Chef Kwok Keung Tung tosses the wok with one hand, using the other to stir with a metal spatula. Both hands occupied, he uses his knee to nudge the gas stove’s lever up and down to control the fire fan, sporadically engulfing a third of the wok in flames. It takes only three minutes for the lump of white rice to transform into the bowl of golden fried rice he places on the serving counter.

“Wok is the essence of Chinese cooking in South China. And Cantonese chefs are the master of fire and wok.” For those who grew up in a Cantonese family, it’s almost impossible to go to a Chinese restaurant without hearing someone — usually older — comment “gau wok hei” (enough wok hei) or “ng gau wok hei” (not enough wok hei) when establishing a benchmark of how authentic a Chinese restaurant actually is.

Hei (also Romanized as “hay”) is the Cantonese word for “chi,” meaning energy flow. It was once a hard-to-explain and largely ethereal concept mostly popular in the South China region. In other parts of China or Asia, even though they used woks, they didn’t focus on wok hei.

“Wok hei is not simply hot food; it’s that elusive seared taste that only lasts for a minute or two,” legendary American Chinese food writer Grace Young wrote. In other words, it’s a combination of that steaming aroma you breathe in and the almost-burning sensation on your tongue that somehow enhances the flavors of the dish.

Fried rice was brought into the spotlight in July, thanks to a viral YouTube video titled “Uncle Roger DISGUSTED by this Egg Fried Rice Video.” In the clip, “Uncle Roger,” a character created by UK-based Malaysian stand-up comedian Nigel Ng, reacts to a BBC video on how to cook egg fried rice.

He points out everything done wrong in the original egg fried rice video, a response that has gathered more than 17 million views so far. Among the major offenses in the original video? Watery rice