Maybe you’ve heard of ‘wok hei’ but are super-confused about what it exactly is. And that’s fair enough as it’s something of an intangible concept. Wok hei is the kind of thing where you know it when you taste it, and it’s hard to accurately describe. For me, wok hei is the flavour of my mum’s Thai fried rice cooking, when there’s a savouriness in the air and the slightly smoky aroma of soy sauce blistering in the heat. It’s that smell and taste of rice that’s been ‘kissed’ by the wok. I think of wok hei as an added X-factor ingredient in my cooking.
Is it hard to get that wok hei flavour at home?
Pronounced ‘wok hey’, the term comes from Cantonese cuisine and literally means ‘the breath of the wok’. It gives food, particularly a stir-fry, concentrated flavours and an infusion of smoky goodness. It comes from tossing ingredients in a wok over high heat so that they char, then mingle in the hot air, steam and smoke that are created and it’s a process only happens in a wok.
Although it’s mostly associated with the fierce heat and flames of restaurant wok cooking, you can still achieve wok hei using a domestic heat source if you following a few simple steps. Note that wok hei isn’t essential for every dish you cook in your wok; when you steam, fry, or simmer, for example, you will not get wok hei. It’s most relevant for stir-frying.
Tips for wok hei
- Use a wok with a good patina, which builds up over time whenever you season your wok and also when you cook in it. It’s this seasoned surface, or patina, made from layers of polymerised oils, that will help you achieve wok hei.
- I recommend using a carbon steel wok as this type creates the best patina. Carbon steel also tolerates the high heat needed for achieving wok hei, and not all woks do.
- Use correct wok technique, starting with getting your wok very hot before cooking.
- Always heat your wok until you see wisps of smoke rising, then add your oil and start cooking.
- Have all your ingredients prepped before starting to cook, cutting them to a similar size.
- Add your ingredients to the wok in the correct order, starting with proteins. Spread the protein out and let it sear well before starting to move it around.
- Then, add your vegetables in the order of longest to quickest cooking. Add your sauce ingredients last.
- Keep the stir-fry moving in the wok so it has maximum heat contact and can mingle through the smoky, steamy environment of a wok.
