Temperature for stir fry in a wok?!
Answers: what temp should an electric wok be at to cook stir fry?
The first thing you should know when using a wok is that you must maintain a medium-high temperature throughout the cooking process. This means you must be a vigilant temperature monitor and must know when to adjust the temperature to compensate for the addition of colder temperature foods or liquids. One good tip to remember is to listen to the sizzle of the foods. Too much sizzle means decrease the temperature; too little sizzle means increase the temperature.
After you’ve decided on a dish to stir-fry, you must first prepare each item for cooking. Once you start the stir-fry process, you must quickly combine your ingredients so you don’t lose temperature or gain too much heat, which would result in burnt food. After washing and cutting your chosen vegetables, meats and seasonings, it’s time to prepare the oil for stir frying.
Raise the temperature on your electric or gas burner to medium-high heat. Preheat the pan to a hot temperature before you add the oil. This will prevent the oil from becoming stale or possibly burning. You can tell when it’s hot enough to add the oil when you can press your thumb on the inside of the wok just under the rim and hold it for 3 seconds before feeling a hot sensation.
If the pan is hot, slowly add about 2 tablespoons of your favorite oil into the pan, pouring it down the sides of the pan in a clockwise circular motion, about 1/3 of the way down the pan. You should have about 1 inch of oil in the bottom of the pan. After adding the oil, wait a few seconds before adding your meat. You will know when the oil is hot enough when you drop a piece of garlic and it floats up instantly but doesn’t burn. If the garlic burns, you must remove the pan from the heat until it reaches the correct temperature.
After adding the meat, you can add in 1 tablespoon each of chopped garlic and ginger, or any other aromatic you choose. Toss together the meat and seasonings, either by using the handle to physically toss your mixture, or use a large spoon to mix the mixture, from the center outward. Remember the bottom of the wok is the hottest, so you must continually stir-fry from the bottom, center of the wok, to the outsides, allowing each piece of stir-fry to remain in the hottest part of the wok for the same amount of time. ******When stir-frying meats, make sure there is a continuous medium-high heat and a good sounding sizzle. Adjust the heat accordingly. When your meat is ? of the way cooked, it is time to add the vegetables. If using steak that should be cooked medium-rare, add ginger and garlic at the same time as the meat and only cook until the outside of the meat is no longer
You want the high temperature because it cooks fast. Peanut oil is used because it can take the heat.
HIGH,NOT TOO HIGH OR IT WILL BURN,BUT ENOUGH TO STIR FRY THE VEGETABLES.