"Vox Humana" > wrote in message
>
> My opinion is that the sides of the wok are not suppose to be smoking hot.
> You "park" the food there and then add more ingredients to the bottom.


To add to this, the hammered steel wok is supposed to be best because it
leaves some texture on the side, making it possible to park the food there
and not have it slide back to the bottom.

As for temperature, they originated from using very small, concentrated
sources of heat such a burned coals from wood. That is what makes
traditional wok cooking different than other forms. Newfangled designs, flat
bottoms for electric, are just watering down a technique for the purpose of
making money selling inferior equipment to the gullible, yet trendy, public.
It bears no resemblance to real wok cooked foods.