In the mid-1960s, there were virtually no oven grillers, gas rings or electrical applicances in South East Asia. Most households cooked on small charcoal-burning stoves made of clay in a kitchen separated from the main house.

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Meanwhile, the poorest families used a simple fire outdoors. A very few people in the cities – and these were the really wealthy ones – owned multi-burner kerosene stoves.

This is still the case in some parts of the north, in particular Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, probably Burma, and in some rural areas. But gas rings, wok cookers, upright stoves and a plentiful supply of plug-in electrical appliances are now a normal part of the batterie de cuisine in many households in the south.

The nature of the traditional equipment still shapes the cooking habits of much of South East Asia. Oven-roasting and oven-baking is seldom done; instead there is grilling over charcoal – sometimes in banana leaves – though in some places this is increasingly being abandoned in favour of deep-frying in a wok. Other cooking methods involve boiling or simmering, steaming or stir-frying on top of heat.

Leaning to adapt

No major problems accompany the conversion of a Western kitchen to allow for cooking Asian-style. It is a matter more of ignoring equipment than of adding to it, and all methods of Asian cookery may be adpated to what is at hand. Items that should be charcoal-grilled may be cooked under a griller or in an oven if necessary, and those that call for cooking in banana leaves will not suffer too much in many cases if wrapped in foil instead. Such adaptations will not often be necessary, however, since you can buy banana leaves in Asian food stores in many places nowadays, and the Western love affair with the barbecue and charcoal grill is widespread.

The equipment vital for South East Asian cooking is a wok made from heavy aluminium or lighter sheet iron, complete with a spatula for stir-frying and a wire oil-drainer for deep-frying; also some kind of grinding apparatus – preferably a stone mortar and pestle.

All over South East Asian, the wok is a basic and very versatile utensil. It is perfect for stir-frying, allowing plenty of room to toss ingredients around so that their entire surface comes in contact with the heat. The spatula should have a wedge-shaped blade with a slightly curved edge that will fit snugly into the wok's contours.

The wok's shape allows for just the right kind of fairly rapid evaporation that is required when making dry curries. It also nicely accomodates the initial frying of spices needed before main ingredients and liquids are added. It is excellent for deep-frying too. You can use much less oil than you would otherwise, and the temperature remains more even and predictable. Make sure, however, that your wok is not stainless steel, who heat conductivity is hopeless.

Wok this way

Unfortunately, a proper rounded wok cannot be used on the rigid hot-plates of an electric stove. And while flat-bottomed woks are now available, you lose many of the advantages of the round-bottomed kind. Nor does an electric wok give you fast enough heat control or distribute the heat properly. Gas, however, is ideal, and many gas stoves nowadays come with a good double jet and the right-shaped bracket for wok cooking. For older gas stoves you can buy a special metal frame to put over the jet to keep the wok steady.

If you don't have a gas stove, it's possible to buy a small cooker with a double ring of jets, with a gas cylinder attached made specifically for woks. I still have one of these built into a mobile cupboard under a bench at just the right height for me in an otherwise all-electric kitchen. I pull it out when I cook with a wok and have the bonus of easy access to the bottled sauces, which stand beside the has bottle on a shelf underneath. A stove like this is not expensive and can be kept especially for Asian cooking.

This is an edited extract from Rosemary Brissenden's South East Asian Food cookbook (Hardie Grant, $49.95).

Recipes

• Steamed spiced chicken (amok)

• Chicken rice porridge (khao tom kai)

• Stuffed sago balls (saku sai mu)