Does it absolutely have to be two burners? There aren't that many two burner butane models out there so your choices will be limited. Plus it will take up more space. For single burner stoves, I used the Iwatani 35FW quite a lot for stir-fries until I upgraded my real stove a month or so back. That stove cranked out heat. Maybe you could use that for a main burner and settle for the electric for other stuff?
Definitely recommend this (though I think you meant butane). I recommend springing for a nicer one that will last you. Picked this one up and have been very happy with it. Butane canisters are relatively inexpensive and you get a solid amount of juice out of each.
Ends up being nice having an extra burner around too if you end up with a full stove and need to suddenly boil a pot of water of fry up a pan of bacon.
There really isn't an induction range in existence that can match a natural gas range. I bought a single burner gas stove just for cooking in a wok and i suggest the same to you. It is smallish and does the trick well.
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This is the one I have. Iwatani is the brand to beat as far as I know.
Get one of these butane-powered Iwatanis. They put out 15K BTU's, which is better than many consumer gas ranges. Butane is much safer than propane - safe enough indoors for brief stir-fries at least. We used one for several years before we upgraded to a pro stove a year ago. They're not as powerful as outdoor-only propane burners but they're way more convenient and very cost effective.
Yup... specifically this one, which is the 15K model. It's a very cost-effective upgrade for stir frying in a kitchen with a dodgy stove. We used one for a couple years until we bought a high-end real stove.
This type of stove burns butane (which you can buy cheap at Asian markets), which is much safer for indoor use than propane. You still probably shouldn't run it at max in a small kitchen for long periods of time, but it's fine for a stir fry that just takes a few minutes. You do need to be somewhat careful about where you put it, since it's going to throw off some heat - watch out for any nearby cabinets. Probably you can put it right on top of the stove, which is what we did.
If you have a high voltage line and enough amps, induction is also worth looking into, as others suggested. That's going to cost a whole lot more up front but will be a better general-purpose solution.
The metal handle doesn't get hot if you cook fast enough, which is sort of the point of a wok.
Also, just use a butane stove with a round bottom wok instead of messing about with under powered ranges or worse electric burners. The Iwatani 35FW is a great stove, plenty of power and the top holds a round bottom wok acceptably.
Absolutely you can. I think people (almost invariably Western internet commenters) make way too much of traditional round bottom woks and super hot burners. They say you must have some specialized setup to use them profitably. That's just not true in my experience.
I recently purchased a BlueStar stove with an 18K burner and built-in wok rings on the burners. Got a beautiful round bottom wok to go with it. It's really nice. I make better stir fry than I did on my old ~12K stove with a flat bottom wok. But not that much better. Not night and day better. I used my old cheap 14" flat bottom wok on whatever gas range I had for over 20 years across and made tons of great food with it. Don't let the internet's obsession with expensive pursuits of wok hei keep you from enjoying all that a $35 wok can do for you. Technique matters way more than equipment.
Now, if you have a downright shitty electric stove then that's maybe a different story. On a really weak stove, you might be better off using a cast iron skillet to retain as much heat as possible. But a basic gas stove is OK. You could also consider an Iwatani butane burner for a reasonably priced stir fry upgrade.
It's only a single burner, but I'm a huge fan of my Iwatani butane stove. Made in Japan. It's not supposed to be a camp stove, but if you bring a wind screen it works great. Butane burns WAAY hotter than any other gas I have ever cooked with. Butane can be bought at any good Chef supply store.
There are fantastic butane models that can be used indoors now. I use mine all the time with a wok. Just stow it away when finished.
The butane canisters can be found at Asian grocery outlets for a lot cheaper than elsewhere: $2 each and they last for 3 or 4 meals.
I highly recommend this one Iwatani 35FW butane stove, Medium, Metallic
There are less expensive ones but this one is beautiful, well constructed and has multiple safety features. The butane is very inexpensive
> Yesterday I heated the Wok on a medium heat (~50,000BTU's roughy)
That is not medium heat. That is thermonuclear for home cooking. You do not need more than like 15,000 BTU for home cooking; that will get a wok smoking hot. One of these is ample and is what a lot of people (including through Asia) have at home.
This obsession with crazy heat output is just counterproductive. As you've discovered, it can be WAY too much heat to be able to control effectively.
The Iwatani 35FW is great for a decent, non-crazy indoor wok burner at a reasonable price. It puts out 15K BTU's, which is a bit stronger than most commodity Western gas ranges will do. I love mine. You can find butane canisters cheap at any Asian market, so don't order any special ones.
It's a tough call between flat and round bottom woks IMO. I have an ancient flat-bottom that I'm sort of sentimentally attached to and haven't considered replacing. Of course round is more authentic and it gives you better heat zones on a good burner. The Iwatani is not designed for a round-bottom, but it does accommodate one from what I've seen in videos. Still, the burner is more of a Western-style ring burner than a real wok burner, so you're not getting the best possible effect from it. I'd lean towards recommending a flat-bottom myself. The Iwatani burner doesn't hold a round with quite as much stability as a real dedicated wok burner does. Plus a flat-bottom wok can be handy for steaming, deep frying, or smoking. The minor benefit I'd get from stir-frying with a round-bottom on the Iwatani doesn't seem worth the tradeoff to me. But if you're sure you only want to stir-fry and don't mind being a little careful about the wok, then go for the round-bottom instead.
Hmm, thought I posted this yesterday.
A 15k BTU butane burner is awesome and way better than the 5-8k units you typically see.
Any asian supermarket near you will have butane canisters for sale for $1-$1.50 each.
Works awesome for deep frying too.
https://www.amazon.ca/Iwatani-Corporation-America-35FW-Metallic/dp/B00522F2R2
I would rather have one made in Japan, than one made in China. The Iwatani 15,000 BTU stove is more expensive at Amazon than the Gas One, but not enough to make a difference.
I would want to disable the glass cooktop somehow, so it did not get turned on while you had a the gas stove on it.
One reason for the "camp gas stove" is that you can get a LOT of BTUs out of them. I have this one by Iwatani, and it's pretty great. It has a 15000BTU max setting (though I'm pretty sure it's actually 14000BTU). Entry level full-size ranges would have 8-10k BTU burners, mid-level might have up to one 15k burner, and higher end could have 18k+BTU burners. 15K-ish BTU in that small form factor is pretty great, and supremely portable.
I bought one of these Japanese butane stoves for wok cooking in my old apartment that had an electric stove:
It works so great, I've donated my 2-burner Coleman to goodwill. This unit is smaller, uses smaller and lighter butane canisters, and has excellent flame control from delicate scrambled eggs all the way to wok fry hot. Simmering is no problem, this stove works significantly better than any propane I've ever used. There are several cheaper options in the $30 range that appear to get great reviews, so you don't necessarily have to shell out for the pretty stainless version (mine was originally on my kitchen counter so looks mattered).
If you're worried about the canisters. I buy them really cheap (<$2 per can) from Asian grocery stores. I've also heard you can get them from home depot for a reasonable price.
Can you cook outside? If so, stir fry over a Weber grill full of hardwood charcoal.
If you need to cook inside due to weather or living situation, I've had great luck with portable butane burners like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Iwatani-Corporation-America-35FW-Portable/dp/B00522F2R2
Just have to mind portion control. That is to say, don't overload the wok when you've only got 15,000 BTUs to work with.
You can cook inside with a butane burner. They cost anywhere from $15 - $100.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=butane+stove+indoor+use You can get can of butane for $1-$2 each. Try local Asian markets, since these units are used extensively in Asia.
Personally, I bought an Iwatani 35FW because they have a reputation for quality and I like good quality kitchen gear.
As I said, these are used extensively in Asia at the diner's table in restaurants. Some high end restaurants use them for tableside preparation (Bananas fosters anyone?). So they SHOULD be safe for use indoors, but anytime you're burning hydrocarbons, you should have ventilation. So cook on your porch or open a nearby window.
Then once you get your stove. USE IT. Don't wait until an emergency. Burn through a couple cans of gas now and learn how it works.
This guy blued and seasoned his Cantonese wok on an electric top. You might have more trouble doing the handle. Could get a kitchen butane torch for the handle or you can probably do the whole wok with the torch. Not sure on that, I have yet to blue and season carbon steel.
You might also consider a butane burner (don't get a propane one, those are for outdoor), I think most people here like the Iwatani, but there is also Chef Master. I linked those two because they're the only I found (I didn't look that hard) that can do 15,000 BTU. Not sure if you really need 15k btu.
The benefit with this is you can do the bluing and seasoning outdoors. My wok has a laquear coating on it that I have to burn off.
I think I did, but I can post another.
I'm using: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00522F2R2 and https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0762MZ1WC
I have another portable grill, propane, but it's just too large to be easily usable. That little bit of extra work makes me end up not using it. Also this is a breeze to clean up.
A lot of the KBBQ places use something much like this but with a different pan when they're doing outdoor cooking.
A plate like this: https://www.amazon.com/Plate-Iwatani-Cb-p-y3-Large-IWATANI/dp/B001028IWY/
I might get one later, but for now I'm super happy with the grill. It's perfect for one or two people.
You can not get the curved bottom wok to work on glass or induction cooktops - there has to be surface contact in order for it to heat up. So, a wok ring will not help on electric cooktops.
That being said, there are woks made of thicker gauge steel in the market and there are woks made of cast iron which work on induction and electric cooktops - I have a wok with a flat bottom on my induction cooktop and it is OK, but not the same experience as cooking with a curved bottom wok on a high powered gas flame.
If you can get a standalone gas burner, then, you could get the wok of your choice! Many Asians that I know who have electric cooktops buy this kind of standalone burner to use in their kitchen with a wok:
https://www.amazon.com/Iwatani-Corporation-America-35FW-Metallic/dp/B00522F2R2
If you want to use a grill outside, then you could buy a more powerful gas burner. Kenji Lopez did a review of wok burners:
https://www.seriouseats.com/outdoor-wok-burner-review
As for which wok to get, conventional woks are made of thin carbon steel so that they heat up and cool down rapidly. You can get away with any brand or buy one from your local Asian supermarket. The Wok Shop in san francisco is a good place to buy, they also sell online. I got mine from them:
Hope this helps.
My CS pan loves the Iwatani 35FW
I grabbed one of these over the summer and it's significantly upped my wok game.
https://www.amazon.ca/Iwatani-Corporation-America-35FW-Metallic/dp/B00522F2R2
You may wanna take a look at a portable butane stove like this one.
10k BTUs should be more than enough to get that sucker heated up and pressurized in a decent amount of time.
Iwatani 35FW butane stove, Medium, Metallic https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00522F2R2/
Get yourself a japanese hot plate
I would get an indoor safe butane burner and a round bottom carbon steel wok that fits it.
A popular choice is this burner:
Iwatani 35FW butane stove, Medium, Metallic https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00522F2R2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_H0XKTSWYTB1K9JNQ2ZKX
Paired with a 12” round bottom carbon steel wok such as this:
SOONEAR KOTE2 Carbon Steel Wok Light Weight Gas Fire Round Bottom Carbon Steel Handle No Rivets Size S [Made in Japan] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MFM7ZYP/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_3G8XN9793BQ3MHE4EZTA
I have 2 of Iwatani gas burners and they are amazing! I would recommend getting this it's well worth it! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00522F2R2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_x..-FbN3K5GT8
I live in a high rise apartment with an electric stove. I used a butane burner for a while before I switched to induction. Now I only use the butane when I’m making smash burgers because it gets so damn hot.
Iwatani 35FW butane stove, Medium, Metallic https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00522F2R2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_wdq6Fb1YWFKVX?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Duxtop 1800W Portable Induction Cooktop Countertop Burner, Black 9100MC/BT-M20B https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GMCAM2G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_Kfq6Fb58FRTET?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
> I think part of the issue is that you might be letting things unnecessarily cool down too much at different steps. This adds time for you that you don't need to worry about.
I'll see what I can do about not letting things cool down too much, it's mainly after the longyau and all that I do it. Also this habit definitely started when I was working off an even worse stove that was basically full blast or completely off.
> 1) I suggest picking up a bottle fo peanut oil, it's pricey, but a little goes a long way.
Yeah, I've actually been using peanut oil since I started cooking about two years ago. I learned to cook with stir fry believe it or not lmao. Basically, I've switched to vegetable oil recently just because it's 1/3-1/4th the price and I'm looking to cut expenses (college student, currently not working) after recent events ruined my summer internship plans. I haven't really noticed a difference in terms of food sticking or not with it, I had similar problems with peanut oil but always chalked it up to a poorly seasoned wok and just dealt with it. Maybe a slight taste difference, but again at 3-4x the price it's difficult to justify to myself currently.
Do you have any experience to suggest it'd work better for seasoning than vegetable oil? Everywhere I've read says soybean oil is just as good or at least "good enough" for seasoning.
> Get a wok brush
Noted, I'll take a look at what my local Asian supermarket has the next trip I make there. I've just been using rags or paper towels for the most part (and definitely had a few of them burn, yikes).
> I personally don't wait for the wok to cool after removing food
I'll see what I can do about getting hot enough water that it doesn't warp the metal, my sink tap is pretty finnicky in terms of heat sadly. Probably just need to get more used to the finnicky handle.
> Throw it back on the burner that is still hot burner that you turned off. Wait several seconds for any water to evaporate. No need for a paper towel. No need to wait until it starts "smoking" either. You can eyeball when it's dry.
My burner usually doesn't hold heat enough to avoid turning it back on in order to fully evaporate any water. I usually give it a quick wipe with a paper towel because the wok gets quite wet and I'm working off a small butane stove, wiping it down before heat drying means I use a bit less butane each time. I'll see if just heat drying can make any appreciable difference.
> As for your chicken sticking... Make sure you heat the wok to medium high with desired amount of oil in it. Wait for the oil to "ripple", then you know it's hot enough to add the chicken. Don't move the chicken until it caramelizes and sears properly.
Hmmm.. This could be my problem, I tend to toss food as soon as it gets into the wok. Particularly meat or rice (which I have the most trouble with this kind of sticking). This is usually to break up clumps or place it all out on an even layer, but I can just slow down and place pieces more individually rather than toss it all in then even it out. I'll see if letting it sit for a bit helps, I think it might with the meat, not sure about rice. Worth a try though!
> This won't be a pleasant analogy: but if you stuck your hand on a buner with low heat it would just melt and stick. If you stuck it on a pan on high heat, it would instantly sear and create a crust. The latter is what you want and is a general cooking concept wok or not.
I try to keep the heat pretty high when tossing meat in. I said medium, but it's probably more appropriate to call the medium setting on the burner I'm using a medium-high. I'll try with greater heat, I think I've probably been slightly lowering heat in an attempt to prevent this from happening, which might be exacerbating the issue.
> Maybe consider getting a better burner where you can control the heat better. Like a legitimate wok burner if you plan to use it regularly.
That's on the list one day, but in a college apartment for now so I'm working with the best I can currently (which already is probably in violation of the apartment rules but y'know, good food is worth it) I'm currently using an Iwatani 35FW portable butane stove. I use this because my electric stove is atrocious (as are all electric stoves once I got used to gas). It can get pretty good heat output for a small little stove, 15k BTU/hr, although getting low heat does take a little patience with the knob (turning it low too fast --> stops burning entirely).
> Are you using this indoors or out?
Indoors.
> Does any of this help?
I think it does, I think it might just be a combination of some small technique adjustments I should make. Mainly not letting the oil cool too much, dropping in food in one layer and at higher heat to not worry about splatter, and letting it sear before starting to toss it. I've still made plenty of tasty food since I've been wok cooking (~2 years), but this sticking problem has been something I had always assumed was due to poor seasoning, but now realize it may just be lacking technique on my part.
I'll try to cook something up tomorrow or the next day and see what trying out these suggestions gets me, hopefully they solve my problem or at least get me closer to the cause of the problem. I greatly appreciate all the advice and you trying to help! I'll let you know how it ends up going if you'd like!
I think that you are looking at an electric induction cooktop similar to this one:
https://www.katom.com/141-WIH400.html
You can find portable butane cooktops at Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Iwatani-Corporation-America-35FW-Metallic/dp/B00522F2R2/
Cord does not work for me with my induction burner so I use one of these:
Also great for stir fry outside.
You need to be able to add heat to maintain a steady temperature with whatever rig you select, especially for a hot pot "fondue". At home, I use a butane stove in the middle of the table. I set it up on a base of 9 bricks, wrapped in a flour sack towel to protect the 170 year old dinner table we eat on. If you are going to buy something for this meal. I commend the [butane cooker - example only, you can get cheaper, but I like this one](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00522F2R2?tag=hotthakit-20) ; it is versatile.
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A crockpot, filled with boiling broth and then set to high works pretty well; if I am "travelling" for this meal to a friend's house, I use it, but find that having some simmering stock on the stove is helpful for switching out (remove some from the crock pot, add it to the stove pot, then refill a bit with stock from the stove) because in the first rush the crock pot will not keep up enough heat. A simple hot plate will work also. For either you have to tend to the cord. On the table, no worries, but when you hit your edge, you need a binder clamp (with a paper towel cushion) to secure the cord to the table as insurance should the floor cord get yanked. Next you need some sort of tape from the table drop to the outlet to prevent tripping. I use duct tape in a lot of commercial settings, but home surfaces are better served by using several layers of painter's tape, which has less adhesive to leave a residue.
I have one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00522F2R2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Built solid and rated at 15000 btu with easy to find butane fuel canisters. I have a flat bottom Wok and use this outside to keep the mess to a minimum. Check the reviews.
I also have one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0045QEPYM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I use this to heat water for coffee every morning. The only down side of this induction table top is the lack of fine tuning of the temps. Just 10 steps. That should not make a difference if you just using it for searing.
I have one of these and use it outside. I sit it on a tabletop 15000 BTU with butane.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00522F2R2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I have one of these for outside searing:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00522F2R2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Table top use and easy to store. Butane refills are easy to find and about $2 each.
I have a similar btu high pressure propane brewing burner and I have used a cast iron skillet on it for searing. It was almost too hot on full throttle. I switched to a lodge grill pan and it works better than the standard cast iron skillet. Target had them on sale a while ago for $18. Nice grill marks too... Something like that makes a better wok burner than sear burner in my experience. Great for outdoor stir fry.
https://www.lodgemfg.com/griddles-and-grill-pans/10-5-inch-square-cast-iron-grill-pan.asp
Kinda a pain to drag everything out just for a two min sear so I switched to one of these:
Now I just set this on my outdoor propane grill for a nice working level height. It has plenty of btus (15,000) for a 12 inch skillet of your choice. Butane canisters are easily available at local asian food stores.
Have fun