Ready to Wok and Roll

To reduce my carbon footprint, I've been cooking with a rocket stove. A rocket stove burns twigs and small branches from the garden. Pretty much all of the biomass that doesn't mulch well burns well.

The rocket stove has one intense flame that rocketing out of the main chamber. Many of the cooking techniques for an electic stove don't work.

So, I decided to get a wok. A wok is a round bottom cooking vessel popular in the far east.

When I ordered a "wok" from Overstock, I received in the mail a flat bottom vessell with steep sides. A flat bottomed cooking vessell with steep sides is called a saucier.

Since then ran from store to store in town to discover that some insideous beast has been systematically flattening the bottom of all the woks. I discovered a few places with round bottom woks ... but they were expensive.

Finally I discovered a traditional Mandarin Wok at Katom Restaurant Supply. The site says the retail price is $20.15. The current price is just over ten bucks.

You can use a round bottom wok on a gas stove, but you need to order a wok ring along with the wok. You also need a wok lid.

I ordered ground delivery and it took a week and a half to arrive. Slow delivery aside, I am thrilled to be cooking with a round bottom wok on my rocket stove.

Now, we're cooking with twigs.