Any advice on how to use a wok without setting off an apartment's sensitive fire alarm? I'd love to use my wok, but every time I do, the alarm goes crazy.

Faith, It was an honor to have you and the Kitchn team come by for an afternoon of stir-frying. Thank you for all the superb stir-fry posts. Your brilliant step-by-step instructions with your beautiful photos have inspired more wok converts!

I was hoping for some suggestions on how to cope with the smoke if you don't have a range hood. I would love to stir-fry more, but there must be ways it was done before modern appliances. I thought of putting a fan to the side of the cooking and blowing the air toward an air conditioning filter propped upright to the opposite side of me.

I have a smoke/fire detector in my apartment but I've never had a problem setting it off from stir-frying. It's hard to advise without seeing your set up but maybe the detector is set too close to the stove?

@CSOL and @TooManyDisplayNames I actually haven't had any smoke at all when stir-frying. Maybe some spatters, but I wonder if you are actually heating your oil too hot? Take a look through our descriptions of how hot the wok should be. Make sure you are using an oil with a high smoke point (Grace is currently really liking avocado oil). If your oil smokes at all you are using an oil with a too-low smoke point and/or overheating the wok.

Is it true that a wok won't really work well on a smooth-top electric stove? If so, are there any reasonable work-arounds? I wish I had gas burners but it's not available where I live.

@DeelW no - you can stir-fry just fine on an electric ceramic stovetop! Take a look at the stir-fry FAQ here!

In response to the debate about smoke dectectors, I know stir frying would set mine off regardless of whether I'm doing it correctly because it goes off any time one of the burners is turned on past medium-high (7 on a 10 point scale), whether there's something on it or not (it could conceivably go off while I'm boiling water, but I can get that done at medium-high if I'm patient). I can't move it because we rent and the landlord requires it to be there.

I've had a lot of luck with putting a gallon sized ziplock bag over the smoke dectector (sticking straight out from the wall) and zipping it around the dectector. I do that every time I make pizza and it hasn't failed me yet.

@CSOL and @TooManyDisplayNames It is essential when stir-frying to use an oil with a high smoking point. The traditional oil for stir-frying has been peanut oil which has a smoking point of 410 degrees. Grapeseed oil is also great at 446 degrees and as Faith mentioned I recently discovered avocado oil which has a smoking point of 520 degrees. What you want to avoid is stir-frying with a low-smoking point oil like extra-virgin olive oil or Asian sesame oil.

It's true that it is sometimes the heat not smoke that make the detectors go off. I found that out every time I open my oven to check on a cake or whatever I'm baking. So Faith's advice on checking the temp is right on. Thanks so much for the stir frying tips Grace. What a perfect way to get a healthy yummy dinner on the table fast after a long day. Love it!

Terrific, primer Faith and Grace!

As for the smoke detector issue, I've never had a problem with it going off while wokking. When I use my wok, I always have my exhaust on low to suck up some of the heat; going with medium or high disturbs the flame on my stove. Weather permitting, I open the kitchen window for ventilation. You could run a stand alone fan, but that seems too fussy.

On the other hand, wok cooking is pretty fast so there shouldn't be much opportunity for the detector to sense 'danger'.

Thank you, Faith, I'm thrilled to hear that! Now, to find a wok...

Grace and Faith, I'm wondering what you think of the following. The Shun Lee Cookbook recommends shaking the meat (chicken, pork etc) in cornstarch, putting a good inch or too of low smoke oil in the wok, and pre-cooking it just till the pink is gone. Then discarding the oil except for a tablespoon or two, THEN starting the recipe (garlic, ginger, vegetables, etc.), adding the meat back in at the end before the sauce. I've been doing this for a while and it's true that especially chicken is velvety and delicious this way, but it's a lot of work (prep, where to pour off the oil, etc.) Do you think it's worth it?

(Faith I recently tried your pork and asparagus stir fry using this method and it was great!!!)

@Lamarmotte - What you're describing sounds like another stir-frying technique called "velveting" (Grace may have more to say about this!). This method does, indeed, render extremely tender meat. But try the method described in our chicken stir fry for marinating and then quickly stir-frying if you want something a little less labor-intensive -- I was amazed at how tender and succulent the chicken becomes with this simple method!

This is a fantastic post! Thanks!

Now I know what I am going to buy for my husband for his birthday - a carbon steel wok!

Thank you Emma, I'll try both. Love the 'velveting' results but it's not realistic on a school/work night...

@LAMARMOTTE the method you're describing is the typical way restaurant chefs stir-fry---by quickly blanching meat in oil, draining it, and then stir-frying it. The oil tenderizes the meat but it also adds unnecessary calories, is very labor intensive, and uses a lot of fat. As Emma wrote, the chicken stir-fry we did is tender, flavorful and much easier to cook. Try it and I think you'll see that oil blanching is not necessary.

What a wonderful post on stir-frying! I have Grace Young's cookbook "Stir Frying to the Sky's Edge" and have cooked almost all the recipes, followed her instructions. Grace is definitely our Wok Guru & Stir-Fry resource! Thanks for sharing this!

Any suggestions for someone who loves chinese food, but not the taste of ginger? Thank you!

Ginger is not an essential for stir-frying. You can use garlic, scallions, shallots, chilies (fresh or dried), or even curry powder to infuse your stir-fries with flavor.

@Csol: I have friends who stir fry outside, on a camping stove. On the rare occasions that I do stir fry, an open window, extractor on full power and splatter guard are essential - it's not so much the smoke that bothers me as the plumes of air-borne grease released when the ingredients hit the pan. For a nice Chinese flavour without the smoke/grease, you can steam veg until it is just done, still bright green and crunchy. Refresh it with ice to retain the colour if you like. Make a dressing by gently browning some julienned ginger and sliced garlc in some sunflower oil or a light olive oil. Take off the heat, throw in some chopped scallions and chili, and dress your veg with this. Finish with a sprinkling of Maldon sea salt and sesame seeds. This will have the lovely Chinese flavours, but it is a healthier and cleaner method of cooking.

We love our wok - which has a round bottom as opposed to a flat bottom - and are having the hardest time finding a deep enough wok stand. Do you know of any online resources? Thanks in advance!