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You're mother's cute...and crafty.

I'd actually like to make this but I too would not like to use Cool Whip. It just grosses me out. Can't you also stabilize whipped cream with a bit of powdered sugar? I thought the cornstarch in it also acts as a stabilizer. I'm just trying to not have to buy extra ingredients...

I know I am very much belated commenting on this post, but I made this hot sauce for a couple of parties this weekend, and it was a hit! I made my regular salsa (you know, just tomatoes, onion, garlic, serranos, cilantro, lime juice), but I think people liked the haberno even better! Thanks so much!

Definitely not 350 for the oven.

Now that's what I'm talking about! What a great idea. I love it. And Jimmy0x52, thanks for the tip on soaking them over night. That's a smashing good idea. ;-)

Baking Pumpkin seeds is one of of my favorite childhood memories with my mom.

this looks so delicious. I was surprised though to see that you used canned tomatoes instead of fresh. I'm used to seeing with very chunky salsa with marinated fresh tomatoes or more of the spicy pureed version liked you image above. in your experience, do most salsas that look like this use canned tomatoes?

looks great either way!!

An outdoor propane burner is not so convenient for those in apartments and/or live somewhere where there is snow on the ground for over half the year. :)

I bought this Korean "marble-coated" non-stick wok last year and it cooks decently well, and it cleans so easily that I'm thinking of buying their frying pans the next time I need to replace my Teflon ones.

keithlewis has the right idea with the turkey-fryer-burner. It's a great way to approximate those insane burners from Chinese restaurants. I believe Alton Brown has done that on a few episodes of Good Eats as well.

It's amazing how we associate scarcity with quality. Nowadays, there is a bias against aluminum because it is so widespread, though ironically it was prized above gold until they figured out a way to easily extract it about one hundred years ago. The properties cited in this article really do make the case for thick aluminum for a whole line of cookware, not just woks. Even if it is 4 times more expensive per pound than steel, since it is 1/3 the density of steel, the price per wok need not be that high, especially since aluminum is a lot easier to mold than steel. And since an aluminum wok that is 3 times thicker than a steel one will maintain much faster heat redistribution and heat retention (according to the table) while still being the same weight, I would much rather have the former.

I don't think we need to worry about the non-stick coating coming off IF we are using our anodized aluminum woks over a conventional gas stove.

All of my struggles with woks have stemmed from the puny flames emitted by regular stoves. If I had to worry about the non-stick coating wearing off, I'd probably be dealing with a MUCH bigger fire, in which case I'd switch over to carbon steel or a lighter cast iron wok!

I've tossed two carbon steel woks in despair and frustration over the last few decades, and all but abandoned my attempts at Chinese cooking. And as cooking experts who knew better than me always said that carbon steel woks were the only way to go, I never considered a nonstick aluminum wok. As I'm a devoted user of aluminum pots and pans, I'm going to make one my next purchase, I now feel confident about trying Chinese dishes again. Thanks for this great article and analysis!

I think you'll be hard pressed to find a manufacturer willing to work with aluminum at that gauge. You're talking about procuring a material in a very specific gauge for a very specific use for a limited market. The seemingly general disdain for aluminum cookware and the fact that aluminum can be up to 4 times more expensive per pound than steel would make mass production for a niche market kind of financially unfeasible for a manufacturer I would imagine.

A nice idea if you could swing it though

Hi folks,

Any thick anondized aluminum wok will do, and it should only be in the 30 to 50 dollar range, if not less. The one my mother uses cost me 3 bucks at a rummage sale, and I think we eventually traced its origins to Target. That’s one really nice thing about aluminum cookware – it’s cheap! Of course, there are nicer models out there – certainly ones that I’ve never been able to afford, but I’m sure others can chime in with recommendations.

For those who like their carbon steel vessels: I think that over a very high flame, a carbon steel wok works because it acts as a thin mediator between food and fire. The fire can jump into the wok, and then you’re REALLY searing that food. However, I’ve tried using carbon steel woks over several different gas stove ranges in home kitchens in the United States, and the results have never been hot enough. But if you have a Viking range or something like that, then that’s a different story.

I think idriveajeed is spot-on. In Shanghai, my aunt stir-fries over a counter-top gas range that would never pass US safety regulations. The flames are extremely powerful. The last time I visited, I believe that she switched over to an anodized aluminum wok, but I know that in my grandparents’ house they’re still using a carbon steel wok.

Any specific model or brand to recommend?

I have a Joyce Chen model, but the coating has burned/curled at the bottom. Guess it could not handle the high heat of even my electric stove-top.

We are looking to replace it with a top-notch model. Price is not an issue. We want the best.

Recommendations?