First Cook. Definite learning curve.

[Steve B]

Well I got the first cook in on my new Wok. Not without small incident. 😬 Could have been worse though. Let me tell you this puppy gets HOT!!!
Figuring Wok cooking is done hot and fast like you see in a Chinese take out, I turned this thing on high. Don’t need the high setting as the veggies wanted to burn within a minute. So flip, flip, flip. 3 minutes in I put them in a side dish and added a little more peanut oil and added the chicken. Well almost added the chicken. As I was about to dump the chicken in and the freaking thing lit up like Chernobyl. 😳 Fortunately I got it extinguished quickly and carried on. Good thing I have this cooker in my detached garage right by the door so I was able to just reach it outside to put out the fire.
Anyway, aside from a slight burnt taste it was actually pretty good and the wife liked it as well. So I say it’s a win.
Sorry for no pic of the fire as I was just a little busy at that moment. But here are some that I did take.

[Jerod Broussard]

What is the Bud in the white can??

[Steve B]

Budweiser Zero. I don’t drink alcohol but like the taste of beer.

[barelfly]

That looks like a great wok dinner!!!

[RonB]

Looks like ya done good to me.

[SheilaAnn]

Burnt or wok hei? Wok hei is that special charred flavor you get when cooking super hot and fast! Maybe you nailed it and didn’t even realize?!?! 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

[Steve B]

Interesting. I never knew of this. Maybe I done did better than I thought.

[Steve B]

Just read up on this. I think I actually accidentally achieved a perfect cook. Thanks for bringing this to my attention SheilaAnn.

[MBMorgan]

Steve, as a stir-fry starting point, I have a short, simple (minded?) mental checklist that I pretty much always try to follow. If it helps, here's a feeble attempt to document it:

1. Prep:

• clean/cut everything; pre-season as appropriate and set aside
• marinate, brine, etc., the meat; drain as needed and set aside
• parboil/season any "difficult" veggies (broccoli, carrots, etc.) that might need a little more cooking time; drain and set aside
• cook the rice/noodles; set aside
• scramble eggs, if any, season as needed and set aside

2. Cook and Serve:

• heat oil (usually peanut for me when stir frying) to a shimmer
• if eggs are part of the dish, I usually cook/season them very quickly then remove and set aside.
• add more oil, heat to a shimmer, and stir fry aromatics (onion, garlic, ginger), then anything (like mushrooms) that need a little browning
• add (more oil if needed) the meat and cook/season until nearly done ... remove when done, leaving as much oil/juice as possible
• add (more oil if needed) the veggies and cook/season until nearly done
• add in anything that was parboiled or otherwise pre-cooked
• stir fry and season as needed until done
• add in cooked eggs (if using)
• season/sauce, stir to mix, then serve and garnish (which might involve mixing in the rice/noodles ... or not ... depending on the dish)

Note that there's usually little or no wiping/cleaning the wok during the process. I just keep building on whatever's in it ... starting with the aromatics.

... and FWIW ... you're first cook looks mighty good!

[Santamarina]

Wok fire??? Pics or it didn’t happen!!!


…looks delicious!

I’ve got a wok on the top of my list for Father’s Day.

[HouseHomey]

Way to go brother!!! Jerod Broussard Good eye. (Like your avatar.. get it?)

[Jerod Broussard]

Ghot it.

[captainlee]

Nothing wrong with that dish, looks great.

[DavidNorcross]

Looks great to me! Curious about the Wok Station that you have there. I know it is meant for a wok, however, at 50000 BTU that thing gets hot. Do you ever use a frying pan on it? Just curious how it would do for fried chicken, fish, etc?

[Steve B]

Thanks David. This was my first cook on it. So, no experimenting as of yet. I could see doing a really hot sear on a steak in a CI pan though.

[hoovarmin]

I'm looking forward to following your Wok journey, Steve. The meal looks amazing as heck! I think that you will get used to what needs to be cooked at Space X level heat, and what needs a lower temp in no time at all. The great thing about a carbon steel wok is that it heats and cools very quickly. Keep posting these cooks bro!

[Attjack]

I like your set up and the food looks great.

[Uncle Bob]

Your outcome looks good to me, very good for your first shot at it.

To add to SheilaAnn comment on wok hei, and you may have learned this from your follow up reading, you should add any sauces around the outer edge of the food so that it picks up wok hei as well when gravity takes it to the bottom of the wok.

[JCBBQ]

Did you season that wok? Lots perfect. Nice cook too. Always make more rice than you need so you can bang out an easy fried rice meal in the days after.

[Steve B]

Yup. Washed it, burned it like the instructions said and hit it with 4 rounds of seasoning.

[JCBBQ]

Really excellent job! 👏👏

[hoovarmin]

I was also noticing how nicely it was seasoned.