wok n' roll

can anyone recommend a good wok that can be bought locally ? The Susie Chan stuff at BB&B just doesn't do it for me. I remember that informercial w/ the hand hammered wok that looked pretty nice. Perhaps this is it:

http://www.greatwok.com/

but I was hoping to find something non-mail order.

Woks 'n'Things
2234 S. Wentworth Ave.
312.842.0701

I encourage you to consider a restaurant grade carbon steel wok.


E.M.

That is the wok they sold on TV. At least I have the box that matches the one in the picture. I was so proud to receive it in my teens and I still have it and use it at 36!

This may be slightly OT, but I am in the market for both a restaurant grade wok (Thanks, Erik M.) and a restaurant-size electric rice cooker.
Does Woks & Things also carry rice cookers? If not, where else would you recommend? (Argyle is closer for me.)

Josephine wrote:This may be slightly OT, but I am in the market for both a restaurant grade wok (Thanks, Erik M.) and a restaurant-size electric rice cooker.
Does Woks & Things also carry rice cookers?

I would bet that they do, but you should ring them to be sure.

Josephine wrote:If not, where else would you recommend? (Argyle is closer for me.)

A number of the Argyle area grocers offer a range of cookers:

Viet Hoa Plaza
1051 W. Argyle
773.334.1028

Hoa Nam Grocery
1101 W. Argyle
773.275.1215

Broadway Supermarket
4879 N. Broadway
773.334.3838

Thailand Food Corporation
4821 N. BroadwayChicago
773.728.1199

Tai Nam Market
4925 N. Broadway
773.275.5666

E.M.

Wow! Thanks, Erik. I'll take a look on Argyle.

Hi,

Following a barbeque listserv and from some people here, I have the impression some are using their outdoor turkey fryer propane set-up with very large wok's. I recall reading where more than one person was needed to move the wok around.

Until I have a garage back in my life, I'm not too keen on acquiring more toys which are a pain to store. Still I am quite fascinated by these hints of large woks over propane flames whose BTU output must be substantially higher than what one gets at home.

Those who are cooking outdoors with their wok over propane, just what are you cooking? I doubt it is beef and brocolli for 2. How big are your woks? I'd love to see a picture of this set-up.

Regards,

Josephine wrote:Does Woks & Things also carry rice cookers? If not, where else would you recommend? (Argyle is closer for me.)

Josephine,

As Erik suggested, Woks & Things for a wok and I'd suggest Chicago Food Corp for a rice cooker. Mitsuwa has an excellent selection of rice cookers as does Tensuke. Though Chicago Food corp is probably your best bet for a restaurant size rice cooker.

If you don't see what you want at Chicago Food Corp ask, they do a huge wholesale business with restaurants.

Enjoy,
Gary

Chicago Food Corp
3333 N Kimball Ave
Chicago, IL
773-478-5566
http://www.chicagofood.com/

Tensuke
3 Arlington Heights Rd
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
847-806-1200

Mitsuwa
100 E. Algonquin Road,
Arlington Hts., IL 60005
847-956-6699
9:00AM - 8:00PM

Thanks GWiv, for the suggestions. My daughter's rice-raised, rice-deprived friends will be much the better for your ministrations and those of ErikM.!

Cathy, et. al.:

One of my favorite cooking tools is the "Big Kahuna" by Eastman Outdoor.

Big Kahuna link

$50, 55,000 BTU (!) has a reversible grate for woks and flat bottomed pots. The burner is mounted on a tripod stand and is very sturdy.

Highly recommended! Wok hay!

Marc

Hi,

Big Kahuna can fit a 22 inch wok! Costco is selling a turkey fryer at the moment that looks pretty robust. I have one courtesy of a raffle, which I have not yet used.

Last year Erik M and GWiv stumbled into a Chinese restaurant supply house, which were selling gas rings capable of 200,000 BTU. Quite intense heat in a pretty small area. By contrast, my old furnace was 250,000 BTU and rivaled a crematorium.

So have you used yours for cooking Chinese outdoors?

Regards,

HI,

Answering my own questions, I suggest peaking at this thread which not only has pictures of the large outdoor woks. A well reasoned endorsement for the Eastman product noted above from Bill/SFNM.

Regards,

thanks for the info. I'll try hitting Woks n' Things this weekend !

I'll be stuck w/ my measly 15k BTU burner, but I think I can live w/ that.

Cathy2:
"Last year Erik M and GWiv stumbled into a Chinese restaurant supply house, which were selling gas rings capable of 200,000 BTU."

¡¡¡200K btu??!!! isn't that just about the thermal output of the Saturn moon rocket? Wow! Did those two ever find out whether such a blaster was available on the net, perchance? What do you fuel it with, a petrol lorry??

BTW, that Eastman outdoor cooker is pretty neat. If you bimp on the lead down the page a bit, you'll find that they're selling said 22" wok as well--and the price looks pretty good, too. [But note: "only two left (more on the way)" ]

Geo

Not only does this place sell 200,000 btu burners, but it also sells 300,000 btu burners, geared to the home brewer.

Good lord.

YIKES!

But you know what, the flamers should be arranged in a sort of cone shape, shouldn't they, for best use with a wok?

In our kitchen at Wuhan U., the biggest wok stove was a tile-walled and -topped cube, with a hole in the top. Put the wok over the hole and it dropped down about two-thirds. Then the sous-chef-cum-fireman started bouncing up and down on the bellows: the whole damn thing was fired by coal!! Man, you could get that wok to glow with the heat...

Geo

Yeah, seems like they should be. This might be more efficient for a giant stock pot a brewer might have.

I bet someone could custom make one of these, also..