it's all about wok hei and traditional straits chinese cooking techniques passed down generations from sifu to disciples. that can never be taught and learned simply by throwing an ah tiong fresh off the boat on the job.
fire must be superhot from superhigh btu burner, specially designed and built for a giant cauldron in a field kitchen. instead of cauldron where a man can be cooked live, the straits chinese, as opposed to tiongs, use a giant seasoned wok. thick fat rice noodles are fried with sizzling oil from pork lard to reach "caramelization" (that burnt stage) before setting aside and frying meat and vege ingredients on a dry wok. easily cooked seafood and pork liver are added next to last before the gluey gravy with fresh eggs. the same wok needs to be cleaned and dried twice.
the problem with tiong cooks is that they shortcut the techniques by humpalang cooking everything in sight by mass stir frying without caramelizing the rice noodles. if sinkies don't pass down the right techniques and sequences, they will be gone forever.
