Wok stir-frying (chao — 炒) is the technique most associated with Chinese cooking globally, but the professional understanding of what produces correct wok technique is poorly conveyed in most English-language sources. The key is not merely high heat but the specific combination of the wok's shape, the carbon steel's thermal conductivity, the technique of tossing, and the application of liquid seasonings at specific moments relative to the food's cooking stage.
The complete professional wok technique — the science behind the flame. **鑊氣 (Wok Hei — Breath of the Wok):** The Cantonese concept of wok hei — the smoky, complex, slightly charred character that correctly executed high-heat wok cooking produces — is produced by specific chemistry: the rapid Maillard reactions on individual food pieces under extreme heat, the volatile pyrazine compounds produced when food makes brief contact with the wok's superheated surface (approximately 300°C+), and the combustion of the small amount of oil that vaporises and ignites above the wok's rim. [VERIFY temperature] The brief ignition above the wok surface (the blue flame sometimes visible in professional kitchens) is the "breath" — the slight char note that professional wok cooking produces. Home stoves cannot reproduce this because they cannot heat the wok to the required temperature.
CHINESE CULINARY TRADITION — REGIONAL DEEP EXTRACTION