The all-purpose wok

Take a stroll through the old town of Phnom Penh, Hanoi or Bangkok: at every corner, you'll see flames shooting up from the street food vendors' carts, brushing against their faces. In a second, you'll smell that unmistakable Asian aroma of fried food mingled with exotic perfumes. The instrument that now dominates many of our kitchens owes its name to the Cantonese expression wok hei ("wok breath") and is said to have been introduced in China during the Han dynasty. After spreading throughout South-East Asia, the wok waited until the end of the 20th century before making its way to Russia and Europe. But what was so special about this frying pan that it "outdid" all the others and seduced us to such an extent? It winked at us and took us by the scruff of the neck.