Wok and burner questions 2783

I'm still too new to wok cookery to be lumped with "experts", but I've been on the fast track. I've got two woks, now. A 14" round bottom and a 12" flat bottom. Both are carbon steel. This, I believe, is the preferred material, other than cast iron. Leave the pre-seasoned, teflon, electric, stainless steel, etc to the less serious. Here is a good place to buy.

I was up there last week and they take it very seriously. They've got just about everything one could want in the way of woks and wok cookery. They even had a Thai charcoal wok burner, something I've been looking for for a long time. Now that I've seen one, I'm cured of that fantasy! ;)

In my research, I've learned that, supposedly, one of the best books on the subject is the fairly new Breath of the Wok, which, according to one Amazon reviewer, is the last word on the how, where, and why of woks.

I haven't read it, myself.

What you can do in the way of burners is almost limitless. Anything from $19 to $1900. The one you posted looks just fine. It appears to use the ubiquitous 170Kbtu propane burner used in everything from beer brewtrees to turkey deep fryers:

I scored a fantastic deal on three of these burners in the form of a cheapo turkey fryer sets Lowe's was selling for $19ea at the end of the season. I've yet to try it for my wok, but I know from experience heating 6-10 gal water kettles (crab boil, beer, etc), these babies crank it out and are more than capable of turning any wok into a veritable crucible. You can also find true wok burner/hobs in Asian supermarkets for as little as $40. The Wok Shop had a couple in the $60-100 range, though I didn't see one on their online catalog. Note, we're talking just bare burner/hob. No support/stand and usually no propane regulator/hose. OTOH, true wok burner/hobs are typically larger in diameter to spread the flame out and have wok-shaped support fins/fingers.

I hope this has helped.

nb