[alf]

I part time chef'ed at a Chinese place to pay the bills at college (and get free food). Flame below the wok was about 3 feet tall, it was recessed about 2 feet below the wok and still spewed out about a foot when on full. Cooked most dishes in under 2 minutes. The whole range was water cooled.

If left the wok alone on full heat it will turn red in about 3 mins and white in about 5 mins. That is how we seasoned them and we went through them pretty quick due to the intense heat and constant handling. Everything was cooked in the same wok, when done with an order we'd run it with some water and give it a quick scrub on the range and sweat it with the flame for 10 seconds---and like cast iron no soap. Just heat, carbon and oil and next order.

Never got used to wok cooking at home after that, it was slow, cold and boring...I still sneak into commercial kitchens from time to time to get my fix with real wok cooking.