Don"t mock the wok!
You don't need a wok to be a master of eastern cuisine. Nevertheless, the large bowl shaped pan has several advantages - the material woks are made from ensures that heat is evenly spread so that there is even cooking, wok cooking uses less oil for deep frying than a traditional deep fat fryer, and the deep bowl shape ensures that food tossed during stir frying lands back in the wok and not all over your hob. A good wok will make you life easier when cooking eastern cuisine.
Woks are primary associated with the infamous healthy stir fry. It was the Chinese who introduced the world to stir fry as a great way to save on fuel and time cooking, the way they achieved this was to focus on the preparation time. Generally when you prepare for a stir fry, you would chop your ingredients into small, thin chunks and due to their size they would cook quickly. It's a well know fact that if you don't overcook ingredients (mainly vegetables) it helps preserves the original flavours, and is the reason for the delicious fresh taste of a good stir fry.
If you ever use a traditional wok you will quickly notice that it has a rounded base, making it very difficult use with basic Modern hobs, but because cooking with a wok has become so popular many manufacturers have design hobs with features that will help you utilise your wok. These hobs generally are gas powered and have 5 burners with a larger more powerful burner situated in the middle. As the manufacturers don't expect you to stir fry every meal they supply an adaptor which sits on the pan supports to hold you wok in place. It's win win, you have the flexibility to use your wok but also the large burner is capable of heating the largest of pans which is great for cooking nice paella.
Don't worry if you don't have gas in your home, Stoves have released an electric induction hob with a large indentation in the middle to allow your wok to sit snugly in the middle. The induction technology heats the entire pan making it even quicker to cook your tea. It is said that induction hobs are the most energy efficient type of hob, so you could be reducing you carbon foot print whiles you are reducing your waist with a nice healthy stir fry.
Woks are primary associated with the infamous healthy stir fry. It was the Chinese who introduced the world to stir fry as a great way to save on fuel and time cooking, the way they achieved this was to focus on the preparation time. Generally when you prepare for a stir fry, you would chop your ingredients into small, thin chunks and due to their size they would cook quickly. It's a well know fact that if you don't overcook ingredients (mainly vegetables) it helps preserves the original flavours, and is the reason for the delicious fresh taste of a good stir fry.
If you ever use a traditional wok you will quickly notice that it has a rounded base, making it very difficult use with basic Modern hobs, but because cooking with a wok has become so popular many manufacturers have design hobs with features that will help you utilise your wok. These hobs generally are gas powered and have 5 burners with a larger more powerful burner situated in the middle. As the manufacturers don't expect you to stir fry every meal they supply an adaptor which sits on the pan supports to hold you wok in place. It's win win, you have the flexibility to use your wok but also the large burner is capable of heating the largest of pans which is great for cooking nice paella.
Don't worry if you don't have gas in your home, Stoves have released an electric induction hob with a large indentation in the middle to allow your wok to sit snugly in the middle. The induction technology heats the entire pan making it even quicker to cook your tea. It is said that induction hobs are the most energy efficient type of hob, so you could be reducing you carbon foot print whiles you are reducing your waist with a nice healthy stir fry.
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