those Woks from China?

[vash]

the ones you all bought on a group buy from Shaun.

how are they holding up?

i'm going to step-up my Asian food cooking kungfu this summer. i'm gonna buy a wok. in hindsight, i guess i'm bummed i missed out on the opportunity to jump on board the big purchase. ,.

i think i have the backyard burner figured out. it has a pilot light!! (which is the Achilles of using a turkey fryer burner)..the FAST FLAME (or something like that)



should be perfect for my backyard. i'll clamp it onto a dirtbike work stand or something for some elevation gain.

[craigster59]

Mine's holding up great. gets rocket hot fast. This shop is in SF and a good place to start. This is similar to the woks we got... https://www.wokshop.com/newstore/product/wok-two-steel-handles/

[carambola]

I've never cooked with a wok, do they retain heat or is it about (almost) direct heat transfer?

[Gogar]

I bought a two-handle cast iron and a wooden-handle carbon steel pow wok from Wok Shop, both are nice.

I still fall back on my flat-bottom Carbon steel with helper handle since I'm on a 18K stovetop and it's easier to get that flat bottom hot. Still not hot enough, but hot.

You should have a great time in the backyard!

[mjohnson]

Originally Posted by Gogar

I bought a two-handle cast iron and a wooden-handle carbon steel pow wok from Wok Shop, both are nice...

My metal handled hammered wok from them is well made and has survived a year of light use on top of my charcoal chimney. Light duty, but I think it's a good piece of kit. It seasoned up great too with the provided grapeseed oil. I bought the (pretty crude) wood handled spatula and handle, too. Kind of cool pieces but they wouldn't keep their handles. I kludged some rivets from brass tubing and they work great now!

I'd love a uuuge burner for the back yard - the charcoal gives good heat but gas would be so much easier.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by carambola

I've never cooked with a wok, do they retain heat or is it about (almost) direct heat transfer?

Woks are fairly thin carbon steal, so they don't really retain heat. You also need a POWERFUL gas burner for them so the flames run up the sides, so I guess it's about direct heat transfer.

THis is not an unusual sight when watching someone cook with a wok

[TimT]

Wok Hei 鑊氣

Heat plus technique

[vash]

how many did Shaun ship over?

no one has one all dirty seasoned and is cranking out food with it?

[javadog]

I have a cheap carbon steel wok I bought decades ago and it works just fine. I don't even really care if it's seasoned, or not. It really makes no difference in the finished food product. No need to have a hand hammered wok created by some far-away wok artisan.

You just need your million btu burner and a little practice. That, and some recipes from good chefs. I cannot tell you how important it is to have a good recipe.

[javadog]

Having said that, I seem to recall that tabs bought at least one spare....

[vash]

well.

nobody is still around that bought a wok from Shaun? bummer. was really curious how those hammered motherland woks were working out.

i really should have bought one..damn it. my wok burner is on the way. i measured my crappy wok and it is 14"..way tiny.

i'm gonna drive to SF this weekend and visit a few wok stores. time to do this!

[craigster59]

Here's a link to the OP: Anybody In Shanghai

[vash]

wow..tabs is kickingass with one!!

[vash]

Originally Posted by craigster59

Here's a link to the OP: Anybody In Shanghai

thanks.

that helped...i want one about 24" i think. $50 localish.

[javadog]

A 14 inch wok is big enough to cook anything you'll ever cook. I can cook food in batches that would feed three or four people in a 14 inch wok. I cannot imagine trying to cook in a 24 inch wok.

[gtc]

How do you use the woks with the D-ring handles? I would think a long straight handle would be needed to really flip the food without burning your mitts.

[Gogar]

Originally Posted by gtc

How do you use the woks with the D-ring handles? I would think a long straight handle would be needed to really flip the food without burning your mitts.

I think it’s more about using the right spoon; a real wok “shovel” is wide and flat and you’re sort of kicking the food around with that as opposed to flipping the wok around like you might with a skillet.

[greglepore]

Hey Vash-link?

[Gogar]

No, I'm only a supermarket-level wokker so far.

[javadog]

Most Chinese dishes don't use sauces, per se. You might think that, when you eat takeout Chinese, but really, there shouldn't be that much sauce in any dish. I would suggest buying the following items from an Asian grocery store, not a normal supermarket:

Soy sauce, light soy sauce, black soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, Shaoxing wine or regular dry sherry, Chinkiang vinegar, peanut oil, dried red peppers or crushed red peppers (Korean), toasted sesame seed oil, Japanese style rice vinegar, potato starch, fermented black beans, green onions, ginger and garlic.

That will be sufficient for about 90% of the recipes you'll probably cook.

If you buy store-bought sauces, even the ones from the Chinese grocery stores, your Chinese food will suck.