Take a look into the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant and you'll see the cook performing an intricate dance, holding a wok with one hand and a wide spatula used to flip foods and grab bits of spices and sauces with the other. Stir-fry for 3 minutes or until greens are thoroughly wilted. Secondly, wait for the wok to get screaming hot. Try and cook a stir-fry using the traditional, add-one-ingredient-at-a-time-until-they're-all-in-there method with an electric or gas burner, and you end up with vegetables and meat that steam instead of sear. Email your questions to [email protected], and please include your Serious Eats user name in your email. Whether you're cooking for yourself or for a family, these easy dinners are sure to leave everyone satisfied and stress-free. Next, do the same for all your vegetables. Ken Hom Classic Non-stick Carbon Steel Wok, 11 in. How to Make Classic Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes, Braised Artichokes, Favas, and Carrots in Creamy Lemon Sauce with Fennel, Roasted Vegetable Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette, Roasted Fall Vegetables with Lentils and Spices, Roasted Winter Fruits and Vegetables with Farro Porridge. If you want stir fry, simply add your vegetables to the wok and stir continuously with the heat on high. You had on the blog about doing the perfect stir fry on the grill but unfortunately I am in a college dorm and only have access to an electric stove. No forks or spoons required, just easy-to-pick-up party foods, so you can clean up in no time. Red bell pepper: Mild red bell pepper is one of the easiest ways to add a pop of color to your stir-fry. Find your new weeknight favorite in our collection of vegetable stir-fry recipes. Put the tougher, more textured ones in the wok first to give them a head start. Ken Hom Classic Non-stick Carbon Steel Wok, 12 in. If you have ever seen the gigantic burners they have in Chinese restaurants specifically for the stir-fry wok, they're called "volcanos" because they get so ridiculously hot. If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment. You want to use batches that are small enough that the meat or vegetables can really sear, their exuded juices evaporating rapidly instead of bubbling and simmering. Here's the deal: traditional Chinese stir-fries are cooked in woks over blazing high heat. Offers may be subject to change without notice. But hang on a minute! Add the Chinese leaves, greens, together with the sugar and rice wine or sherry. From chips and dip to one-bite apps, finger foods are the perfect way to kick off a party. So the question is, is it possible to cook something that tastes great with an electric burner? Some comments may be held for manual review. Beef with Broccoli (get the recipe here!). The very best stir-fries will have a hint of what is called wok hei, or the "breath of the wok," that ineffable, indefinable, intangible, and all-other-manner-of-words-beginning-with-"in" flavor somewhere between smoky and carbonized, with a hint of metal in it. Learn more on our Terms of Use page. ", The Official Ken Hom™ Brand Site is Operated by. Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest recipes and tips! Find your new weeknight favorite in our collection of vegetable stir-fry recipes. Remove the core and seeds and dice into 1-inch pieces. J. Kenji López-Alt is a stay-at-home dad who moonlights as the Chief Culinary Consultant of Serious Eats and the Chef/Partner of Wursthall, a German-inspired California beer hall near his home in San Mateo. A round-bottomed wok will be unstable and will not make good contact with the element. Since the sauce is added last minute and is really cooked just long enough to thicken and reduce slightly, if it's burning into the bottom of your wok, you know that you've left the food in there too long! We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Cut the Chinese leaves into 4 cm. That green line soaring far above the rest is a wok on a grill, while the red line in the middle is a wok on a burner. Some HTML is OK: link, strong, em. All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. His first book, Finally, heat up the wok again, stir-fry your aromatics, add the meat and vegetables back to the pan along with your sauce, toss to coat and to reduce a bit, and you're good to go. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. There are only two things you need to succesfully stir-fry on an electric burner at home: a good flat-bottomed wok and a bit of know-how.