Interesting. Do you think, over a powerful burner of course, that you would be able to produce wok hei in your Agnelli Saltapasta pan?
Nope, probably not. My understanding is that the polymerized layers of oil on the interior of a carbon steel (or cast iron) wok are an essential part of what produces wok hei. And having an uber-powerful gas or charcoal burner, too. Being able to ignite the aerosolized oil droplets in the pan would seem to be to be impossible without one of those. At a minimum, Kenji tries to compensate by using a blowtorch after the initial cooking is complete.
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You, sir, win post of the day! 
@am47 Letâs not do a kaleo and go over this thread again as if we were negotiating a 100 million dollar contract⊠
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Nothing you wrote here is wrong. I agree with most of it. Iâll only observe that, in my limited experience cooking âChineseâ, having a low-output hob isnât as limiting a factor for vegetable-heavy Cantonese dishes as it is with Sichuan.
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You like your discussions light and fluffy?
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I like my pancakes light and fluffyâŠ
We had the exact same discussion earlier in the thread - no need to go over old ground.
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The point is, deeper and finer discussions arenât your thing. Thankfully you get to decide only for yourself.
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And not everyone likes going in circles as much as you.
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Fun fact: Those circles are known as an infinite loop.
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Not really. But I can understand how and why you might think so. Weâre well short of an infinite progression of Nuh-uhs and Is-so-tos.
Complaing about it gets to be its own sort of mobius loop.
This is just incorrect.
Kadhais are ubiquitous in India, and not just for deep frying or making âcurriesâ. Different from wok use in east asian kitchens, kadhais come in many sizes, and homes will have several sizes that store nested (there werenât traditionally handles attached to kadhais or any Indian cooking vessels really, though you see them more recently).
The right size is applied for different applications, just as with western cookware. Frying a small amount? A small kadhai uses less oil. Steaming? Place a small ring in the big one that one or more layers of steaming containers will fit over. Sautéing / stir frying vegetables for an everyday meal? A medium one that fits that quantity.
Wok hei may be what western / euro-centric users associate a wok with, but that doesnât make it the only reason for its use or existence in its source cultures.
@Chemicalkineticsâs explanation above was well laid out (and yet mostly ignored or west-splained over).
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If youâd read my post more carefully, youâd have noticed I mentioned shallow frying specifically. Thatâs how a lot of south Asian recipes start, after all.
Meanwhile stir-frying at the same high temperature (or near) as in a wok is basically unheard of in Indian home kitchens, with a karahi or anything else, because their cooktops do not generally put out anywhere near the required amount of heat. Most gas cooktops in China output ~14,000 BTU, which is still too low to achieve real wok hei. In India itâs more common to find gas cooktops outputting ~8K BTU. Not to mention that stir-frying is not a technique commonly used in south Asian cooking, in restaurants or at home.
Again, wok hei is what distinguishes wok cookery from all other types of cookery. Itâs what makes it distinctive and unique. All of the dishes you mention can be made just as well in other vessels, as youâve helpfully described in detailing what can be made in different size karahis.
Finally, and to clarify, since youâve rather dramatically misrepresented my position: I never claimed it is the sole reason for its existence, merely that a high-output burner is the sine qua non of achieving wok hei.
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âA high output burner is necessary to achieve wok heiâ
is NOT an equivalent statement to
âThere is no reason to use a wok other than to (or if one cannot) achieve wok heiâ
Your previous statements:
That last part is what it really boils down to, as I said before - âI fail to see" just means that YOU fail to see, not that you are right.
The missing words at the end of that sentence are TO YOU. Certainly not to the billion odd people using woks (and kadhais) as a daily tool.
Again, BY YOU. That doesnât make the wok is NOT the right tool for those dishes when made by people for whom it is a native vessel, and where it used every day to prepare them. Youâve ignored both @Chemicalkineticsâs and my descriptions for broad and varied use in two source cultures.
Again, just incorrect. Most South Asian recipes DONâT start with shallow frying. They start with tempering spices and/or sautĂ©ing aromatics and then adding the other components and stir-frying (or continuing to sautĂ© â there isnât much of a semantic difference in the actual process if youâre using the vessels under discussion).
I have directly quoted you. If you consider that misrepresenting your position, I suggest re-reading your own posts to consider what your position actually is as youâve stated yourself vs what you seem to think it is. (But since you reworded your own argument, I believe you already figured it out.)
And now Iâm done going round in circles (should have taken the hint from @damianoâs comment long ago).
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Versatility.
I can stir fry, deep fry, pan fry, boil and steam with a wok.
Name another single piece of cookware that can do all of that?
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Dutch oven?
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Instant pot 
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Easy bake oven.
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Not really.
Nyet. Cannot deep fry.
However apparently it can replace your spatula and spoon rest 
THE ALWAYS PAN REPLACES YOUR
fry pan, saute pan, steamer, skillet, saucier, saucepan, nonstick pan, spatula, and spoon rest.
