The kerosene-fueled flames at Oi Man Sang Kitchen leap and lick their way around the massive woks the cooks toss and turn above them. Flames so intense, so all-consuming, the burners live streetside in stainless steel alcoves separate from the actual restaurant. Bringing those burners inside would court disaster.

It’s an impressive introduction to this legendary dai pai dong, or open-air food stall, one of a near-extinct breed of eatery in Hong Kong. The menu is sprawling, most of it cooked in those deeply scorched woks, and all of it delicious. But the one dish I’d shame you for not ordering—stir-fried black pepper beef and potatoes.

Half the magic is the speed of the cooking. Hunks of beef and chunks of potatoes are flash-fried until perfectly crisped outside, yet wonderfully tender inside. A copious finish of black pepper and chilies ties it all together. But speed is only part of the story. The rest is how they treat the beef and potatoes before they go in the wok.

The beef is tossed with a seasoning slurry that includes baking soda. A short stint in that tenderizes the meat, ensuring it develops the perfect searing outside, while remaining tender inside. Meanwhile, the potatoes are parcooked, then coated with cornstarch, a common way for getting great crisping on french fries.

The result is so much more than the sum of the parts. And while a 200,000 BTU wok burner certainly helps, I was pleased we were able to get equally delicious (and arguably safer) results using a skillet on our conventional burners back home.