Tips: How do I know my Wok is heated Thoroughly?

In my recipes where I need to stir fry or fry with my wok (I usually do not deep fry, unless absolutely necessary as I do not like to recycle the oil - too much carcinogens, and I find it absolutely very wasteful to use a pot of oil for only one use), I always heat the wok thoroughly before heating the oil, so as to prevent the oil from smoking before the wok is thoroughly heated.  This is a problem especially when you are using a good stainless steel wok as there are actually many layers (indicated by the ply of the wok).

Some of you have asked me " how do you know that the wok is heated?  I guess, I can easily tell cause before using for cooking, I will usually wash my wok under running water, though I drain dry, I do not wipe dry, so there are usually water droplets at the side and base of my wok.  Therefore, when the wok is heated, the water will bubble and sizzle off, so the wok is heated when the water droplets at the side also sizzle off.

If you are starting from a dry wok, you can sprinkle some water at the base and side, that will help you determine if the wok is thoroughly heated.