Wok Hei

Wok hei, literally the breath of the wok, is both a prized flavor and the high-heat stir-frying technique in Cantonese cuisine that produces it: food is tossed rapidly in a wok held directly over an intense open flame, so brief charring and smoke from the wok's superheated surface and rising oil vapor infuse the dish with a distinct smoky, charred aroma that cannot be reproduced on a standard home stove. Achieving wok hei is considered a mark of a skilled Cantonese cook and depends on the wok's shape, the heat source and the speed and technique of the toss as much as on the ingredients themselves. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/