The extra 'horsepower' on these burners allow flexibility of instant heat
spread across the base of the pan, whereas domestic burners would take
longer heat up the woks to that degree needed to achieve the 'wok hey' which
was asked. If constant heat is not achieved, the ingredients can cook
differently e.g. not sealing properly or sweating too much. Incidently, the
LPG cookers used in domestic situations have higher BTU ratings than
domestic Western cookers, this is also a fact recognised by the major cooker
manufacturers as the modern ones incorperate a 'wok burner' in the higher
end spec models. It is also acknowledged by the Orientals that dishes
cooked at home, and some restaurants, cannot achieve the 'wok hey' they aim
for. It is a combination of BTU output and the skill of the chefs stir fry
skills.


"Frogleg" > wrote in message
...
> On Wed, 28 Jan 2004 00:51:50 -0000, "Chef!" >
> wrote:
> >
> >"Lori LO" > wrote
>
> >> At Xmas I was given a 12 inch carbon steel stir fry pan (flat
bottomed)
> >> that is to be seasoned and used like a regular 14 inch wok. Is it
> >> possible to get a wok hey or wok flavor from this cooking utensil? If
> >> so, how do I go about it? I have a regular gas stove.
> >
> >To achieve this, you will require restaurant grade burners for the simple
> >fact that the woks aren't designed to retain heat and the restaurant
burners
> >can give a higher BTU ouput at shorter notice.
>
> At the risk of opening an old (sore) subject, I fail to understand why
> a zippety-zillion BTU restaurant-style gas burner is required for
> *any* essential facet of Chinese cooking. Are all people in China
> prevented from making authentic dishes because they have a small
> propane single-burner hotplate or a tray of charcoal to cook on? It
> ain't rocket science. It's an ancient cuisine practiced by billions of
> people without restaurant stoves. If the flippin' wok catches on fire
> when unattended for 2 minutes on a common or garden gas burner,
> exactly how much hotter does it have to be?!!
>
> [Don't know anything about the or chi, but the interior of my wok is
> black and clean and things don't stick.]