Why do Hong Kong chefs use a white towel instead of gloves to clutch a wok?
Is the towel to prevent heat and injury? Aren't their woks' handle insulated enough?
If the insulation falls short, how's a towel a stop-gap? What if the chef accidentally touches the wok without the cloth?
3. Aren't HEAVY-DUTY HEAT-RESISTANT gloves safer?
I screen-shot 0:21 of Chef Mok Kit Keung (and 2 others) at Shang Palace, Kowloon Shangri-La.
and Chef Paul Lau Yiu Fai wok-frying Spotted Garoupa Fillet at Tin Lung Heen. This post has 2 more photos.
Best Answer
Because it is more efficient when running the kitchen while in full service.
It takes less time to remove their hands from the towels than it would take to remove gloves.
This also applies to chefs in other kind of cuisines; if you look at french cooks, they will do the same thing; grab a towel to pick something from the oven, or pick a pan from the stove.
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Quick Answer about "Why do Hong Kong chefs use a white towel instead of gloves to clutch a wok?"
Hygiene issues: The inside of the glove gets dirty pretty fast so basically you have to wash you hands after every use of the glove. They're much harder to clean then a towel.Why do chefs carry a towel?
In the hands of a professional chef, a top quality side towel (or cloth) is one of the most versatile and important tools in the kitchen. It is used for everything from drying your hands and grabbing hot pans, to covering greens and crushing ice... An extremely vital kitchen tool!Why do Chinese chef let water run?
This appears to be a dipper well: a continuously running sink used to rinse utensils. The water runs continuously to remove contaminants, always leaving a clean supply of water to rinse dirty utensils and, in this case, to clean out the wok.Why is there running water next to wok?
Traditional wok stoves consume a lot of water due to the constant water flow that cools the cooktop to prevent warping. In addition, water is used for rinsing the wok after each dish is prepared and for cleaning the cooktop.Can I use a towel instead of an oven mitt?
You can use a kitchen towel in place of an oven mitt. Some people even claim that using kitchen towels to hold hot items is a more comfortable and versatile option. However, choosing between towels or mitts is primarily a matter of personal preference. Whatever product makes you feel secure is the right one to use.Calif. law requires sushi chefs to wear gloves
More answers regarding why do Hong Kong chefs use a white towel instead of gloves to clutch a wok?
Answer 2
Hygiene issues: The inside of the glove gets dirty pretty fast so basically you have to wash you hands after every use of the glove.
They're much harder to clean then a towel.
Answer 3
Another factor is that decent gloves allowing some fine-motor skills as well as easy putting on and off have to fit well, and not everyone has the same size hands. So every chef has to carry their own pair of gloves, or every station has to have a set (colour-coded perhaps). Even then they're slow to put on and take off, and quite likely to end up getting dropped on the floor in the process (e.g. if you're carrying something as well). This adds up to time and cost savings for not using well-fitting gloves. Simple oven gloves could be used but don't have much fine control.
In practice if you provide ill-fitting clumsy gloves, people will only use them if they know they'll burn themselves otherwise, while something instant and easy is more likely to be used in a precautionary way. To put it bluntly, inappropriate safety gear makes things worse.
The actual risks of using a suitable cloth are minimal once you're used to it.
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Images: Priscila Teixeira, Curtis Adams, Ksenia Chernaya, Karolina Grabowska