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How did you get a hot enough flame for Chinese stir fry in the US?

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Smaug:
One small problem, I'm curious to know how you guys with Chinese wives in western countries or Australia deal with it: How does your wife cook stir fry on these stove tops that are not hot enough? Ivy is struggling with that now, trying different ways to get more heat. I got her a nice cast iron wok; a round-bottomed one with a ring. None of our burners are hot enough, or evenly heated enough. They have a ring of fire around the outside, but nothing in the middle.

Is an electric wok better? Maybe the heat is more even? In "Chinese Cooking for Dummies" Martin Yan says his electric wok is good for traveling, but not hot enough sometimes. Is he comparing it to a real Chinese cook-top, or a regular American stove?

Please let me know if you've found a way to cook Chinese on a hot enough fire. I want to get her comfortable with that.

****

For now, she's been cooking (Chinese) during the week (since she can't work yet) and I've been cooking mostly on weekends. (American)

David E:
My wife tried an electric Wok.....dont work, they go on and off with the thermostat and just dont do it.

I was able to order a dedicated Wok burner for my stove and while we waited for it to arrive and be fitted, I bought a "bolt-on" Wok burner assembly for my BBQ (which lives in the courtyard and could be used for daily cooking) as a temporary fix.

Pineau:
Smaug, I know the problem from my old house which had a gas stove. .

We now use a flat bottom skillet and an electric heating element. When Fiona cooks the elements are RED HOT. I sometime turn them down and get told to leave them alone.  But the point is that they get plenty hot enough.  The biggest problem we have her is getting things hot enough before the boil away. At 3 feet short of 5,000 feet things boil away at a much lower temperature. We must keep the pot covered.   

You can find the gas burners with 3 or more rings of fire but they probably wont match your decor. Try Amazon.com they have a few that are propane fired.

When we lived in China we had an electric induction stove. It got really hot. We only use it when wh ran out of gas or want hot pot in the living room.

maxx:
We use a Gas stove at 5325 feet above sea level. If your using a standard electric stove. It probably isn't getting hot enough. The best bet for you if you do have a electric stove. Is to do Like Gerry suggested or David E suggested.

Also if you do switch to a gas stove. And if you are going to do this kind of cooking in the house. You will need to upgrade your exhaust fan. My wife has burned up two exhaust fans in the last seven years. She burnt up the motors with the smoke and oil. I seen some commercial grade exhaust fans at the Asian market the other day in Alb NM. So I think it wouldn't be to much trouble to switch your old one out. There seems to be a good supply of them. When I looked at it was a straight forward install. You mite think about also getting a piece of stainless steel and mount it to the wall between the stove and the exhaust fan. Stainless steel will make a good fire block. And it is easier to clean. Then tile or rough stone. Yes I know the stainless may look like hell but it will save you allot of work down the road.

JohnB:
what I find that worked was an induction cooktop. Most popular in Europe nowadays.
I bought mine from Amazon. Easy.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=induction+cooktop&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ainduction+cooktop
Just look at the reco's on a cooktop of interest.
By the way, the few Asian stores in Spokane all sold single induction cooktops for around $60.
Induction cooktops get up to around 460 degrees which is HOT for any type of cooktop.
Must remember to use carbon steel cookware ( I cook with DeBuyer) or something not stainless or corrosion resistant
steel. Induction will not work with CRES.
Check with a magnet your cookware at home.
Or, pursue your inquiry on Amazon.

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