["Followup-To:" header set to rec.food.cooking.]

temperature and that heat is concentrated on the bottom only.

That's pretty much the ideal. Some food items can be pushed up on the sides to retard
cooking while the bottom still provides mucho heat for other food items.

Only a gas range or open fire does a wok justice.

True, but a flat bottomed wok can be used on an electric. Get a Turkey
fryer and put your wok on that burner. Those suckers are typically in the
100-170K btu range. Way more than enough to drive a wok. I got mine at
Lowes at an end-of-season sale forr $19! You can hardly get a lone burner
that cheap.

nb









Use an uncoated
heavy iron or steel wok. It holds and distributes the heat to provide
a better heat gradient from the center to the rim, sort of like why
people prefer to use a cast iron skillet to bring out the best
flavoring and texture. To clean empty the wok and add a cup of water
to heat over the range. Swirl the boiling water to dissolve the
residual food. Chinese restaurants use a stiff bamboo whisk to
unstick food morsels. Its unlikely you can use a whisk in a home as
the whisk will flick dirty water outside the sink. A few quick
swipes with a souring pad should suffice. Repeat. Rinse each time.
Wipe with a paper towel and "burn" off the remaining rinse water
adhering to the wok over the range. In an iron wok the residual heat
is often enough to vaporize that dampness.