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by danuker 1559 days ago
> It’s mostly done with the hot air that rises up the side of the wok.

I am not a cook, but I find it difficult to believe that the heat going by the sides of the pan is cooking the food, rather than the heat going through the pan and heating the air above the pan.

This is because where I've seen someone cooking on a wok, the food barely goes past the edge of the pan.

A sufficiently wok-shaped induction stove will induce the same heat as that going through the pan.
2 comments
chillacy 1559 days ago
Afaik there is a motion of tossing food in a wok where you throw the food past the rim and catch it again. The moment the food passes the rim, a small flame ignites from the high heat and food oils, creating complex flavors. If you go to Asian restaurants with a wok station or to Southeast Asia/south China you can see this in action.
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mattmaroon 1559 days ago
No offense but you’ve just not seen people doing it properly then. If you live in the western world that’s not surprising.

I can’t find a high enough resolution pic on the internet of the modernist cuisine cutaway to actually read the text but here’s the image:

https://images.app.goo.gl/cZWmqecLWTSdxSeX6

Wok Hei translates to “breath of the wok” for a reason. The food is constantly in the air, which allows it to dry out. The food spends most of its time not even touching the wok so no, you can’t do it on induction.

Here’s a good description from the Michelin guide:

https://guide.michelin.com/en/article/dining-out/what-is-wok...

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danuker 1558 days ago
> The food is constantly in the air, which allows it to dry out

Thank you for treating my ignorance!

Since in order to keep it in the air you have to constantly raise the pot from the cooker, and since induction can't work too far, it is clear why it doesn't work.

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mattmaroon 1558 days ago
Correct! Watch someone who is doing it right and you’ll see the wok and food are in near constant motion. It just can’t be done with anything other than fire.

And there’s no way most of us in the west would know this. Not many people outside of the kitchen a Chinese restaurant would ever see someone do it right here. Most of us just treat a wok like a funny shaped pan.

I’ve been trying to learn the technique for a few years and I’m not great at it.

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