarantee you that you can get a cast iron skillet over 550 on a stove burner turned to full blast if you leave it on there a good long time.

Keep in mind that super-high temperatures are hot enough to burn the seasoning right off your pans. This is a good reason to keep cast iron destined for this kind of use unseasoned.

[Shalmanese]

To Alton's credit, he suggests getting the pan hot in the oven first and then giving it additional heat on the stovetop. The oven step is mainly to eliminate any hotspots and also make use of an oven that you're going to be pre-heating anyway.

[Restorer]

In the steak episode, Alton gives his pan a "head start" in the 500 degree oven, then turns it into a "branding iron" on top of the stove for searing the steak.

In the duck episode, Alton does all the cooking in the oven at 475. His goal is to crisp up the skin and render out a bit of the duck fat. I don't think he's aiming to get his pan "NASA hot", it's just an unfortunate thing he said.