when it comes to whipping up Chinese gastronomical delights, wok is an indispensable cookware for any chef, but if you are trying to replicate your local Chinese restaurant stir-fry cooking, we’d say good luck to you because typical home stove is not going to cut it. before proceeding, we have to understand the concept of stir-fry in Chinese cuisine. in order to achieve a true stir-fry, it requires the wok to realize what Chinese chef often refers to as Wok Hei, which literally means the ‘breath of the wok’ and this will require extremely high heat and the bottom of the wok must be completely heated up. in olden days, when consumer gas stove has yet to be widely adopted, Chinese used to cook over a fire pit of charcoal. with the ancient method, there is no dead spot inherent to modern stove’s ring of fire, and hence the use of wok and the associate cooking method that we come to know today as stir-fry.
sure, someone can probably initiate a Chinese-centric gas stove, but that would take a lot of money and it will most definitely be a gas-guzzler. that said, while we can’t do much about the current stove situation, actor and inventor Glen Lee has a brilliant invention, known as WokMon, that will make dead spot a thing of the past. the WokMon consists of two parts: a metal ring that redirects the flame for the gas burners into a concentrated area and a raised platform to hold the wok up. you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to use it; all you have to do is to place the metal ring over the gas burner and place the ‘wok stand’ over it, and you are pretty much all set. the WokMon is one of those invention that prompts us to ask ourselves, “why i didn’t think of that?” well, you and i can spare ourselves the thinking cos’ Lee already had everything figured out and is ready to bring his invention to the world.
the WokMon is currently running a crowdfunding campaign on Crowdzu where you can pledge your support to bring this awesome device to life. a pledge of at least $42 will secure yourself one WokMon, but only if the campaign hits or surpasses its set funding goal of $100K. delivery is free within the U.S.A. and it is also worthy to note that WokMon will be 100% made in U.S.A. if you love to cook Chinese cuisine or Asian cuisines, for that matter, then the WokMon is the must-have kitchen gadget. keep going for a pitch video to see the WokMon in action.
UPDATE [July 10, 2014; 4:17AM PDT] updated with a couple of larger photos from J. Kenji López-Alt. if you are keen on the WokMon and not sure how it’s going to work out, then be sure to check out Kenji’s take on Serious Eats.
special thanks to Glen for the images.
additional image credit: J. Kenji López-Alt.
submitted via TIP US page.
