Priscilla Ballou wrote:
>
> In article >,
> Scott > wrote:
>
> > In article . com>,
> > "salgud" > wrote:
> >
> > > I've cooked in a wok since 1972, and love it. I've heard this before,
> > > that you need blast furnace like heat. It probably works best with
> > > blast furnace like heat, but I don't recall reading about many ancient
> > > Chinese villages having blast furnaces handy
> >
> > But they likely had coal fired stoves, which can get far hotter than a
> > typical home kitchen gas stove.
>
> Or other natural substances. To get good heat under the wok up in VT,
> my father took one of the lids off the wood cooking stove and put the
> wok right down in the hole, over the fire. He had a bushel basket of
> pine cones he collected just for Chinese cooking. He'd toss a handful
> or two of those in under the wok, and he'd be good to go.
>
> Priscilla
>

That's very much like a traditional cooking arrangement; the wok sits
below the surface of the cooker/stove. Same in a restaurant. The wok
doesn't sit above the surface.