Cookware Center

Buying a wok

Why a wok?

I’m not a good cook. However my family and I do love Chinese feed and we’ve been inspired by Ken Hom to use woks for oriental recipes.

Although stir frys are the most mutual use for them, they may also be used for boiling, braising, steaming, and stewing.

Their distinctive vantage is that they use less oil – a little hot area at the bottom allows feed to be seared. The oil remains in a little pool at the very bottom. The rest of the wok is cooler, with curved sides, permitting the feed to tumble back to the hottest area when tossed or scraped.

Woks likewise have a much more outstanding usable cooking area than conventional pans.

Healthy feed – and lots of it – great!

Materials

I was given my firstborn wok around 25 years ago as a wedding present (I say “around”, but I do know the precise date, honest!)

It is a very large, conventional cast iron one – good looking and in all likelihood very expensive. It distributes the heat in truth evenly. However it is very heavy. And takes a long time to cool so feed needs to be taken out once ready, or it will proceed to cook. If you’re sentiment strong the best looking one I’ve found is here from the Wok Shop at Amazon.

We were finding it too heavy as middle age crept up on us.

So, in the 90′s I cast my eye around for a replacement. Non-stick seemed like a good idea. These woks are normally made from steel with a Teflon non-stick coating. A bad move! Although they may be non-stick, they’re not non-scratch – and a lot of members of the household (maybe me included, I’m not telling!) damaged the surface somewhat soon after we purchased it. Not only that, but these woks cannot cook at the high heat necessary for stir frying. Once the temperature gets close to the right temperature the coating may breaks down. Also, the surface doesn’t grant the juices to stick to the pan and brown – losing much of the conventional stir-fry taste.

The wok became almost unusable, so, last year I started looking around for a replacement.

I saw that some woks are now made with the latest non-stick materials including Xylan and Excalibur and I’m told by friends that they work very well.

Joyce Chen endorses this latest 12 inch non-stick wok here. And this littler (11 inch) one here and more spectacular (14 inch) one here are very good value from cash from Amazon.

However non-stick wasn’t for me again.

Aluminum seems like a good material – light and an splendid conductor of heat. However it doesn’t retain heat well – an essential requirement. And, though anodized aluminum alloys may stand up to uninterrupted use, plain aluminium woks are too soft and harm easily. Also, they won’t work on induction hobs. Good for wok lids, but not for the wok itself, in my opinion. The best looking one I’ve seen is here

Woks are traditionally made from carbon steel. They are comparatively inexpensive and lightweight, have quick heat conduction and reasonable durability. However they need seasoning (see below), which, if not carried out, makes the feed stick. Lower quality ones are single ply and may deform and misshape. You need to pay a reasonable amount more to get one made of two sheets of carbon steel. Carbon steel woks will have to only be washed in warm water to stay clear from damaging the seasoning. But they need to then be dried exhaustively as they may rust comparatively easily. The best looking 14 inch one I’ve seen is available here from Amazon.

Which leaves stainless steel. This is the type I bought. Chromium is added to carbon steel to prevent rusting. They have a hard surface which will not chip, flake, peel or break. Some have much bettered surfaces that may withstand much higher temperatures. They heat and cool quickly. And may be scoured with steel wool to restore the shine after each use. Here is the one I’d commend – a outstanding contemporary look to it.

Shape

Traditionally, woks are round-bottomed. This makes feed having little impact to toss, and minimises splatters.

It is somewhat more difficult to move the feed around in a flat bottomed wok, though most woks are flat as they may be employed in more places.

If you have a gas stove, you’re lucky – you could go for either a round bottomed or flat bottomed wok. However a wok ring is desirable for a round bottomed one on a gas stove. It will aid stabilise it and also directs the heat to the very bottom of the wok, where it’s needed.

Money Saving Tip – an upside-down grid on a gas stove is occasionally the right shape to act as a wok ring.

For an electric stove you need a flat bottomed wok. These need to be cleaned well after each use to keep away from little feed corpuscles getting stuck on the pan.

An alternative, if you have an electric stove, is to get an electric wok. These are stand-alone gimmicks with good heat conductance properties. They are, nonetheless difficult to use if you want to flamboyantly toss your creation around, so perhaps lose some of the magic? The best one I saw is here.

Size

Sizes range from 10″ that would be huge sufficient for a meal for 3, up to 16″, sufficient for 12 people, or much more spectacular for mercantile use.

Accessories

Consider getting a wok lid, spatula and a ladle – all utile for assorted recipes.

Handles

There are two types of handles – loop and stick.

Loop handles are the most mutual and are normally made of bare metal, altho galore have wooden or plastic covers. Cooks need to hold the wok with a thick towel or oven gloves. A reasonable amount of hand, arm and wrist dexterity is necessitated for tossing the food.

Stick handles are long and ordinarily made of steel, although, again, occasionally covered. Sometimes called Peking Pans, these are having little impact to toss if the wok is not too large. Larger woks oftentimes have a loop handle as well.

Seasoning

Carbon steel and cast iron woks need to be seasoned before their firstborn use. This involves rubbing the inside of the wok with oil, placing it over a tame heat so that it begins to smoke, and then removing and permitting to cool. After removing excess oil with kitchen paper, the routine needs to be repeated two or three times.

ReviewHandsome, rugged, and classic in composition, this Asian Kitchen wok is an idealisti tool for the high-heat searing and stir-frying called for in Eastern cooking. Created by Helen Chen, daughter of widely known and esteemed Chinese chef Joyce Chen, the pan is made of lasting 1.8 mm carbon steel. Substantial in weight and construction, it will gradually season to fabricate an optimal cooking surface for veggies, seafood, and meat. Generous in size, the piece is a quick conductor and includes dual two-tone bamboo handles for comfortable, heat-resistant control. Flat-bottomed for use with gas, electric, and induction stovetops, the pan measures 14 inches in diameter and ought to be washed by hand for best results. A version with wooden handles is also available. –Emily Bedard

Wok Pan Pic

Wok Pan Photo

Wok Pan Photo

Most helpful customer reviews

110 of 110 people found the following review helpful.
Very Nice Wok!
By F. Morris
I purchased this wok about 1 month ago. I spent some time researching woks before I made the purchase, including going to stores to look at them, and reading reviews on the internet. I ended up choosing this one and am very happy with my selection. I like the fact that it has bamboo handles and thick carbon steel. It is also well made.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful.
Wooden helper handle falls apart
By Joe
I bought this wok based on the good reviews and attractive design. I’ve had it for 6 months now and the bamboo helper handle has dried out and fallen apart in pieces literally. Lesson learned – I would recommend buying the plastic handle woks instead of these glued bamboo handles especially if you use high heat for stir frying.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful.
Helen Chen Wok
By K. Domagalski
I purchased a wok for my sister for Christmass. I purchased a non-stick coated wok. After receiving the wok my sister went on the net to see reviews of several woks. She decided not to keep the wok I bought because of cancer reports due to TEFLON coatings. After reviewing many woks on AMAZON, I decided on the wok by Helen Chen. After receiving it both of us were very satisfied with the quality of the product. Being the first wok we ever seasoned, we got it wright on the second try. It works great on a flat top electric stove.

See all 44 customer reviews…