Quote:
Originally Posted by Fuzz
I think if you have a stove capable of heating a pan to white hot, and proceed to cook with it, you aren't going to have much of an egg left to eat.
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Derp... sorry, not true "white hot". Translation and wording issue.
I mean I can definitely feel a slight bit of heat when I put my hand above the pan. When I was young, I was basically taught to quickly wipe the wok with a wet cloth and when I could see "white" then I add the oil. I think "white" would actually be leftover minerals or whatever from the water that evaporates due to the heat. Again, translation issue, but essentially if there's slight wetness from water in the wok, it's the moment immediately after the water evaporates and just prior to being hot enough for the water to bead (Leidenfrost effect?) which is too hot and you have to turn down the heat/wait a few moments before adding the oil to avoid the hot oil splashing.
I just set the temp to max, wait to be able to feel a bit of heat before putting in the oil. I was taught that the oil should not be added if the metal is cold or it will stick and I noticed similar results with non-stick. T-Fal even has the red dot indicator in some of their pans which is the right point to put in the oil.
If required, I then turn down the temp to drop the temp and/or lift the pan for a moment to let the oil cool to the right cooking temp if it's something as delicate as an egg. That's how I was taught for Asian cuisine and I notice a huge difference in less sticking for noodles and fried rice. It doesn't add more than 10-20 seconds to the cooking, but saves more than that for cleaning.
I was also taught that the trick has two reasons.
1. To avoid sticking to pan/wok.
2. If the oil is hot before you begin cooking (often told to wait for that one or two oil crackling sounds just prior to adding food), then excess oil supposedly doesn't absorb as much into the food and instead will drip off the food to the bottom of the bowl/plate after it is done cooking.