1 hour ago, liuzhou said:I have a torch I use when cooking, but there is no way it can give wok hei! That only comes from a wok, well seasoned from contiuous daily use over a long period of time.
But I've said many times before,wok hei is a concept only Americans seem to obsess about. Most Chinese cooks aren't interested.
Wok hei is not my main goal for the torch. And I agree that wok hei is not needed in most dishes, as well as that the flavor a torch will bring is not exactly wok hei. I do hope that it will give some grilled flavor, which I think complements many dishes (even if it's not necessary).
For example, a few things I might use it on:
- Vegetables for salsa, or other salads/sauces where charred flavor is wanted.
- Neapolitan pizza, when I feel like having the more traditional texture-flavor. I imagine that I can shorten the baking time to just until the dough is cooked through, then proceed to torch it so that it can some charred crisp spots without drying or over-cooking the cheese.
- Browning/melting things that don't fit a pan without turning on the broiler (casseroles, things topped with cheeses etc).
- And also charring ingredients in order to add flavor to dishes where it works well - fried rice, some noodles dishes and also non-Asian dishes like (vegetarian) burgers and grilled corn 
- Any other ideas?
