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Tips For Using Wok on a Gas Stove

December 3, 2014 By Eleanor Hoh 8 Comments

You want SIZZLE not FIZZLE! I think I coined a new phrase.

A gas stove is ESSENTIAL for wok cooking because you need HIGH HEAT!
Electric stoves do NOT generate enough heat and because the round bottom cast iron wok shape only gets a small contact area, it won’t work!
However, now there’s an induction wok stove for those who are not able to use gas in their building!

Wok Stars, it’s a no brainer to use your wok on a gas stove, right? Well, I’ve got 3 tips below to help you succeed even more if you’ve got a residential gas stove and not my Iwatani portable butane gas stove which fits PERFECTLY with my 15″ cast iron wok.

Wok Stars, if you’re frustrated with your gas heat output, please take 2 photos like the ones below so I can help you figure it out!
1) take a photo from the front with your wok sitting on the gas burner you currently use
2) take a photo of your whole gas stove from above without wok so I can see the sizes of your burners and what kind of grid you have.

So, I asked two Wok Stars, Mary and Carla to take photos of their gas burners to illustrate their specific problems with their heat output and grid situation and below are my findings! Oh, notice how their cast iron woks have beautiful patina!

Mary's GE gas stove's grate allows her to set wok directly on the grate so heat is closer which is great! However, the bigger burner's flames are again wide apart and the smaller burner doesn't give out enough BTU and she's experiencing some soupiness in the bottom of her wok! So, Mary and many others end up buying my Iwatani portable butane gas stove. — Mary’s GE gas stove’s grate allows her to set wok directly on the grate so heat is closer which is great! However, the smaller burner doesn’t give out enough BTU and she’s experiencing some soupiness in the bottom of her wok!

This higher btu burner is wider so heat is not focused at base of Mary's wok where she needs it! — This higher btu burner is wider so heat is not focused at base of Mary’s wok where she needs it!

Viking Gas Stove with horizontal grate. Notice the middle burner is biggest with left burners at 12,000 btu and right burners at — Here’s Carla’s Viking Gas Stove with horizontal grate. Notice the middle burner is biggest with left front burner at 12,000 btu and right front burner at 6.000 btu.

This wok ring is too deep so Carla's wok is further away from the heat. To remedy this, I've suggested getting a shallower ring or a Viking wok attachment. — This wok ring is too deep so Carla’s wok is further away from the heat. To remedy this, I’ve suggested getting a shallower ring or a Viking wok attachment.

Lightweight, thin walled, round bottom cast iron wok sits on wok ring on top of Viking gas stove with horizontal iron grate. — Here’s Carla’s wok which sits on a wok ring on top of Viking gas stove with horizontal iron grate. We tried it without the grate but then the ring is not deep enough to balance the wok!

Viking manual with BTU output for burners. Carla was using the middle biggest burner which everyone automatically assumes bigger is better. However, the flames are leaping up sides of the wok and not focused at base where it's needed most! So, I always suggest using a smaller burner! However, Carla's right front is only 6,000 till Carla sent me manual and I see left front is 12,000! Twice as powerful than the left front burner, so that's what Carla should use! — Viking manual with BTU output for burners. Carla was using the middle biggest burner which everyone automatically assumes bigger is better. However, the flames are leaping up sides of the wok and not focused at base where it’s needed most! So, I suggest using a smaller burner! However, Carla’s right front burner is only 6,000 and I see left front is 12,000! Twice as powerful than the left front burner, so that’s what Carla should use!

COOKING TIPS FOR GAS STOVE OWNERS:
Residential gas stoves are typically 7,000 to 10,000 btu which is still a bit low for wok cooking.
If you have an electric flat glass cooktop or coil, you won’t be successful. I’ve laid out all the reasons why here.
1) USE SMALLER BURNER
You may get better results using a smaller (lower btu) burner on your stove because the higher btu burners have the gas jets spaced wider apart so the heat is on the sides of the wok and not focused at the bottom where you need the heat most.
2) SET WOK DIRECTLY ON GRID
You can set your wok directly on the metal grid of your gas stove. Depending on the type of grid, the wok may wobble a bit. That’s OK because when you stir fry you should be using your left hand in the wok mitt to steady the wok (lefties reverse it).
If the wobble bothers you, check with your stove manufacturer for a “wok attachment” especially designed to handle the wok.
Another alternative is to buy an inexpensive wok ring from your Asian market but it makes your wok further away from the flame. Best is to flip the ring so the wider diameter is at the top and the smaller at the bottom, this allows your wok to sit closer to the heat.
3) HIGH HEAT FOR OPTIMUM RESULTS
Remember, high heat is ESSENTIAL so the closer you are to the heat, the more success you will have with stir frying.

This Iwatani, 12,000 BTU portable gas burner is PERFECT for the 15 1/2 " cast iron wok. The heat is focused at the base where it's needed most. I leave it sitting on top of my electric coil burner all the time so it's convenient so I end up using it for cooking most everything. This helps to build patina faster. — This Iwatani, 12,000 BTU portable gas burner is PERFECT for the 15 1/2 ” cast iron wok. The heat is focused at the base where it’s needed most. I leave it sitting on top of my electric coil burner all the time so it’s convenient and I end up using it for cooking most everything. This helps to build patina faster.

If you’re like Mary and tried all the above and still getting soupy veggies and not enough sear with your meats, a simple solution is to purchase my Iwatani portable gas stove which is 12,000 btu! Yes, Mary is treating herself to one, once you get spoiled with this high heat, you cannot go back to using mediocre heat!
The stove comes in a handy briefcase so you’re completely mobile and can cook outdoors or take it camping, boating or visit friends to show off your wok skills! Click here for more details or to order your Iwatani Stove!

Miami Book Fair: Book Giveaway 2-Fried & True: Lee Schrager, Mango: Jen Karetnick

November 21, 2014 By Eleanor Hoh 10 Comments

Excited to give away 2 more cookbooks to celebrate the Miami Book Fair! Who doesn’t love Mangoes or Fried Chicken? See below for a chance to win these books!
The Miami Book Fair International celebrates its 31st year, congratulations! It is still the largest and finest book fair of its kind in the nation and encompasses over 500 author presentations, national and international book exhibitors, educational programming, children’s activities, music, dance, visual arts, theater and creative writing workshops.
The 2014 Fair will take place at the downtown campus of Miami Dade College, November 16-23 and Street Fair, November 21-23.
Check out their very comprehensive site for complete program and events here.
Please join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MiamiBookFair or twitter and instagram @miamibookfair

Ready for Book Giveaway? Keeping it simple, here you go:
1. Subscribe to my free newsletter in right sidebar for meal ideas, videos, resources, tips and techniques, restaurant reviews and beyond. If you’re already a subscriber, just go to step 2!
2. Leave a comment below why you deserve to win Jen Karetnick or Lee Schrager’s cookbooks? Then email me eh at eleanorhoh dot com so I have your email if you win. Please specify if you want either Jen or Lee’s book.
3. Eligibility: Only for United States residents.

Closing date: ~~Sunday, November 23~~ Tuesday, Dec.9 at 12 midnight, ET.

Check back here for winners: Wednesday,Dec. 10 at 9pm, ET.

And the winners are…

Jeff Sampson for Lee’s Fried and True and

Vee Wong for Jen Karetnick’s Mango, congratulations!

4. A random winner will be picked and contacted via email. Respond ASAP, otherwise I will pick the next winner.
Your book will be sent directly to you through the publisher, good luck everyone!

Jen Karetnick works as the Creative Writing Director for Miami Arts Charter School and as the dining critic for Miami Magazine, blogger for Virgin Atlantic Airways, columnist for Biscayne Times and contributor for TheLatinKitchen.com. Her poems and essays have appeared recently or are forthcoming in December, Hospital Drive, Seneca Review, SLAB, Spillway, Submittable, Tidal Basin Review nd Valparaiso Poetry Review. A versatile essayist and journalist, she is the author/co-author/editor of 12 books. In Mango (University Press of Florida; $18.95) Jen Karetnick, aka the Mango Mama, takes readers on a culinary tour of all things mango. She invites you into her home, the Mango House, where many of these luscious recipes were created. She introduces you to the Mango Gang, a group of world-renowned chefs including Allen Susser and Norman Van Aken. These chefs make frequent use of the bounty from Jen’s ninety-year-old trees in their Miami restaurants, and in Mango, they share some of their favorite recipes.
On a personal note, I have actually been lucky enough to be a recipient of Jen’s amazing mangoes and I’m a huge fan of mangoes. I can’t wait to try some of the recipes in this book, mangoes are so versatile and one of the few fruits I don’t mind including in my savory dishes! Jen has also attended my cooking class and is a Wok Star!

Lee Brian Schrager knows his way around Miami and good food. He’s a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and the founder of the tremendously successful Food Network South Beach and New York City Wine & Food Festivals. He’s appeared on the Today show and Rachael Ray. And he’s the author of The Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival Cookbook. Surprisingly, Schrager had only prepared fried chicken a single time before he began work on his latest book, Fried & True: More than 50 Recipes for America’s Best Fried Chicken and Sides, a crunchy, savory valentine to one of America’s classic dishes. Schrager left no stone unturned in his quest to find America’s best fried chicken. Culled from four-star restaurants all the way to roadside fry shacks, Fried & True is the pathway to the next great fried chicken masterpiece and a tribute to America’s most beloved culinary treasure.
After a childhood spent in Illinois, Connecticut, Maryland, and Florida, Eliot Schrefer attended Harvard University, where he graduated with High Honors in French and American literature. His first novel, Glamorous Disasters, was a somewhat autobiographical tale of a young man living in Harlem and paying off college debt while tutoring Fifth-Avenue families. After writing another novel for adults, he turned to young adult fiction with The School for Dangerous Girls, about a boarding school for criminal young ladies. That book was selected as a “Best of the Teen Age” by the New York Public Library, and his next novel, The Deadly Sister, earned a starred review from School Library Journal. Endangered, his fifth novel, was a finalist for the National Book Award in Young People’s Literature. His latest novel, also a 2014 National Book Award Finalist in Young People’s Literature is Threatened. When he was a boy, Luc’s mother would warn him about the “mock men” living in the trees by their home — chimpanzees whose cries would fill the night. Luc is older now, his mother gone. He lives in a house of mistreated orphans, barely getting by. Then a man calling himself Prof comes to town with a mysterious mission. When Luc tries to rob him, the man isn’t mad. Instead, he offers Luc a job. Together, Luc and Prof head into the rough, dangerous jungle in order to study the elusive chimpanzees. There, Luc finally finds a new family — and must act when that family comes under attack.
I noticed Lee showcased a cast iron skillet for frying chicken in his book and of course, I was thrilled since I am a huge advocate for cast iron wok cooking!