In article >,
Bill > wrote:
> Hey Roland!
> I haven't thought of using my turkey fryer for cooking in a "wok"! I
> like Chinese food but I don't know how to cook in a wok.
A good dish to try to see the unique flavor of high heat is to stir fry
some baby Bok Choy. This is guaranteed to fail on even a beefy home
stove (too much water will accumulate) but is splendid on the turkey
fryer. Heat wok 30 sec, add oil, add garlic + ginger, add the bok choy
immediately or the ginger and garlic will burn, stir like a maniac
towards end add a little (soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shao Xing wine and
sugar premixed) and 2-3 minutes from start to finish your done!!!
The main practical thing I can tell you is things move really very
quickly because of the high heat. I have never managed to ignite oil on
a home stove but as I mentioned before, if I let the empty wok sit for
say a minute and add the oil, the oil ignites on contact!! You should
expect a fireball and do not get too alarmed if it happens I just use a
14" flat bottom wok. A bigger wok would be nicer because you can be
more sloppy when stirring things around, I am stirring so frantically
that some food pops out of my wok. If you do not keep things moving,
the food will burn VERY QUICKLY. I have an oversupply of cooking toys &
undersupply of space and have resisted buying a bigger wok.
Secondly, when stir frying on this set up I NEVER see any liquid from
the food accumulate - it is driven off really very fast. My outdoor
burner has a 54,0000 BTU burner. I have a 12,000 BTU burner on my home
stove that compares very favorably in boil time to the 18,000 BTU Blue
Star yet even with small amounts of food I see puddles of liquid
accumulate.
Thirdly, this kind of cooking is quite stinky and messy and hazardous
(oil igniting etc) and it is nice to have the stink and mess (oil vapors
and residue) and hazards outside.
For a good recent book look at Grace Young's "Breath of a Wok". It is a
generally good introduction to the materials and history. All her
recipes though are converted for home stove use.
>go to get a big wok suitable for sitting on the burner/stand of a
> turkey fryer?
We have lots of oriental stores, and I could get a wok of any dimensions
if I so wanted. If you are not so blessed look for the Wokshop.
http://www.wokshop.com/products_main.html
Currently, King Kooker has a propane unit that is dedicated for this job
for real cheap ($65) - burner plus wok. I think it is a great set up
because the wok they have is 18" and has a ring to stabilize the round
bottom wok.
http://www.lalagniappe.com/mall/lobby-propane-wok.htm
Compare this cost to the thousands of dollars for more wimpy dedicated
wok burners from more frou frou vendors. I will admit that it is not
the most convenient to haul all my food out to cook. I just load all my
stuff on cookie trays. But for a $100 set up and no need for $2000+
ventilation system etc. etc. I am very happy with my decision.
I suppose this would be about the same size as the ones
> you see the little Chinese guys cooking in at the Chinese restaurants?
> What are the dimensions of your Wok? Is it about 36" inches measured
> across the widest part at the top?
Some restaurant woks are very big, but they have even hotter burners and
are water cooled on the top etc.
>The "real" Chinese cooking woks are
> pounded out of carbon steel aren't they? I assume they must be
> "seasoned" somehow before they will "stif-fry" properly?
>
The Grace Young book has a thorough discussion on the various materials.
Roland