Chemiker wrote:
>
> On Fri, 17 Dec 2010 14:18:35 -0600, "Pete C." >
> wrote:
>
> >
> >Brooklyn1 wrote:
> >>
> >> On Fri, 17 Dec 2010 10:25:55 -0600, wrote:
> >>
> >> >I'm not much of a cook at all.... but one thing I do
> >> >like is fried potatoes and stir fry type dishes
> >> >
> >> >I have a nice skillet (probably too small) though.....
> >> >but have wondered if maybe a wok is the better "tool"
> >> >for me?
> >> >
> >> >Can someone give this neophyte cook some advice on the
> >> >advantages of wok vs BIG skillet?
> >>
> >> Big skillet wins... raw spuds is not something lends itself to stir
> >> frying. I see no point to a wok unless one cooks very teeny
> >> quantities or has a huge BTU gas burner. The vast majority of folks
> >> who wok at home are just fooling themselves (ie. masturbating).
> >
> >I agree, unless you have a high BTU burner (or cook over a wood or
> >charcoal fire) you don't have enough heat input for a wok to function
> >properly and you may as well use an ordinary large skillet.
>
> I must disagree on this point. All you need is a hot point (easily
> achievable with a wood fire), and you can get that with any 12000 BTU
> gas burner. I use woks on butane stoves with no problems. tailgate!
>
> Just get a cast wok and not one of those stamped steel things that are
> sold to round-eyes. (Blast you, Joyce Chen!)
>
> I put mine on a Kenmore elite gas stove top on a medium-strength
> burner (@ 12000-13000 BTU) and it works fine. Put it on am 18000
> burner and it goes crazy!
>
> I believe you're thinking of restaurant woks which are super big and
> use after-burner-like gas flames to drive them. Thousands of years of
> wok history, and no sign of after-burner heat sources! Peasants used
> them over stone fire rings, and the fires were fed with twigs. It
> works. Worked then, works now. It's a very efficient vessel to cook
> with. Let the flames begin.
>
> Alex
Sorry, you are confusing "works" with "works as designed". You can
certainly cook food in a wok placed on an inadequate heat source and it
will cook the food, however it will not cook it the way a wok is
intended to cook it. And no, historically you don't find the 50,000
BTU/Hr wok burners of today, what you do find is wood or charcoal fires
with comparable temperatures and BTU outputs being used.