When I was a very young girl, my father taught me that a wok is the ultimate pan for just about every cooking technique. Baba knew all of the best chefs in San Francisco’s Chinatown, and he’d regale me with stories of their wok prowess. The genius of this humble pan, Baba would point out, was threefold: Its broad surface enables liquids to reduce more quickly; its deep, concave shape makes stir-frying a breeze; and its well radiates intense heat, transforming its sloping sides into a dynamic cooking surface.

Baba was right, of course. After all, for more than 2,000 years, the wok has been the essential tool of the Chinese kitchen, ideal for everything from stir-frying to deep-frying. No other pan can claim the same versatility, whether you’re cooking a Chinese dish or not.

On the following pages, I’ll share with you some of my favorite recipes and explain why a wok is the perfect pan for each one.

My wok of choice for these, and all, recipes is a 14-inch carbon-steel flat-bottom wok with a long wooden handle. A flat bottom is essential when using a wok on a western-style stove because it enables the wok to sit directly on the burner, maximizing the heat in the pan. I prefer carbon steel because it heats and cools quickly and, like a cast-iron skillet, it forms a natural nonstick patina the more you cook in it.

为了使铜绿保持良好的状态wok will need a little TLC。最重要的部分是在首次使用石油，生姜和葱（一种经典的中国方法）之前对锅进行调味。姜和葱具有清洁炒锅的特性，油涂有多孔金属，形成铜绿。

多亏了巴巴，我将职业生涯的大部分时间都投入到掌握沃克烹饪方面，但我认为传奇的中国烹饪老师佛罗伦萨·林说：“有了一个锅，我们就可以做一切。”

厨房门后面：游览格蕾丝·杨的厨房to learn about the design details that make her space ideal for wok cooking.

如何在锅中蒸

The concave shape of a wok makes it the perfect receptacle for a bamboo steamer insert, my preferred tool for steaming. The advantage of a bamboo steamer is that its lid absorbs excess moisture; a wok’s metal lid (and regular metal steamers) will drip condensed water back onto the food, diluting its flavor.

在炒锅中蒸的技巧：
• Always bring the water in the wok to a boil before putting food in the steamer.
• Take care when adding and removing food—the steam will be very hot. I recommend using retriever tongs for safe and easy transfer.
• If your carbon-steel wok is newly seasoned, steaming (or boiling or poaching) may remove the wok’s thin patina. Simply reseason your wok if this happens.

How to Smoke in a Wok

吸烟可能是炒锅烹饪的最异国情调，最巧妙的技术。与标准平底锅不同，炒锅足够深，足以容纳室内吸烟装置，其宽敞的内饰为烟雾提供了足够的空间，可以在食物周围循环。该方法很简单：在箔衬里的炒锅的底部散布茶叶，糖和米饭 - 茶有助于芳香烟，糖焦糖会轻轻颜色和甜食，米饭充当燃料来源，保持燃料源一切吸烟。加热炒锅，直到混合物开始吸烟，然后盖住它以将烟雾捕获在里面，并在食物中注入淡淡的烟熏味。

Tips for smoking in a wok:
•在设置吸烟之前，请务必彻底清洁炒锅，以便没有可能燃烧的食物。
•请记住：如果您的食物太久了，它会产生苦味。

How to Deep-Fry in a Wok

Deep-frying in a wok is ideal because its concave shape requires less oil than a regular pot, and the roominess of the wok lets you fry more food at one time without crowding, which means frying in fewer batches.

Tips for deep-frying in a wok:
•切勿用油填充炒锅超过一半。
•使用深油/糖果温度计监测油温。
• Moisture causes oil to spatter, so thoroughly dry the food to be fried.
•一次将食物添加到油中，或者它们会粘在集群中并煎炸。
• Wooden chopsticks are handy for adding ingredients to the oil, but I prefer to use a metal skimmer or strainer (spider) to remove several pieces of fried food at a time.

如何在炒锅中炒

A wok’s flared shape develops intense heat in the bottom—or well—which quickly radiates to the sides, allowing both the well and the sides to be used to quickly and evenly cook ingredients in a small amount of oil.

在炒锅中搅拌的技巧：
•始终加热炒锅，直到接触后一滴水蒸发，然后加入油。加热的炒锅可防止成分粘住，并给它们带来良好的烤肉。
• You’ll know the wok is overheated if the oil smokes wildly when it hits the pan; faint smoke is fine, though.
•不要用太多的成分挤压锅，这会降低锅的温度并导致食物蒸汽。
•使用金属炒锅铲搅拌；木制餐具不会足够薄，无法在成分下得到。

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