Does cooking vegetables increase their flavor?
One simple reason to cook vegetables is to kill microorganisms, which can make you sick. 

In Chinese wok cooking, very high heat is used to get wok hei.


  The distinct taste of wok hei is partially imbued from previous cooking sessions. In practical terms, the flavour imparted by chemical compounds results from caramelization, Maillard reactions, and the partial combustion of oil that come from charring and searing of the food at very high heat in excess of 200 °C (392 °F).[11] Aside from flavour, there is also the texture of the cooked items and smell involved that describes wok hei.