Wok Hei
China, Guangzhou (Canton)
In the cuisine of Cantonese restaurants in China and North America,
"wok hei" is a special smoky flavor and aroma, usually translated as
"wok breath". It is produced by extremely high temperatures combined with
tossing the food through flames. In China, this method is characteristic
of Guangzou (Canton) and is little known elsewhere in China. It is a
restaurant cuisine, not used in homes, even in Guangzou.
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This style of cooking is also quite popular with patrons of Chinese
restaurants in North America. This is the result of nearly all early Chinese
restaurants In North America being owned and operated by people from the
Canton region, and the method became traditional here.
Unless you have a restaurant stove producing obscene BTUs, high ceilings,
and have developed the skill of tossing things high through the flames, this
style is impractical for home cooking. Even the highest priced home stoves
can't do it. On the other hand, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt has developed a method to
produce the same effect in a way practical for home cooking. This is possible
as the smoky flavor and aroma actually come from burnt oil. The steps below
follow his method.
Wok Hei at Home
Your will need:"
- A Wok. This should be a sheet
steel model as it is the best kind for high temperature frying. Tri-ply
woks heat slowly and are hard to clean after high temperature frying. A
non-stick Wok is completely out of the question. 13 inches (23 cm) is about
the minimum practical size for a wok, with the standard 14 inches (36 cm)
able to do larger batches.
- A Wok Shovel. For a sheet steel
wok you can use a metal shovel, which gives you the best control.
- A Kitchen Torch, preferably with
the yellow Map Gas bottle.
- A Rimmed Baking Sheet. This can
be a quarter sheet (13 x 9 inches - 33 x 23 cm) for modest batches, or for
bigger batches from a 14 inch wok, a half sheet (18 x 13 inches -
46 x 33 cm).
Procedure
- Prepare your ingredients as usual for stir fry, making pieces as close
to uniform same size as you can.
- Heat your Wok to smoking temperature and stir in the needed amount of
oil. Stir in ingredients in the order specified and stir fry normally
up to the point of adding the sauce.
- Spill the Wok contents onto a baking sheet, spreading to a single layer,
or as close as you can get.
- Fire up the Torch and play the flame back and forth over the food in a
leisurely manner.
- Heat the Wok back up over high flame. Pour the contents of the pan
back into the Wok and go on to the saucing step.
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