Richard Periut wrote:
> Arri London wrote:
>
>> 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.
>
>
> All very true, especially the last sentence. Cooking in large batches
> (unless you have one of those burners used in chinese restaurants which
> burn about 4 times as much gas as a regular large burner does,) causes
> the meat to cook in its own juice; a soggy and disgusting end product.
>
> I use grape seed oil which has a higher smoking point.
>
> HTH,
>
> Richard
>

Sorry,

I meant high (not higher) smoking point. Peanut has higher at 450 F, but
what I wanted to convey is that grape seed oil is pretty much tasteless,
and may be healthier.

Richard

--
"..A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava
beans and a nice chianti..."

Hannibal "The Cannibal"

Silence Of The Lambs 1991