But the best part is that because of the design of almost all of these portable burners, they hold a classic round bottomed wok perfectly–no ring or any other gadgetry needed. The wok fits securely in the gap of the top grate, and is bathed in a jet of flames.

I have heard, over the years, from serious Chinese cooks, that round bottom woks are superior, and though I used a flat bottomed carbon steel wok for years and thought this silly, I now see why they made such bold statements. I find the round bottomed wok much more “ergonomic” to cook with; it’s easier to get thing up on the sides of the wok, and out of the hot zone, and I get much more uniform and even cooking and loads more wok-hay (though I suppose that is due to the high flames/heat).

Like Barbara I am very attracted to hand hammered carbon steel woks, but my traditional Chinese cast iron wok is so good at getting VERY hot and imparting wok-hay, and it’s so seasoned and easy to use now, I am not sure that a carbon steel would ever get used. I do know that among Cantonese cooks there is real snobbery toward carbon steel. As Barbara points out, I guess it’s best to “never say never” about a new wok coming into one’s life…!

So you will be in the market for a wok, too? Hearing about friends shopping for new woks is almost as fun as buying my own.

Yan-Kit So’s book is really good to learn from; the photographs, in particular, are very useful, and the recipes are accurate and quite flavorful. I also like the look of her in the photos–she has a very calming look to her that I think people will find confidence-boosting.

I need to pick up that K. Chang book, but I am waiting until after we move. There is no sense in buying any books or anything when I am just going to have to stuff them into boxes and then drag them off to a new home and unpack them again.

I am looking forward to hearing of your adventures in cooking from your books and my recipes. If you are ever looking for a recipe for a particular dish–let me know. I have a lot of books, many of them containing recipes for dishes you don’t see too often.

I really should write more about those books, now that I think on it.

You’re right about ebay, it truly is dangerous… But I never thought of looking for a tea pot there until you wrote about it, and there are quite a lot of them there. I’ll just have to stop myself from bidding immediately as I have a lot of other expenses this month. I really like maneki nekos, and it’s a wonder that I don’t have any (except from a small one that I have on my bunch of keys) as I’m both a weird cat lover and very interested in Japanese culture. I’m looking forward to your post about the nekos when you’ve moved to your new house.

/Dagmar

You’ve got me thinking it’s about time I bought a new wok - mine seems to almost always be upstairs with Tatanatanya nowadays anyway.

BTW, after reading your post I went out and bought Yan-Kit’s “Classic Chinese Cookbook” (oddly enough the only Chinese cookbooks I have are a Ken Hom book someone gave me, Bruce Cost’s “Asian Ingredients”, and K.Chang’s “Food in Chinese Culture: Anthropological and Historical Perspectives”), which I really enjoyed and learnt a lot from. I’m looking forward to trying some of her and your recipes!

Good luck on getting a wok! If you ever have questions about one, you can always contact me. I have used them out of just about any material and just about anything that can go wrong with one has when I have had it so I can help you fix the disaster or, even better avoid it entirely. The most important things are for it to be carbon steel or cast iron, and for it to be flat bottomed so it will be close enough to the heating element in order to heat up enough. Woks have to be hot to work.

I’ll probably pick up one of those cast iron thingamajigs that the article mentioned to adapt a round-bottomed wok to a Western style stove and experiment with it, then report on it after our move. No sense in getting a wok and a hunk of iron and then have to pack it!

As for the iron teapots–which btw, I have always wanted one of those as well–before you decide to buy one from Tane, check out ebay–you may find one for sale there that is closer to you, like in Europe, so the shipping will not be as expensive. Lots of folks sell them on ebay, at slightly lower prices than they go for here in the US. You may be able to get a better deal that way.

Ebay is dangerous…that is where I got most of my maneki neko collection, which I bet you would like. Those are the “beckoning cats” you see in Japanese and Chinese businesses. As the main kitchen in the new house will be decorated with them, I’ll likely do a post about them.

Thanks for commenting, Dagmar–have a good new year!