Sage-Tips

How is wok hei created?

According to Kenji, wok hei is a complex flavor that comes “from a combination of polymers and oil breaking down within the skillet, and from microscopic droplets of fat vaporizing as you toss food up and over the edge of a wok into the hot column of air created by the intense burner below.” Great.

Where does wok hay come from?

Cantonese
Wok hay is a Cantonese phrase used to describe a particular essence and aroma that is created in a dish when authentic stir-frying is performed. “Hay” means “energy” or “breath”; therefore, “wok hay” means “the energy or breath of a wok”.

Does wok hei exist?

“Wok is the essence of Chinese cooking in South China. And Cantonese chefs are the master of fire and wok.” Wok hei: An invisible but essential ingredient in Cantonese cooking. “Wok hei is not simply hot food; it’s that elusive seared taste that only lasts for a minute or two,” Young wrote.

Is wok hei cancerous?

The heated oil used in wok cooking, including the common techniques of stir frying and deep frying meat, produces vapours which contain a variety of potentially mutagenic and carcinogenic compounds.

What is wok hei in Chinese?

Wok hei is the Cantonese name for that aroma (literally “wok energy” or “wok breath”).

Can wok hei go in cast iron?

In Chinese (or Cantonese actually) they have a word for this: wok hei (鑊氣) the spirit of the wok. Use a large cast iron skillet. They have a big surface and are really good at retaining heat, which means they can get really hot.

What does a wok hei refer to?

Wok hei translated into English means ‘wok thermal radiation’ or, metaphorically, the ‘breath of the wok’. While extremely high heat is necessary, creating wok hei is more difficult than simply raising the flame temperature underneath the wok to extraordinarily high levels.

How hot should my wok be?

Most should not be heated above 450°F or so. This is far, far too low a temperature for effective wok-cooking. You will achieve no wok hei, no intense smoky, seared-and-crunchy flavors. The best you’ll get is food-court level Chinese food.

Is wok hei carcinogenic?

Now, a recent study suggests that cooking food may have contributed to Madam Tay’s condition. More specifically, her use of the wok to stir-fry could have resulted in an increase of carcinogens (cancer-causing substances) in her body. This is due to the large amount of oil fumes created during stir-frying with a wok.

What is wok hei and why is it important?

With regular use the wok develops a patina of hardened oil that seals off the pores in the steel, preventing food from sticking. Wok hei can only be achieved under conditions of intense heat, at levels that are difficult to achieve without a commercial cooking range.

Why do wok fumes come out the back of the wok?

Watch a Cantonese restaurant chef in action and you’ll see that, just as the author Ms. Lo described, flames will lick up the back of the wok, sometimes even spreading down into the wok itself. This happens because as food gets tossed through the hot zone behind the wok, tiny droplets of aerosolized oil will ignite and flare up.

How do you heat up a wok?

In general, the wok must be heated when the cooking oil in it starts to vaporize (blue vapors). To achieve even higher temperature, do not put in cooking oil when the wok pre-heats; pour in cold cooking oil just before you put in the raw food — this way, the oil won’t chemically decompose due to the high temperature.

What is wok hei in Zi Char?

The mark of every outstanding zi char restaurant is the smoky kiss of the wok on its food, an elusive fragrance known as wok hei. What is wok hei? Stir frying, the cornerstone of Cantonese cooking, is all about wok hei, that complex charred aroma that fleetingly cloaks the piping-hot stir-fries served at Cantonese restaurants and zi char joints.