Three core stir-frying techniques (feat. J Kenji Lopez-Alt)

A few tips for stir-frying at home! Then other day we sat down and chatted with the eminent J. Kenji Lopez-Alt - the conversation meandered to a number of things, but in it we touched on wok cooking at home. We thought it might be interesting to expand on that with a discussion on a few techniques we bring up again and again in these videos:

1. Longyau ('huaguo' - 滑锅 - in Mandarin): creating a nice non-stick surface on the wok

2. Swirling in your liquids around the side of the wok: keeps the center cool, sears the sauce to create a deeper flavor

3. The importance of proper portion sizes and not crowding the wok: always take a step back and second guess recipes that are trying to stir fry more than a half kilo of stuff simultaneously (there's exceptions of course, but can be a decent rule of thumb)

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In the market for a nice wok set-up? Like Kenji said (and we often say til we're blue in the face haha), you can absolutely stir fry inside on a Western stove, with a flat bottomed wok. Even an electric stove with a large non-stick skillet (i.e. a non-stick wok) can get the job done! So really, no need to obsess but we get this question alot so:

The burner we use in our videos: Iwantani ZA-3HP

https://www.amazon.com/Iwatani-Corpor...

I'm sure there's better camper burners on the market, but this guy always seems to get the job done for the videos. I feel content to recommend this one because (1) it's cheap and (2) I know for a fact you can nestle a large round bottomed wok on it

Wok recommendation: 16" carbon steel or traditional Chinese cast iron round bottomed wok

https://www.wokshop.com/newstore/prod...
https://www.wokshop.com/newstore/prod...

The former is the type of wok we use, the latter is the type of wok Steph's parents use. Both are great. For the cast iron one, because of it's flatter shape, 14" would also work great.

Wok chuan: we're not picky.

https://www.wokshop.com/newstore/prod...

The 16" x 4" wok chuan option should be perfect (just measured ours, it's ~13.5"x4")

Chinese chef's knife: we use the brand Shibazi currently

https://www.amazon.com/Professional-S...

They don't seem to carry the exact one we use in the videos on Amazon, but that one (the one with a wooden handle) is nicer than the one we use. Shibazi is sort of a 'mid range' knife brand here in China. Like is the case with a lot of mid-range knives, they can get quite sharp... but they also need frequent sharpening. We ended up investing in a nice Japanese whetstone to compensate.

Note that we aren't getting paid from any of the above. But, uh... if you happen to be Iwatani, Shibazi, or Grace Young and you want to sponsor YouTube videos at below-market price... um... let's talk lol

Also note that all of the above can also be found at your local Chinese or Asian supermarket. Support your local Asian supermarket before going online.

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We used a bit of footage from Kenji's discussion on outdoor wok burners here:
   • The Best Wok Burner (More BTUs ≠ Bett...  

Also, in the video we used a from Wang Gang's Fried Beef with Onion to illustrate the restaurant Longyau (Eng subs):
   • 厨师长教你：“葱爆牛肉”的家常做法，葱香味浓郁，学做起来  

Wang Gang's restaurant stove set-up/discussion can be found here (Eng subs):
   • 酒楼猛火灶适合普通家庭使用吗？厨师长用这个视频告诉你答案  

Our stir fry 101 video is here (i.e. the one Steph was talking about re pork & peppers):
   • Stir Frying 101, Chinese Stir Fry Tec...  

In the bit discussing "reguo liangyou", the visual of the homecook there is the eminent Grace Young. Full video:
   • A Fit Demo: Grace Young  

And finally the link to our full conversation on Kenji's channel:
   • Kenji López-Alt Talks With Chinese Co...