Fond memories of those cute little burners we used in the old days.
So, the commercial grade 6-burner stove tops we've used since the beginning make your home burners, gas or electric, look like an easy-bake oven. We know this. Things get hot around those 6-burner stoves, no question. I have the scars to prove it (13 at last count - and don't think I'm not proud of them). In Asian Cuisine, we have wok stations rather than a silly little ring you place around the burner to hold up the wok. A wok station is about 5 feet long, 2 or so feet deep with two burners a little larger than a round serving plate. Well, it's not a burner so much as it is a pit with a burner sunken down about 12 inches. There is a steady stream of water circulating around the steel into which those burners are sunk. Why? A standard burner puts out 30,000 btu's of flame. Pretty impressive, no? Whatever. A wok burner puts out 200,000 btu's of flame. It looks like a jet engine. Btu power ratings doesn't really get the point across, though. How about this: you can boil a gallon of water over a wok station in less than 3 minutes. That's hot, kids.
And there is a trick to wok cooking. With such incredibly high heat, you have to keep the product moving. To do so, you hold the wok in your right hand, just a thin towel between you and a hospital worthy burn, flipping the product with a rocking motion. Meanwhile, your left hand works a utencil through the product. It's not easy. In fact, it's hard as hell to get the hang of. I look like a total amateur trying to do it. Eventually I'll get the knack of it, but for now it's a hassle that tires my left arm and pisses me off.
Chef Damon is another version of Chef Drew, if perhaps more of a disciplinarian. Drew didn't allow us to be sloppy, but if your workstation was messy or your food wasn't coming out on time, no big deal. Damon is completely on top of his kitchen. Nothing is ever out of place for very long, and you better get cracking on something - and quickly. Damon does have a good sense of humor, however, and he's chatty enough to be pleasant.
The biggest change is Asian is fire times. In each class before, we have a service time, typically between 9:30 and 10 depending on the Chef and the class. Being that wok cooking is so fast, we have not only a service time, but a fire time. Tonight, dishes were fired at 9, for service at 9:30. You spend an hour or two setting up your mis en place, taking your time doing so, and generally taking it easy altogether. Fire time comes and the kitchen bursts into activity.
Jason and I did a dan dan noodle dish, which is noodles and a spicy pork based sauce. Jason hack up the pork while I gathered the rest of the ingredients. We decided to pre-cook the noodles, so we'd only have to shock them in hot water at service time. Once fire time came, I set up the wok. The idea is to heat the wok until it's smoking, then drizzle in oil. Once the oil hit the wok, I realized I was too hot, so I pulled the wok off the flame. Naturally, enough oil splashed out to catch the wok on fire. Once the spectacle of a ball of flame lost it's intrigue, we extinguished and started fresh. Jason took the turn at the wok and worked at flipping the product. So we had a soupy mash of pork and soy sauce and a number of spices and seasonings. Jason, trying to get the feel for the flip, ended up flipping a good third of the contents of the wok directly on to his jacket in one shot. It was hysterical. He walked away, I finished the dish and all was right with the world again. I'm telling you, wok cookery is tough.
So, the commercial grade 6-burner stove tops we've used since the beginning make your home burners, gas or electric, look like an easy-bake oven. We know this. Things get hot around those 6-burner stoves, no question. I have the scars to prove it (13 at last count - and don't think I'm not proud of them). In Asian Cuisine, we have wok stations rather than a silly little ring you place around the burner to hold up the wok. A wok station is about 5 feet long, 2 or so feet deep with two burners a little larger than a round serving plate. Well, it's not a burner so much as it is a pit with a burner sunken down about 12 inches. There is a steady stream of water circulating around the steel into which those burners are sunk. Why? A standard burner puts out 30,000 btu's of flame. Pretty impressive, no? Whatever. A wok burner puts out 200,000 btu's of flame. It looks like a jet engine. Btu power ratings doesn't really get the point across, though. How about this: you can boil a gallon of water over a wok station in less than 3 minutes. That's hot, kids.
And there is a trick to wok cooking. With such incredibly high heat, you have to keep the product moving. To do so, you hold the wok in your right hand, just a thin towel between you and a hospital worthy burn, flipping the product with a rocking motion. Meanwhile, your left hand works a utencil through the product. It's not easy. In fact, it's hard as hell to get the hang of. I look like a total amateur trying to do it. Eventually I'll get the knack of it, but for now it's a hassle that tires my left arm and pisses me off.
Chef Damon is another version of Chef Drew, if perhaps more of a disciplinarian. Drew didn't allow us to be sloppy, but if your workstation was messy or your food wasn't coming out on time, no big deal. Damon is completely on top of his kitchen. Nothing is ever out of place for very long, and you better get cracking on something - and quickly. Damon does have a good sense of humor, however, and he's chatty enough to be pleasant.
The biggest change is Asian is fire times. In each class before, we have a service time, typically between 9:30 and 10 depending on the Chef and the class. Being that wok cooking is so fast, we have not only a service time, but a fire time. Tonight, dishes were fired at 9, for service at 9:30. You spend an hour or two setting up your mis en place, taking your time doing so, and generally taking it easy altogether. Fire time comes and the kitchen bursts into activity.
Jason and I did a dan dan noodle dish, which is noodles and a spicy pork based sauce. Jason hack up the pork while I gathered the rest of the ingredients. We decided to pre-cook the noodles, so we'd only have to shock them in hot water at service time. Once fire time came, I set up the wok. The idea is to heat the wok until it's smoking, then drizzle in oil. Once the oil hit the wok, I realized I was too hot, so I pulled the wok off the flame. Naturally, enough oil splashed out to catch the wok on fire. Once the spectacle of a ball of flame lost it's intrigue, we extinguished and started fresh. Jason took the turn at the wok and worked at flipping the product. So we had a soupy mash of pork and soy sauce and a number of spices and seasonings. Jason, trying to get the feel for the flip, ended up flipping a good third of the contents of the wok directly on to his jacket in one shot. It was hysterical. He walked away, I finished the dish and all was right with the world again. I'm telling you, wok cookery is tough.
