Wok heat source

HeavyG

Botch said:

Botch said:

fishlessman said:
Bluestar ranges have a 25,000 btu burner and cost less and the wok sits lower when you remove the grate. i would go with the bluestar today...

Danngggg this place may have just cost me more than two Large eggs!

And, sure enough, it did!      
 
This afternoon a video popped up on my EweTube, Kenji testing three outdoor wok burners.  They ranged (har!) from 60,000 BTUs to 200,000 BTUs (dwarfing the 22,000 BTUs on my new BlueStar in the back of my truck, waiting to be installed).  Guess what?  Total BTUs is not king!  He did some IR video and some explanation as to why, and I thought it was very interesting.  Enjoy!  
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpoSvprBJpE

Saw that video earlier today myself. Thought he was going to review more than just three burners from the way he was talking about it a week or so ago.

True that BTU's are not king for many things but to get true wok hei 22k BTU's won't cut it. However, there's a vid (I think it was also on Serious Eats) where they show the use of a propane torch to light up the oil vapor/char the food while tossing the wok which I thought was a simple/clever idea for folks cooking on a normal cooktop.

About 15 years ago I bought the first generation of that Kahuna burner he reviews. It was fine when used with my 22" wok but using one of my smaller "normal" woks the burner would singe the wooden handle since their was no guard to keep the flames from shooting up the side (tho the flames were not anywhere near as dramatic as that 200K brewing burner - ouch!).

Looking forward to seeing your new cooktop getting installed so you can tell us all about it.

P.S. - took the time to find that torch wok hei article and my brain was correct that it was on Serious Eats but it was wrong about it being a video but well worth a read - https://www.seriouseats.com/2020/02/hei-now-youre-a-wok-star-a-fiery-hack-for-stir-frying-at-home.html

Lumpy_Coal

I’ve used my glass top stove (not very good) and my Kamado (worked well). I recently obtained a propane burner which I think I’ll try next.  With all that said, I use a Lodge cast iron wok so people may argue that I’m not doing it properly so I done know.  All I know is my family and I like what comes out of it.  

Thatgrimguy

You can get wok hei on a bluestar. So long as you can ignite the vapors over the food. I have a Japanese mother in law who went to chinese cooking school and she can do incredible things with my bluestar. 

What you can't do with 22k is light up a HUGE wok. But if you use a reasonable sized wok, you can make magic.