Skill: The Wok
I love the wok! You can do so much with this baby; stir fry, steam, smoke, braise, simmer, saute, deep fry....quite simply the wok is one of the most essential pieces of equipment for a chef.

A word of caution: for those poor chumps with electric cooking tops please discard this section. You cannot use a wok sufficiently upon an electric top, even if you use a flat-bottomed wok it still will not cook to a proficient degree. (What I'm trying to say is; if you're kitchen has electric hobs....it sucks! Ha-Ha!)

Preparation:
Just purchased a new wok? It needs to be 'proved' before cooking commences. 'To prove' a wok is the process that makes it non-stick and protects it from oxidisation (rusting)
Method:
Place 2 - 3 ladles (approx 300-500ml) of vegetable oil in your wok. Place the wok over a high heat. As the metal heats gently rotate the wok so that the oil comes into contact with all of its surfaces. Your new wok should begin to turn black / gun-blue. Once the wok is black / gun-blue turn off the heat, allow the oil to cool completely (wait 30-60 minutes) before discarding or recycling.
Your wok is now 'proved' and ready to use
(A word of caution; once the oil begins to smoke reduce the applied heat. If you continue to heat oil well past the smoking stage it will reach its 'flash point', the point wherein it combusts. So for those of you who are accident prone, please keep a fire blanket nearby!)

Maintenance:
Remember that the wok, if not treated with the proper respect can rust and degrade rapidly. Avoid using washing liquid and alkalis upon the wok and do not scrub the surface with a metal scourer, to do either will encourage rusting. To clean your wok after use apply plenty of hot water and either use a wok cleaner (this is a bundle of bristles and resembles a miniature 'witches broom') or a soft sponge to wipe off any dirt or grease. Once the wok is cleaned turn upside down so that the water drains off, rub down with a tea towel then apply a little oil to the surface to prevent oxidisation.
Store the wok in a dry environment

Method: To stir fry
The primary purpose of a wok is to be used to stir-fry food and it is the one skill that everyone would like to master.
To stir fry you need a fierce, high heat. A wok will not act with non-stick properties at low temperatures....so turn the gas up to high!
The hand that holds the wok is the 'control hand', the hand that holds the spatula or wooden spoon is the 'guiding hand'

Method: The control hand
This is the hand that holds the wok, flips the food and shakes the wok from side to side, back and forth and in circular motions. The control hand must agitate the wok on a regular basis to stir the food which not only transfers the heat to all of the food but continues to keep the pan in a non-stick basis

Method: The guiding hand
This is the hand that holds the spatula. Most of the energy going in to stir-frying is done with the 'control hand'. The guiding hand only aids the motion of the food with simple stirring and folding techniques

Method: The stir
To stir the food use the 'control hand' to shake the wok in a circular motion. The 'guiding hand' does nothing other than hold the spatula still in the middle of the wok. As the wok is rotated the food has no option but to stir itself around the stationary spatula
Advanced Stir
Feeling confident? Take 'the stir' to the next level! Use the 'control hand' to shake the wok in a clockwise motion and use the 'guiding hand' to stir the food in small anti-clockwise motions.

Method: The flip
Everyone gets this wrong! To flip the food you must use the 'control hand' to rapidly propel the wok forward, then as the food rushes forward the same hand must jerk the wok backward. This rapid movement forces the food to propel itself up against the natural curve of the wok before flipping back down. If you try to move the wok in a circular-rotation style of movement in order to flip the food you will fail...this does not work! It is only the rapid backward and forth motion of the wok that will cause 'the flip'

Drill 1:
To practice the flip place an orange or lime in the wok. Use the control hand to thrust the wok forward then backward. Repeat until you get used to the orange flipping backward and forth

Drill 2:
Feeling more confident? Try the flip with dry rice in the wok. Once you master this you are ready for the real thing!

Method: To steam
You will need to have purchased a wok with a lid to perform this maneuver properly. If however you do not have a lid you can make do by sealing the wok with tin foil
Place the steaming liquid in the wok. The steaming liquid can just be water or it can be flavoured. I.e. jasmine tea, lemongrass and lime leaves etc.
Place a circular wire rack or 'scrunched up' tin foil in the bottom of the wok. The 'steaming liquid' should not reach higher than the wire rack, if the liquid comes into contact with the food, the food will be boiled not steamed!
Place the ingredients to be steamed on top of the wire rack
Place the lid on top of the wok (or cover with tin foil)
Heat the wok
(As the liquid begins to boil the steam pressure will build up within the lid and the food will commence to steam)

Method: To smoke
Again, you will need to have purchased a wok with a lid to perform this maneuver properly.
Line the wok with tin foil to prevent ingredients sticking and burning against the wok's surface
Arrange the smoking ingredients on the bottom of the wok. The smoking ingredients can be chips of wood or they can be flavoured. I.e. dried herbs, flavoured oils, lemon peel etc.
Place a circular wire rack on top of the smoking ingredients
Place the ingredients to be smoked on top of the wire rack
Place the lid on top of the wok (or cover with tin foil)
Heat the wok
(As the wok commences to heat the smoking ingredients will begin to burn, filling the wok with flavoured smoke. The cooking ingredients will bake and at the same time become flavoured by the smoke)

Chef insight: They are loads of legends and myths regarding the creation of the wok making its actual origins hard to discern. One of the more enjoyable myths is warrior monks and soldiers from the china's east used their upturned shields to cook their foods in during times of warfare and prolonged march away from home.
The actual act of stir frying was believed to have originated in parts of china where slow-burning food sources were hard to find. Bamboo was one of the few fuel sources that was cheap and easy to acquire and was widely available across great stretches of china, yet unlike coal and timber, it was a fuel that burned rapidly. Chefs and cooks were forced to come up with a method of rapid cooking that could be done before the bamboo burnt out. Stir frying thinly sliced particles of food was the obvious answer