How to Make Sizzlin' Stir Fry in a Wok

Chinese cooking has long been characterized by one tool: the wok. Woks are a versatile cookware, enabling a novice or a professional cook to create succulent food in an exciting manner over a high heat. A wok is shaped like a half-sphere to enable its wok-specific culinary techniques. In Western countries, the wok often has a flat bottom to rest on the typical stove-top burner. Smaller woks, like those people use in homes, usually have a bamboo handle that gives a sense of ancient authenticity, while larger, commercial-sized woks have to ring handles on diametrically-opposite sides. These larger woks do not simply sit on top of a burner, since they lack the flat bottom. Instead, they fit on a wok stand--a ring-shaped mount that allows the wok to be rotated around for cooking utility, or simply to fit on top of the flat burner.

The excitement of wok cooking comes from the rapid movements and fiery hot temperatures used in Chinese stir fry cooking. But do not fear, even the beginner can have fun with woks because their use is quite simple. To use a wok, you must know the different movement techniques and the proper way to use oil to cook with.

Wok Heating and Oil Use
Stir fry is cooked at a high heat, with the burner full-on. Food of all sorts is cooked in a bit of oil. Due to the lofty fahrenheits, one must use an oil with a high burning point, usually peanut oil or sesame oil. Be wary of people with food allergies to peanut oil, because cooking with it can trigger a reaction in those people. Pouring a few quick swigs of your preferred oil will usually suffice; a partial covering of the flat bottom is ideal. Once you've heated up your oil for a short period, about a minute or two, you are ready to add the food to the wok and begin to stir fry.