wok hei
High-heat sear flavor
Wok hei is the distinctive smoky, charred flavor imparted to food cooked in a very hot wok over high flame.
The Cantonese term translates roughly as "breath of the wok." Achieving wok hei requires intense heat, rapid tossing, and a well-seasoned wok—conditions difficult to replicate on home stoves.
It's considered essential to authentic stir-fry: The noodles had that perfect wok hei you only get from street vendors.
- stir-fryQuick-cook in hot oil
- caramelizationSugar's heat transformation
- tossingLight underhand throw
- smokinessAshen, fumy quality
- smoky flavorTaste from fire exposure
blistering · soy sauce · cooking oil · umami · Cantonese cuisine · breath · crispiness · nuttiness · garlic · carbon steel · flat bottom · qi · gas stove · open flame · searing · sesame oil · ginger · thermal conduction
- stir frysoy sauce, bok choy, bean sprouts, sesame oil, high heat
- wok
- cooking techniquessear, simmering, boiling, frying, saute
- steamingsteam, vapor, bamboo steamer, steamed vegetables, steamed fish
- Cantonese fooddim sum, siu mai, char siu, wonton noodles, roast goose
- cooking smellssmoke, steam, burnt smell
wok heisteaming
Releasing hot vapor
boiling · poaching · simmering · braising · slow cooking
wok heibland
Lacking distinctive qualities
flat · flavorless · uncharred · soggy · waterlogged