Editing Stir frying (section)

==== ''Wok hei'' ====
{{Main|Wok#Wok hei}}

''Wok hei'' ({{zh|t=鑊氣|s=镬气|links=no|j=wok<sup>6</sup> hei<sup>3</sup>}}) [[romanization]] is based on the [[Cantonese Chinese]] pronunciation of the phrase; when literally translated into English, it can be translated as "wok [[thermal radiation]]"<ref name="YOU">Young, Grace, and Richardson, Alan, ''The Breath of a Wok'', New York: Simon & Schuster, {{ISBN|0-7432-3827-3}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7432-3827-4}} (2004), pp. 4, 38, 40</ref><ref name="WOKH">{{cite web|url=http://www.wokhei.com/about.html#whatWokhei|title=What does Wokhei mean?|publisher=Wokhei|access-date=4 March 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111021043753/http://www.wokhei.com/about.html#whatWokhei|archive-date=21 October 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> or, metaphorically, as the "breath of the wok". The phrase "breath of a wok" is a poetic translation Grace Young first coined in her cookbook ''The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen''.<ref>Young, Grace, ''The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen'', New York: Simon & Schuster, (1999), pp. 20</ref> In her book, ''The Breath of a Wok'', Young further explores the ideas and concepts of ''wok hei''.<ref>Young, Grace, and Richardson, Alan, ''The Breath of a Wok'', New York: Simon & Schuster, {{ISBN|0-7432-3827-3}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7432-3827-4}} (2004), pp. 60</ref> An essay called "Wok Hay: The Breath of a Wok" explains how the definition of ''wok hei'' varies from cook to cook and how difficult it is to translate the term. Some define it as the "taste of the wok," a "harmony of taste," etc.: "I think of wok hay as the breath of a wok—when a wok breathes energy into a stir-fry, giving foods a unique concentrated flavor and aroma."<ref>{{cite journal|title=Wok Hay: The Breath of a Wok|journal=Gastronomica: The Journal of Critical Food Studies|volume=4|issue=3|pages=26–30|doi=10.1525/gfc.2004.4.3.26|year=2004|last1=Young|first1=Grace}}</ref>

When read in Mandarin, the second character is transliterated as ''[[qi]]'' (''ch'i'' according to its [[Wade-Giles]] romanization, so ''wok hei'' is sometimes rendered as ''wok chi'' in Western cookbooks) is the [[Flavour (taste)|flavour]], [[taste]]s, and "essence" imparted by a hot wok on food during stir frying.<ref name="YOU" /><ref>{{cite book |author=Harpham, Zoė |title=Essential Wok Cookbook |year=2002 |publisher=Murdoch Books |isbn=978-1-74045-413-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/essentialwokcook0000unse }}</ref> Out of the [[Eight Cuisines of China|Eight Culinary Traditions of China]], wok hei is encountered the most in [[Cantonese cuisine]], whereas it may not even be an accepted concept in some of the others.

To impart ''wok hei'' the traditional way, the food is cooked in a seasoned wok over a high flame while being stirred and tossed quickly.<ref name="YOU" /> The distinct taste of ''wok hei'' is partially imbued into the metal of the wok itself from previous cooking sessions and brought out again when cooking over high heat.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}} In practical terms, the flavour imparted by chemical compounds results from [[caramelization]], [[Maillard reaction]]s, and the partial combustion of oil that come from charring and searing of the food at very high heat in excess of {{convert|200|C}}.<ref name="WOKH" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://guide.michelin.com/en/article/dining-out/what-is-wok-hei|title=What is...wok hei?|date=2016-10-12|access-date=2019-11-17|publisher=Michelin Guide}}</ref>  Aside from flavour, ''wok hei'' also manifests itself in the texture and smell of the cooked items.