J Krugman wrote:
>
> I have always been intimidated by stir frying: the high heat, the
> smoke, the bazillion ingredients... Maybe I spooked myself out,
> but these fears were amply confirmed when I attempted my first stir
> fry last Monday. What a nightmare!
>
> I followed the instructions I had to the letter (well, almost; see
> below): during what seemed like an eternity of chopping and other
> prep work, I let my 12" skillet heat up slowly over a very low
> flame; then I cranked up the heat to high for 3-4 minutes, added
> to 3 T of peanut oil to the skillet, let it heat up for about 1
> minute, and then added my first batch (of 2) of marinated, bite-sized
> chunks of chicken breast (about 1/2 pound's worth). My instructions
> said that these should be stir-fried for 2-3 minutes, until golden
> brown. At around the 2 minute mark I noticed that the oil was
> burning badly (it was turning dark brown), and right about then,
> the building's smoke alarm went off, even though the smoke detector
> is outside my apartment, behind a thick, firmly-shut door (I had
> turned off the power to the smoke detector inside my apartment
> before I started cooking). Needless to say, I had to abort the
> project...
>
> In the aftermath, I discovered that the oil's high heat had melted
> off the edge of my nonstick-friendly spatula, a veteran of many a
> sauteeing campaign.
>
> The one thing I did not do according to the instructions that might
> have prevented this little disaster was to use a nonstick skillet.
> (My biggest nonstick skillet seemed too small for the task, so I
> opted for my 12" stainless-steel one.) Perhaps with a nonstick
> skillet, and consequently less oil, I would have had less smoke...
>
> My kitchen, and hence my stove, is far away from any external wall;
> there is no reasonable way for me to vent my stove to the outside.
> Right now my stove is equipped with a puny recirculating fan (which,
> incidentally, was turned on during the episode I described above,
> to no avail), tucked somehow under and around a microwave oven. I
> imagine that any scheme to take care of stir-fry smoke will involve
> relocating the microwave oven and installing a better hood/fan. My
> main question is, is there an indoor venting system that can handle
> the smoke generated by a stir-fry well enough to prevent smoke
> alarms from going off? If so, what brands/models/styles should I
> be looking out for?
>
> Other questions I have a is it in fact OK to use a nonstick
> surface at such high temperatures? how do I cook in batches at
> high heat and at the same time avoid burning the oil? where can I
> find a spatula that is both nonstick-friendly and capable of
> withstanding the very high stir-frying temperatures? is there any
> way to minimize the smoke that does not detract from the quality
> of the stir-fry?
>
> Thanks for your stir-frying wisdom!
>
> Jill

Get a decent wok. Best thing for real stirfrying. Skip the nonstick pan;
they aren't used in Chinese restaurants for stirfrying as they can't
take that sort of heat.

I heat the wok until the bottom just starts to turn colour, add the oil
and then immediately add the ingredients. The thin film of oil heats
nearly instantly, so not much smoke.

All my wok spatulas are steel, bought fairly cheaply in Chinese
supermarkets. You said you used peanut oil, but we do too and never have
that sort of smoke problem when stirfrying.

Stirfrying should be done in batches to avoid steaming.