Wok this way.

[Polarbear777]

My woks are from the wok shop. Great quality and service. They even asked me a question before filling my order to ensure I had exactly what I needed.

[Richard Chrz]

Which one do you have? This is a great thread

[Richard Chrz]

Has me thinking my new Hunsaker vortex basket would likely work really well for this!

[Polarbear777]

I have these

Newtex ZetexPlus 200 High Temperature 14 inches Gloves, Made in The USA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PR0KJLI...ing=UTF8&psc=1

I also found some even beefier more heat resistant ones but they are so stiff I can’t do anything.

[Richard Chrz]

Thank you, I have been looking for gloves for the grill, and have not found a pair that is good enough. This sounds like a solution.

[Polarbear777]

The round bottom is nice because there are no "corners" and food slides around much easier.

[Polarbear777]

Oh yeah. One more thing. You need serious gloves if you are handling the wok handles. Not welders, but glass blowers/fireproof etc.

[Polarbear777]

Of course you don’t have to flip if you can keep it moving. I have a 16” also and I like that but it requires even more attention with the tools since I can’t easily pull it off the heat fir a moment.

[Richard Chrz]

Thank you for the book recommendation!

[Richard Chrz]

All great points. Batch size and order of operations are crucial. I might need to get one for my grill with the round bottom. I only have an indoors wok.

[Uncle Bob]

FireMan and Polarbear777 bring up some strong points that I just took for granted in my picture above (not realizing some tutorial comments would be needed). My picture is of the dish when it's all pulled together for service, roughly the final minute of cooking to get all the components heated and sauced together.

For this cook the meat was seared, then removed, the noodles were fried (for crusting texture, they were cooked in water for a couple minutes first, that time varies with package instructions on the noodle you choose), then removed, and then the veggies (less cabbage), and those might be staggered based on density/size. Once the veggies are close, the meat goes back in, then sauced, then the cabbage and noodles for finish and off to the table.

And just a comment on the pan. I'd love to use one with a long side handle and flip the contents, but when I got the pan 30ish years ago I didn't know better, and today the arthritis in my wrists won't take that kind of strain. Sometimes flipping with those utensils pictured is a bit much, but that's a personal problem that just is what it is.

[ofelles]

I am reading the Breath of a Wok now. Great book.

[Polarbear777]

From earlier in this thread. The woks are the same age and type. In fact the started identical except the right is flat bottom for indoor use. The wok on the left is used over high heat and cleaned immediately the one on the right gets used inside and rarely gets cleaned (usually used as a holding vessel during the meal).

the wok on the right works perfectly fine but the left one is almost like working with magic.

Tricks that help me.
1. for meat or anything with "breading" or even a light coat of something make sure it hits the oil in the wok center for just a fraction of a second before it contacts the hot wok surface. Much less likely to adhere.

2. Unless you have a high flux power source, food has to be free of surface moisture (oil is ok) or it will steam.

3. If you can’t toss the food around you probably have too much in there. Work in small batches of food and don’t overload. If you are indoors or have lower power, wipe out the wok between batches and let it heat-load for a little while.

4. prep all veggies to the same thickness, that way you can cook evenly much more easily. Also really thick items will likely burn before you get enough heat to their centers.

[FireMan]

TripleB , cooking veggies are more forgiving as far as quantity, but some veggies cook faster than others. And, some you don’t necessarily want to mix. I guess to be critical to an extent, it seems in this neck of the woods, Pitville, it’s about the Tim Allen way of cookin, The Binford 6000 turbo blast to get the maximum heat, argh, argh, argh. But, if you watch any one cook with a wok, Grace Young or Martin Yan or a couple of YouTube channels it’s not about the heat, but the technique & the process? I know we live in a culture of anti-reading but I strongly recommend one of two of Grace Young’s books The Breath of Wok or Stir Frying to the Sky’s Edge, two of the best out there on how to, care of your wok, technique, stocking your pantry, just getting a feel for the wok. It is a way of cooking that one can be mesmerized by.

[TripleB]

FireMan and fzxdoc - Thank you for your comments and education. For overcrowding, is the same true for veggies?