What is wok hai and how do I get it in my food?
There is something special about food cooked in a wok called wok hai? What is it and how do I get my food to have it?
Best Answer
Wok Hei is the "essense" imparted by the wok when stir-frying over very high heat. The characteristic flavor is due to the the Maillard reactions and the charring of the ingredients.
Practically speaking, most home stoves do not have sufficient BTU output to achieve Wok Hei. If you have a gas stove with sufficient output, consider yourself fortunate. Get the wok really hot before adding the oil and ingredients... and stir vigorously. You should also make sure to crank up your hood fan/ventilation, since there will be quite a bit of smoke generated.
For those without a high BTU stove (myself included), a suggestion was made here regarding a burner that could be hooked up to a propane tank.
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How do you get wok hei?
Wok hei can only be achieved under conditions of intense heat, at levels that are difficult to achieve without a commercial cooking range. The wok should always be heated until it just begins to smoke before adding cold oil. Never heat up the oil together with the wok or the food will stick and begin to char.Can you taste wok hei?
\u201cWok hei is this ethereal thing,\u201d Steph said. It's \u201cthat taste of the first bite of a hot restaurant stir-fry. It's got that taste of the restaurant oil, the slightly deeper restaurant browning, the heavier restaurant seasoning.How do you get wok hei hor fun at home?
StepsWhat does Wok Hay taste like?
The basis of wok hei is the smoky flavour resulting from caramelisation of sugars, Maillard reactions, and smoking of oil \u2014 all at temperatures well in excess of traditional western cooking techniques.More answers regarding what is wok hai and how do I get it in my food?
Answer 2
Wok hai (or hay) is literally "the breath of the wok". It is used to describe a stirfry that is cooked over high heat with no ingredient being over-cooked. It is devolped by cooking over a lot of BTU's and paying close attention to your timing and ingredients in the pan and geting your food into somebody's mouth before it has a chance to cool.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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