Wok Around

Watching a skilled Asian chef stir-fry in a wok is culinary porn at its best. The flames from the gas burner curl up and embrace the sides of the wok while the chef furiously tosses the food with one hand and the wok with the other. In short order, your kung pao chicken is poured into the origami paper box for you to take home. You fantasize that you can duplicate this pyrotechnical alchemy in your home’s puny galley kitchen with a 50-year-old electric stove and combination microwave/”fume hood”. DON’T.EVEN.TRY. A few considerations:

• Most home gas ranges don’t have the firepower that commercial ones do. You’d need a real vented hood to dissipate the fumes, moisture, and grease emitted by the cooking process. That combination microwave/”fume hood” only vents the emissions into your kitchen. It may not be vented to the outside, as we discovered when we installed our over-the-stove microwave several years ago.
• The classic semi-spherical wok is unstable and thus hazardous to use on electric, smooth-top, or induction ranges. You can buy woks with small flat bottoms (we have one), but they’re still pretty tippy. In addition, the flat bottom needs to be in contact with the induction range surface to heat. Dragging a wok along the glass surface while you agitate your stir-fry is an invitation to buy a new cook top.
• There’s also the issue of safety. Your puny galley kitchen may not have a fireproof backsplash behind the stove. Many stir-fry recipes involve shallow- or deep-frying the protein source at first. Trying to balance a wok full of hot oil, then disposing of said oil, is not for the clumsy. I wonder how many klutzy cooks wind up in burn units after trying to emulate Asian chefs they’ve seen on the Food Network or PBS. In other words: Friends, don’t try this at home.

So how can mere mortals stir-fry in the average home kitchen? Use what you have and adapt. Your landlord is unlikely to pay to install a high-end gas range in your galley kitchen. Besides, there may not be a gas line to tap into on your street. (That was the case when we lived in Seattle.) Here’s how we stir-fry without a wok on our induction range:

• Cut the food into bite-size pieces, just as you would if you were going to use a wok. Things will cook faster.
• You can use any frying pan you have, even non-stick.
• Heat the pan to medium rather than high before adding the oil. Use just enough oil to keep food from sticking.
• Depending on the protein source you use, you may need to stir-fry that first and remove it from the pan before adding the vegetables. Instead of furiously stirring the meat, let it sit on the bottom of the pan for a minute or so before turning it. Brown both sides so it’ll be done at the end of cooking. If you’re using tofu or a meat substitute, follow the directions on the package.
• Toss in your aromatics (garlic, ginger) and stir just until you can smell the garlic, then add the vegetables. Long-cooking ones such as carrots go first, mushrooms second so you can evaporate the water they exude.
• When the long-cooking vegetables are close to tender, add the protein back to the pan and stir in whatever sauce you’re using. Let that cook until everything is done to your liking.
• Some people have side burners on their gas grills that might be suitable for wok cooking. I’ve never tried that on ours because we have a wooden deck and siding. I definitely wouldn’t use the side burner on a breezy day.

You can stir-fry successfully without a wok or heavy-duty gas burner. You won’t look as macho as the chef at your local Chinese restaurant, but the food will come out fine and you won’t burn down your home in the process.