I hope everyone is enjoying Wok Wednesdays so far. We’ve only just begun but I am getting great feedback from many of you wokkers and I’m so happy that we’re learning the ways of the wok together.
I’m also happy to announce another Wok giveaway! The 14-inch flat-bottomed carbon steel wok is the wok of choice for Grace Young, and the most practical wok for home kitchens. Thanks to Tane Chen of The Wok Shop in San Francisco you now have a chance to win your very own wok. Perhaps you have been stir-frying with a large skillet or you have a scratched-up nonstick wok that you need to replace. Perhaps you just want two woks! Either way, all you have to do to enter is leave a comment below answering the following question:
As a stir-fry newbie was it difficult or intimidating getting used to high heat cooking?
Leave your answer by 11:59pm EST, Friday June 8th.
– Matt
wokwednesdays 
Cooking with high heat was intimidating at first, but I’m getting used to it!
yes, it still is intimidating…in fact, some oil splashed in my eye tonight, cuz I didn’t dry off the peppers I took out of the freezer; live and learn, as they say!
The main part about high heat cooking that intimidated me was worrying about the smoke detector going off (it’s very sensitive). Now I just crank up the exhaust fan to high, open the windows and go for it! Always delicious and worth it!
High heat is somewhat intimidating to me, but I love the result! I think I will always be extremely careful when using high heat.
Definitely tough especially if you don’t have the right oils or a properly seasoned wok. Still workin’ on it!
Not intimidated, but circumspect..
Just found your blog the other day so have yet to try it! Instructions from this author seem to be very good though, so I’ll give it a try…would love to win this wok.
I was VERY intimidated and DEFINITELY burned a few things before getting used to cooking at high heat!
I still find myself adjusting the heat because it feels like it’s too hot. Learning as I go. Everything has been very tasty so far.
I really have to think things through and make sure I have all the ingredients ready. Then I have to psych myself up. The actual cooking goes by in the blink of an eye.
I just started reading this blog and I don’t have a wok yet, so I’m not sure I’ll be able to answer the question. Does it intimidate me? Yes, absolutely! I don’t want my fire-alarm to go off and I don’t want to stain my stone backsplash. Am I eager to try it — yes!!
Very much so, specially since I am a novice cook in the first place. When I lived at home my dad used the wok three to four times a week so I am used to watching him use the wok and eating delicious meals that he made with them. I am home sick somewhat and nothing makes me feel like I am home sitting around the dining room table eating dinner with my parents and having good conversation like a good wok meal. I’ve burned stuff a few times, but I know with practice it makes perfect and the payoff is going to be amazing.
I’ve also just found your blog so haven’t started stir frying yet. And I could sure use a wok!
I’m more afraid of my Wife’s wrath after hot peanut oil goes all over the place. I got down the drop of water evaporating after a second but when ever I put in the oil it seems like its to hot. Need to practice.
It’s not intimidating at all! Once you get past the burnt knuckle hair, the plumes of smoke and the batch after batch of overcooked/burn food, then it’s pretty easy. What am I saying, of course it’s intimidating, but once the hair grows back and the smoke clears and you’re left with a perfect stir fry, it just makes it all worth it.
The biggest problem I keep running into is the fire alarm going off ALL the time, which scares all of us! We’re living with my in-laws… the first few times they had some good humor. The 10th time they lost some of it!
I wasn’t really intimidated too much. I didn’t want to smoke up my house and have the smoke detectors go off. The part that worried me about cooking on high heat with oil, was the fact that I didn’t want the oil to splatter and catch fire, and to make sure my veggies were cooked thoroughly (i.e. carrots, didn’t want them to be hard).
Timing the cooking of the ingredients has been hard: Broccoli, Carrots, and hard veg… not over cooking meat. There there’s the high heat! I use a round bottomed wok and have to hold it with my left hand because a wok ring creates too much distance from the flame. Quite a few pot holders have gone up in flames!
Kim, I would definitely recommend getting the flat-bottomed wok (in case you don’t win it!). It makes a huge difference. As you’ve observed the round-bottomed wok sits too far from the heat if you use the wok ring—and without the wok ring it’s super dangerous as the wok can spill over unless you’re holding it. It also sounds like your round-bottomed wok doesn’t have a wood handle. If you also have to use pot holders it makes stir-frying that much clumsier and dangerous. At tops a flat-bottomed wok will cost you $25 and it will last a lifetime.
I am not intimidated at all. I love how fast everything cooks and the char that develops on the ingredients.
Not bad at all, just had to move fast and have everything ready to go! Kinda fun actually.
Very intimidating! I’m still not entirely comfortable with it.
I don’t have a wok so I use a large skillet. The skillet makes it a bit complicated but I am hoping to improve with practice!
High heat is definitely intimidating for me! I end up burning a few things along the way!
High heat was not intimidating for me, however my firefighter husband kept turned down my flames. I kept turning them up, pointed to the fireextinguisher and smiled.
High heat wasn’t intimidating, and really doesn’t seem much like high heat on our old electric stove top. We can’t wait to get a new gas range. Want to give away one of those too?!
So intimidating! I live in perpetual fear of my smoke detector, so it took me a while to “cut the cord” and trust in the process.
I am still quite nervous about wok, high heat stir-frying. First of all I have to remember to wear an apron to protect my clothing. Secondly, I close off the door situated between the kitchen and the smoke alarm. I am stil in the process of adjusting the level of the hood fan. This is quite a learning process, but I am determined to be an authentic cook and love the resulting crispness when everything goes well.
Cooking with high heat is always intimidating. Your first thoughts are please do not let me burn up my meal. And as time goes on you learn to master the art of cooking with high heat .