Had an interesting thought after a couple homebrews

[Bernie Brewer]

I loooovveee Chinese food. Yum yum yum. But cooking Chinese at home just doesn't work because the stove just doesn't get hot enough. Well I was thinking about this after a couple homebrews and it hit me: why not do the wokking on the brewstand???? Those big Jet Burners oughtta get plenty hot for that! I would have to cook in the garage, but I don't care. Whaddya think?

 

[Golddiggie]

Sounds logical to me. You should be able to get the heat high enough to do the job up right on the propane burner(s). Of course I've never had an issue when using a gas range to heat the wok. If you have electric, it's a different story. Especially with the 'safety' features on those things these days. Besides, I really hate cooking on electric stoves/ranges.

 

[Wetfoot]

Yes, it works. I've been doing it for a long time. Get a wok with wok ring and set on top of burner. Have everything ready on a table, including serving dish. Once you get started things happen quickly and there is no stopping! I prefer a carbon steel wok from China; no aluminum or teflon.

Have a kitchen towel or oven mitt to grab the wok handle. The bad thing about wok-on-propane-burner is the flames hit more on the side of the wok, a little higher up than you would like. The handle can get really hot. I've worked in restaurants with real Chinese commercial wok stations and the propane burner method is not really the same but it is a big improvement over stove-top gas. Real wok stations get really hot and hit the bottom of the wok, not the sides. You gan get red hot in about a minute or so (which is way too hot to cook). Smoking oil and oil fires are not uncommon, so you really have to pay attention.

I'd love to see some sort of modification to a propane burner to get that 'jet' effect of a real wok station. They have little round metal tube 'jets' that direct the flame upwards, and the wok sits on a very heavy cast iron collar. Plus the BTU rating is likely higher.

Give it a try, but be careful in the garage.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

I've never had a problem using my wok on an electric burner. I can even fry foods in oil on it. WTF are you people trying to cook???

 

[r2eng]

I foresee a very popular thread that containing photos of said "wok-ing" on the brewstand!

Post pics, and maybe I can convince SWMBO that a brewstand has more than one use!

 

[Bottenbrew]

My burner was actually bought as a propane "camp wok" so not only do I know it can be done, but companies sell equipment for that purpose.

 

[spliff]

An electric element with a ring should get more than hot enough to do a stir fry.

Unless it's a glass top stove, which I hate. Yes they get hot fast, but they don't get very hot, they take forever to cool down. And they recommend you don't use a ring because it could damage the surface. Worthless.

For electric the only cook top you should have is induction. Yes it needs a flat bottom wok, but it heats and cools the same as gas. And you can use the salt seasoning method not recommended for electric. I've done it.

 

[bob1852]

I foresee a very popular thread that containing photos of said "wok-ing" on the brewstand!

Post pics, and maybe I can convince SWMBO that a brewstand has more than one use!

My SQ14 works perfect! It creates a wok hei you cant get from a typical range, IMO.

 

[markg388]

I've done it before too with great results, but like was said earlier it gets super hot on the sides. You just gotta use those hot sides to your advantage!

Wok cooking works on the stove but I have to do everything in really small batches or else the food cools the wok down too fast and I wind up with an asian etuvee.