# Huge flames in Asian (wok) cooking **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 19, 2005, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-flames-in-asian-wok-cooking/304623 "2005-05-19T19:48:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![iwakura43](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de0a6/32.png) [@iwakura43](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwakura43)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-flames-in-asian-wok-cooking/304623/1 "2005-05-19T19:48:28Z")
I was watching one of my favorite movies last night, _Tampopo_, (which is set in Japan), and I noticed that visible flames erupted from various dishes being cooked in woks. I’ve also seen this at Thai and Chinese restaurants–it looks almost as if the food itself is on fire for a short duration. When I make stir-fry at home, though, the only flames are those of the gas range, turned up as high as it goes. Am I missing out? What causes the big flames, and is it a cooking technique that could spice up my meals? ---
**Author:** ![pipper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c2a13f/32.png) [@pipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pipper)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-flames-in-asian-wok-cooking/304623/2 "2005-05-19T20:12:13Z")
Yep, you’re missing out - on lots of flavor that comes from cooking over a super hot flame… But short of buying a really expensive stove - or better yet - a dedicated wok burner, you’ll get neither the flavor nor the flames. The flames themselves come from the ignition of aerosolized cooking oil that gets thrown in the air by the rapid expansion of water in the food turning into steam. Most woks are pretty thin. That’s good for quick heat transfer IF you heat source is high enough. However, most stoves are woefully underpowered (wok burners will generate ~50,000 btu, most stove burners on high are around 8-10,000 btu). Best way to replicate that ‘charred’ wok effect is to use a large cast iron skillet and let it get surface-of-the-sun hot by preheating it on high for 10-15 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-flames-in-asian-wok-cooking/304623/3 "2005-05-19T22:44:22Z")
> [@iwakura43](#): > > I was watching one of my favorite movies last night, _Tampopo_, (which is set in Japan), and I noticed that visible flames erupted from various dishes being cooked in woks. I’ve also seen this at Thai and Chinese restaurants–it looks almost as if the food itself is on fire for a short duration. When I make stir-fry at home, though, the only flames are those of the gas range, turned up as high as it goes. Am I missing out? What causes the big flames, and is it a cooking technique that could spice up my meals? It’s one of my faves too, and surely one of the funniest movies ever made. Did you hear about the latest wok cookbook? _One Hundred Ways to Wok Your Dog_ ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-flames-in-asian-wok-cooking/304623/4 "2005-05-19T22:57:06Z")
I’m also an advocate of a nice cast iron wok. And moving this to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![YellowTail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5ac83/32.png) [@YellowTail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YellowTail)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-flames-in-asian-wok-cooking/304623/5 "2005-05-20T00:07:27Z")
The NY Times recently did a story on restaurant wok cooking. The best woks are hand-hammered into shape and don’t last very long because of the intense heat used. You might try searching the site for the article. ---
**Author:** ![Avumede](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/avumede/32/7235_2.png) [@Avumede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avumede)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-flames-in-asian-wok-cooking/304623/6 "2005-05-20T00:28:54Z")
> [@pipper](#): > > Yep, you’re missing out - on lots of flavor that comes from cooking over a super hot flame… But short of buying a really expensive stove - or better yet - a dedicated wok burner, you’ll get neither the flavor nor the flames. For around $50, you can get an extremely high BTU camping stove. It’s basically like an upright flamethrower. But just use it outside, it will generate way too much smoke. But once you get one of these things, you can stir fry your dishes in about 30 seconds to a minute, and it’s all done. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-flames-in-asian-wok-cooking/304623/7 "2005-05-20T03:28:37Z")
One pf my top three movies. The flavor the intense heat provides the food is called wok-hay. It’s an important part of Chinese cuisine. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-flames-in-asian-wok-cooking/304623/8 "2005-05-20T04:54:10Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I’m also an advocate of a nice cast iron wok. 😕 Since when are woks made of cast iron? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-flames-in-asian-wok-cooking/304623/9 "2005-05-20T08:17:08Z")
Sometimes (not always), it’s alcohol being burned off - rice wine is a fairly common ingredient in wok cooking. ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-flames-in-asian-wok-cooking/304623/10 "2005-05-20T09:53:37Z")
Ya’ll making me miss my stove/wok/nice fresh green leafy chinese vegetable back home. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![pipper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c2a13f/32.png) [@pipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pipper)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-flames-in-asian-wok-cooking/304623/11 "2005-05-20T12:54:36Z")
> [@Avumede](#): > > For around $50, you can get an extremely high BTU camping stove. It’s basically like an upright flamethrower. But just use it outside, it will generate way too much smoke. But once you get one of these things, you can stir fry your dishes in about 30 seconds to a minute, and it’s all done. Yep. And I hear that the burners that come with turkey fryers work prety well too. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-flames-in-asian-wok-cooking/304623/12 "2005-05-20T13:12:03Z")
Yeah, I don’t know about this “aerosolized cooking oil”. I suspect it’s from alcohol. I cook with a wok from time to time, and I don’t get flames like that. I get them in some of my french (steak au poivre) or italian (shrimp fra diavolo) but it’s always from alcohol. One way to get flame is just to wave a match over the pan after pouring in alcohol, but you can also get flames if the alcohol fumes rise up over the side of the pan and get ignited by the heat coming off the burner. That can be achieved by a tilt of the pan. THAT’S what I expect you see coming out of woks, when they’re using rice wine or something. ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-flames-in-asian-wok-cooking/304623/13 "2005-05-20T13:45:47Z")
As a former cook and as the husband of a nice chinese girl who makes a mean stir fry, I can tell you that it is indeed the combination of air & oil. I have done it many times while cooking meals of varying ethnicity without using any alcohol. The alcohol content of rice wine, particularly the cooking variety is pretty low. Red or white wine doesn’t flame up like that, usually only spirits. You also need to have a gas range or use a match (open flame). A decent wok can be purchased at your local oriental market.