OK, have wok, will cook...but, need some pointers!

flyerdoc

Ready to do my first wok cook on my medium green egg. So, with my IR gun at the ready, exactly how hot should the wok be for traditional wok cooking? I am set up with a 14 inch carbon steel wok and wok ring.

I think I'll do some shrimp and vegetable fried rice. Any tips would be appreciated.

Oh, I did see a youtube video where someone suggested using coconut oil as that does not smoke as much. Waddaya think?

Thanks in advance.

hoosier_egger

Sesame oil is a must in my opinion. You can't replicate it's flavor 

Stormbringer

I don't test a wok by temperature, if it is smoking slightly and a few drops of water dropped on it sizzle immediately, it's ready.

Personally I prefer groundout oil to sesame to flash fry meat/fish, if I want a sesame flavour I add in some toasted sesame oil later in the cook. Just preference.

Do you need to season your wok?

flyerdoc

Stormbringer said:

I don't test a wok by temperature, if it is smoking slightly and a few drops of water dropped on it sizzle immediately, it's ready.

Personally I prefer groundout oil to sesame to flash fry meat/fish, if I want a sesame flavour I add in some toasted sesame oil later in the cook. Just preference.

Do you need to season your wok?

Yes, I do need to season it...just cleaned it out to get the shipping oils off and will follow a youtube instructional video which recommends:  coat entire wok in and out with oil, heat wok, add tablespoon of oil and make sure to spread it all over the wok (using tongs and a folded paper towel), add clives, cook till charred...this person suggests that the clives will chemically react with the carbon steel so that you will not get a metallic taste from the wok. Let cool, clean with hot water and then heat dry.

Sound reasonable?

outrageous

flyerdoc said:

Ready to do my first wok cook on my medium green egg. So, with my IR gun at the ready, exactly how hot should the wok be for traditional wok cooking? I am set up with a 14 inch carbon steel wok and wok ring.

I think I'll do some shrimp and vegetable fried rice. Any tips would be appreciated.

Oh, I did see a youtube video where someone suggested using coconut oil as that does not smoke as much. Waddaya think?

Thanks in advance.

You will love the wok,   if your rice is not dry, dry,(put in frig for overnight). The fried rice will not be to your likening, it will be mushy.  just a suggestion..  enjoy your new toy

Sodak70

@flyerdoc  That is about what I did with my wok.  You can go out to the wok shop . com and they also have a video that shows how to do it.  Once you season it should get darker and you'll be able to tell if you missed any places.  

As for cooking, I ordered a wok oil from amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KY3LG9M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and it has all the flavors you use to start (i.e. garlic, onions) in it.  The first time I opened the bottle, the smell alone was awesome. Walmart sells the brand but my walmart didn't have this actual product.  

I can't tell you what temp is good to start with, but I can tell you it does need to be hotter than I keep getting it.  The first time I did it, I thought I let the egg warm up to hot (pegged out the thermo) and everything went great, the next time I was only at 500 and don't think it was anywhere near what it needed to be.

Hope this helps!

RRP

I love to wok with my egg. While you asked some other questions let me share with you what I have learned and this trick works every time for me. I get my dome temp with wok in place stabilized at 325 to 350. Then with all my ingredients at hand I open the dome and close my bottom vent. That trick will keep your wok hot, but keep your egg fire from becoming an inferno all during the cook. Good luck! 

Mattman3969

Here's is a tried and true method for seasoning your wok.  

http://youtu.be/hNPe5-swL-k

As for recommendations on shrimp and rice I say cook your rice the day before and refrigerate before trying to make stir fried rice.  If this is your first wok attemp on the egg the shrimp and rice would be a good one.  They can cook quickly at lower temps as @rrp suggested.   Once you get used to using the wok in the egg you will learn that a good cooking temp is around 500-550.  To me the food just taste so much better when you are cooking with high heat rather than sautéing it.   Controlled high heat will bring out the awesome flavors that you look for in stir fry.  My average cook time is about 6-8 mins for a complete meal.  

 Once you get comfortable with the 350ish cook bump your temp to 500 or so, close lower vent most of the way when you open up to start cooking.  Then give it hell!!  Don't be surprised if you get a few flames shooting up around the wok. You want a good pair of gloves for this.   

If you have any questions or need help hit me up here or PM.  I'll be glad to help. I almost forgot do a search for @Village Idiot.   He is the king of the wok.  

flyerdoc

Mattman3969 said:

Here's is a tried and true method for seasoning your wok.  

http://youtu.be/hNPe5-swL-k

As for recommendations on shrimp and rice I say cook your rice the day before and refrigerate before trying to make stir fried rice.  If this is your first wok attemp on the egg the shrimp and rice would be a good one.  They can cook quickly at lower temps as @rrp suggested.   Once you get used to using the wok in the egg you will learn that a good cooking temp is around 500-550.  To me the food just taste so much better when you are cooking with high heat rather than sautéing it.   Controlled high heat will bring out the awesome flavors that you look for in stir fry.  My average cook time is about 6-8 mins for a complete meal.  

 Once you get comfortable with the 350ish cook bump your temp to 500 or so, close lower vent most of the way when you open up to start cooking.  Then give it hell!!  Don't be surprised if you get a few flames shooting up around the wok. You want a good pair of gloves for this.   

If you have any questions or need help hit me up here or PM.  I'll be glad to help. I almost forgot do a search for @Village Idiot.   He is the king of the wok.  

Matt, that is the exact video I watched for seasoning! I agree, it seems to be a very good one. Thank you also for all your suggestions, I will indeed look up Village Idiot, gotta love the handles folks pick, that's a keeper

Mattman3969

You will learn a lot from his post. And remember any questions ask here because there are some pretty serious wok guys here like @sciaggie  @theyolksonyou @tarheelmatt @jeffwit. I prolly missed some but no disrespect intended.   

SciAggie

@flyerdoc You will love stir fries on the wok. Be patient until your wok is well seasoned - things may stick a bit until then. 
I use peanut oil to cook with and sesame oil as a finish once the dish is plated; it is for aroma and flavor after cooking in my opinion. 
As for how hot to cook? That is a great question. Peruse this post I did on that subject: http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1191401/wok-wednesday#latest
Enjoy the journey. Let's see the results. Good luck. 

vb4677

RRP said:

I love to wok with my egg. While you asked some other questions let me share with you what I have learned and this trick works every time for me. I get my dome temp with wok in place stabilized at 325 to 350. Then with all my ingredients at hand I open the dome and close my bottom vent. That trick will keep your wok hot, but keep your egg fire from becoming an inferno all during the cook. Good luck! 

@RRP
Just to get a clear understanding - you start your fire, put your wok into the EGG, and manage the temp into the 325-350F range?  I hadn't considered putting my wok in that early or with the dome down.

fishlessman

most recipes i see just use canola or veggie oil and a few use peanut. you want a light oil, no olive oil or sesame for stirfrying, i do use a hot sesame for flavoring but its the last item to go in. the book a breathe of the wok uses canola in some, veggie in other dishes and ive never understood why the author uses one or the other for certain recipes, theres no difference in flavor that i can see. if you know a place that has free chinese tea cups , they come in handy lining up ingredients to quickly toss in

RRP

vb4677 said:

RRP said:

I love to wok with my egg. While you asked some other questions let me share with you what I have learned and this trick works every time for me. I get my dome temp with wok in place stabilized at 325 to 350. Then with all my ingredients at hand I open the dome and close my bottom vent. That trick will keep your wok hot, but keep your egg fire from becoming an inferno all during the cook. Good luck! 

@RRP
Just to get a clear understanding - you start your fire, put your wok into the EGG, and manage the temp into the 325-350F range?  I hadn't considered putting my wok in that early or with the dome down.

works for me, but like I said close the bottom vent when you start the cook- otherwise the fire will get away from you.

Richard Fl

I usually use a 14/16 inch wok sometimes with wok ring, grate flat bottom or on a Tao http://www.greeneggers.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=1240033&catid=1 oriental wok cooker--great, also like "D" ring handles when using a STEAMER WITH TOP CLOSED. A WOOD HANDLE GIVES ME MORE CONTROL TO STIR FRY BUT IS NOT PRACTICAL WITH THE TOP CLOSED.
http://www.greeneggers.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=1240033&catid=1

Richard Fl Posts: 8,091

2:25PM edited 2:28PM

I usually use a 14/16 inch wok sometimes with wok ring, grate flat bottom or on a Taohttp://www.greeneggers.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=1240033&catid=1 oriental wok cooker--great, also like "D" ring handles when using a STEAMER WITH TOP CLOSED. A WOOD HANDLE GIVES ME MORE CONTROL TO STIR FRY BUT IS NOT PRACTICAL WITH THE TOP CLOSED.
http://www.greeneggers.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=1240033&catid=1

OhioEgger

My friend owns a Chinese restaurant and his cooks use woks that are so ridiculously hot that the food cooks in less than a minute. Usually much less.
Seriously, he has a 4" gas line into the kitchen that feeds about ten wok stations. They use carbon steel woks and replace them at least annually (or more often) because they simply burn through at the bottom.

Based on that, I would say for real Chinese wok cooking, you want them as hot as you can get them. But the greatest tip for using a wok on an Egg that I've ever seen is the one @RRP shared above in this thread.

northGAcock

I use peanut oil most of the time....I also have some sesame but use it as an additive as opposed to the primary oil.