Wok Hei and the usage of a wok in home kitchens

Cooking Discussions Cookware
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Look at the Eurostat data shared above in the European Parliament paper. They show data on herds by country and data on meat production, which is based on where the animal is slaughtered. You will note the slightly different distribution of herds and production across countries. For example, Germany has a higher proportion of production than herds because they import live animals for slaughter. For Denmark the picture is the opposite - because they export.

Go check the Eurostat data definitions…

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Guys, you’re giving me nightmares with these Eurostat discussions… Geez, I cannot even have a few whiskeys and write some random stuff on a food forum these days - legal and compliance are still out to get me… :rofl:

But Alexander seems well capable of handling this I see… :slight_smile:

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I once had to map out European production and meat flows for a client. I have spent way too much time with Eurostat… :joy:

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:rofl: I feel for you…

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Thanks - now go back to drinking whiskey :wink:

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Verdejo instead…

Now, what this thread needs of course is a lengthy discussion on the ‘distinctive feature’ of the Eurostat database versus the St. Louis Fed FRED, BLS and BEA sets.

And then a firm warning that normal people should not try running extensive databases on a crappy home laptop… :wink:

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I’m just not entirely sure what your point is. Denmark rears more pigs per capita than any other EU country, by a factor of 3x vs the next highest producing country. It hardly matters whether or not they’re slaughtered there – as the article I referenced about pollution in Germany describes, the pollution arises from the rearing of pigs, not the slaughter. The size of average pigs farms in Denmark is also significantly larger than elsewhere in the EU.

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From where I live, around 50% of households doesn’t have natural gas line so LNG is used instead. I am not sure it’s butane or propane. Some home ranges that use LNG can reach 14KW (47770 BTU) so wok hei may be possible to achieve at home.

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Here they are:

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I dislike the (IMO) still too small for electric/induction bottom of the Craft wok tbh. The flat is about 15 cm. It’s a gorgeous pan with an okay price though and I can char and impart some good smoky flavor on high heat with it. If the bottom was bigger it would be easier to keep it centered for the induction coil and have more effective cooking area. Want more flat. It makes nice smaller batch popcorn though I have noticed and yes it still works for stir fry.

I haven’t made stir fry for some time now, but the Craft is the pan I have used after getting it, as its the only real wok I have, mainly. Even if its sold by an American firm, they state they are getting them from reputable sources in China etc, that is a part of why I chose it originally also. I have some concerns about what (s)crap steels they might use for the cheap Chinese woks, though I don’t know anything about the subject really… Anyway.

The BK wokarang is quite practical, it has a more suitable bottom area with 16 cm actual flat, but such gentle curving after that, so its actually more like an 18cm bottom. It’s just a very thin weirdo shape pan that heats up very fast, but it does indeed kinda work and its easy to use. It’s made in China IIRC.

The 32cm De Buyer country pan, I’ll try to use it more. While its not a wok, I can use it for stir fry just fine IMO. The bottom is big enough that it clearly does not heat very evenly though on my induction cooktop, so stirring indeed is necessary (I knew this going in). If something needs to be on a colder area, food can be moved to side, lmao. I just might buy the smaller 28cm long stainless handled pro model one day, I think I could like the pan for semi deep fry and just when I want less splatter or really want to stir more wildly than I could in a regular frying pan of same size.

Ideally I think a “wok” for induction would have an about 18 cm or even up to 20 cm flat bottom and then flared tall sides up to whatever the diameter of the pan is. So that it still looks like a wok style pan.

This Joyce Chen would probably be a nice and handy sized carbon stir fry pan, but I dislike the handle.

Joyce Chen 22-0050, Pro Chef Peking Pan Uncoated Carbon Steel, 12-Inch

https://a.co/d/iH7NQRd

And this AAF would be better than my Craft I think, bigger, but with a bottom size more to my liking for induction. This could be a winner.

AAF Nommel® Wok Pan Flat Base Diameter 38 cm for Gas, Induction, Ceramic and Electric with Wooden Handle

https://amzn.eu/d/9i7ZBCF

Some of the Japanese woks are interesting, too. If not a bit expensive often it seems

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Does no one else use their wok for popcorn?

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WoW - what a collection, Pertti !

Love to see other peoples cookware collection and setup.

One person in here pointed out how I love to brag about my cookware collection and you know what, the guy is right - I use every chance possible to brag about my cookware collection.

Why shouldn’t I ?
I’m on a cookware forum, I’ve worked my arse off to buy my cookware and kitchen knives. Why can’t I be proud of what I own ?

Why is it a problem for some, that you’re proud of what you own ?

I’m proud of the pans and pots I own.
I’ve spend hours and hours studying and reading information to obtain knowledge of different pan materials and pan shapes and I’ve bought at least a dozen pans and then resold them again, just to test them out in my kitchen first.

Why should you not be allowed to be proud of the pans you own ?
I love my pans and I can see you love your pans too, Pertti and I like that.

I’ve considered that Joyce Chen wok many times.
It looks great.

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Sorry, I love my woks and they are just so freakin’ versatile, but I make pop corn in the microwave oven.

That’s just about the only thing I use the microwave oven for these days.

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I have a few times made popcorn in my Craft wok now that I saw it on reddit or somewhere. Its kind of fun to make a smaller batch quickly like that. And the second batch and so on.

More often than not I make popcorn with an air popper though.

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This cheap thing has been going strong for some 3-4 years I guess already and it is used pretty often. I like how it works without fat, pops just about every kernel usually and then I can melt some butter separately to add and toss in the serving bowl in the end.

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I don’t. I have a particular tinned copper saucepan I use for popcorn. For reasons I don’t fully understand, it doesn’t start and end slowly, but rather makes the corn go off like a string of firecrackers.

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I do.

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I don’t, but I bought this when we were in shut down and I love it:

It has one of those whirly handles and is just fun to use. Pretty easy to clean, too.

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Those do look fun to have!

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How often do you make popcorn? At this stage in life, I have no more room for unitaskers.

Have you considered trying roasting nuts or coffee in it?

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About once a week (the scarlet popcorn from Rancho Gordo). I bought it specifically during the pandemic because I missed the oil popped popcorn served by a bar we used to frequent in the before times. I have an induction stove top, so shaking a pan over the burner is not really an option (don’t want to scratch the glass while making popcorn after a few beverages!). I’m not usually a unitasker person, but I really like this. I will have to give your idea around nuts a try in the future. I’m not sure I can take on a coffee roasting hobby at this point!

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i took a deep dive down woks and heating techniques, specifically looking at alternatives to commercial gas burners. imo, the best option is a weber grill equipped with a removable central piece. one can achieve restaurant-like temps and it moves all the messy, spattering grease outdoors.

i wrote about the technique on a food forum where kenji used to lurk and occasionally post, not sure if it influenced him to follow me down the rabbit hole:

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