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A wok's handle is equally as important: A too-short wok handle could mean it getting too hot to handle (or worse, using a kitchen rag and risking it catch on fire). An uncomfortable handle means tossing food with two hands or arm fatigue while cooking. The worst handle is one that can't be taken off and can't go into an oven when the wok itself needs proper oven seasoning. This unrivaled hotness resilience is the reason most high-volume eateries keep a variety of pre-prepared dishes available. Gourmet specialists can leave them on the burners for extended periods without stress. Cons of Pre-seasoned Wok 1. Requires Seasoning.
The common and poetic definition for wok hei is "breath of the wok." You’ve seen it in action if you’ve ever watched traditional wok cooking, the moment clearly identifiable as small flare-ups burst in and around the dish. Most importantly, it’s the vital, critical difference between limply sautéed and briskly wok-fried—an immeasurable quality that adds unplaceable depth and gorgeous warmth to stir-fried dishes. Grace Kelly is the associate commerce editor for Serious Eats. She has professional cooking experience and also worked at America's Test Kitchen. For this review, she tested a handful of woks we hadn't previously considered, including the ones from Mammafong and Joyce Chen. The wok also features a solid wood anti-scalding handle and a flat bottom design to make sure that it sits securely on any stovetop.The best woks can do it all, but only a wok can turn out stir-fry as it's meant to be: with vegetables that are vibrant, blissfully blistered, yet tender-crisp; meat that captures a little browning without drying out; and dishes with little oil but a lot of naturally extruded flavor. Not only does a wok allow you to cook high-volume ingredients—like the vegetable-heavy dishes Asian cuisine is known for—by virtue of its tall sides, but its sloping sides also catch heat in a blooming pattern, creating different zones. Where the flames hug the bowl is where you sear; up toward the edge is where you keep warm and dry. Dry with a paper towel and heat the wok over high heat until all the moisture has evaporated. Let it cool. The hand-hammered look of the Craft Wok Carbon Steel Wok is really appealing and overall it felt very durable, sturdy, and stable. It was heavier than the others we tried, especially with food in it. (Tossing food would be best reserved for stronger chefs.) The second handle is helpful for stabilizing and maneuvering, but be aware that the secondary handle gets very hot during cooking. After you go through the initial wok seasoning process, all you need to do is cook with your wok often and follow our easy directions to care for it properly!
L.A Hubilla is a freelance commerce writer for PEOPLE specializing in home and lifestyle content. She also tests products for a variety of digital outlets including Travel + Leisure, People, Byrdie, and InStyle, among others. Our Lab team has spent collective decades working in professional kitchens, developing recipes, and testing kitchen gear. Ease of Use: Woks are meant to be moved around during cooking. We assessed how easy a wok was to maneuver on the stove, especially when we were tossing food around while making stir-fry or fried rice. While this wok’s size means that it can cook a large amount of food, it also makes it pretty cumbersome to work with—and this could be challenging for beginners who aren’t used to heavy pans. However, it has a wooden handle and an accompanying steel helper handle that make it easier to lift and move while cooking.
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Historically, woks were made using cast iron, but nowadays, they are more commonly made with carbon steel. Both are known for their ability to impart wok hei, which is a Cantonese phrase that translates to “breath of the wok.” It’s that indescribable smoky, charred flavor you can only get from searing your ingredients on blazing heat in a properly seasoned pan.
Our catalogue is dedicated to showing off the best woks & skillets in the perfect kitchen sizes, including 7.9”, 10.3”, 11.8”, 13.5”, and 14”. The Wok Shop has been a mainstay of San Francisco’s Chinatown for over 40 years, so you can trust that its carbon steel wok won’t disappoint. It has a helper handle and an extra-long wooden handle, which make it easier to add in and toss your ingredients. It also comes in both round- and flat-bottom styles, with sizes ranging from 12 to 16 inches in diameter to fit the number of people in your household. If you opt for the round-bottom wok, The Wok Shop also sells wok rings, so you can use it over a gas stove. The wok should be re-heated on high heat until it starts to smoke again. This step should be repeated multiple times until a dark patina appears on the surface. I made dinner at a friend’s houseonce, and I was horrified at his wok. It was downright greasy and covered incrusty layers of old food. His “method” of seasoning was not scrubbing the wok clean after use. Dry Thoroughly: After washing, make sure to dry the wok thoroughly. Moisture can cause rust, so be sure to wipe the wok with a clean cloth until it is completely dry.
The best affordable carbon steel wok: Joyce Chen 14-inch carbon steel flat-bottom wok
We recommend this for small to moderately-sized households, as it has enough capacity to cook a fair amount of food at once. At this medium-range price point, we think that this wok delivers in all areas and is worth it for anyone doing a fair amount of woking at home. But after a long time of no use, it may be a little worse for wear. Here’s what you can do to revive it: The shape of the wok was ideal for stirring and redistributing food: Even with a full pan, it was easy to keep an even distribution. The size of the cooking surface was excellent and efficient for cooking around the intentional hot spots on the sides of the wok. It’s even oven safe, which is a plus. Cleaning was a breeze, and with some more seasoning over time, this wok will have you cooking like a pro.
Home woks come in a wide range of sizes, from small 8-inch versions that are ideal for singles, all the way to 36 inches for feeding a party. A good average size to have is a 12- or 14-inch wok, which fits well on a standard stove, and can typically feed three to four people depending on their appetites. It will give you enough room to stir-fry a generous amount of food without worrying you might accidentally toss some of it out of the wok. While the wok isstill warm, use a paper towel to spread the oil over the entire inner surface of the wok. There should be no standing oil. A wok is a priced possession of all Asian cooks for its ability to make delicious and crispy stir fry. Choosing a crafty wok needs experience. However, you can’t have the most ideal wok even after spending a fortune rather you have to make it the best by seasoning it the right way. Egg-Frying Test: Over medium-high heat, we fried an egg in two teaspoons of vegetable oil, to assess any imperfections in the existing seasoning. We repeated this test twice in each wok.More than 2,000 years ago, during China’s Han Dynasty, cast iron was smelt into a unique form, one where a curved bottom flared out into an expansive width ending in high walls designed to retain both heat and ingredients. The name it was given was simple: wok. In the Cantonese spoken in its region of origin, wok literally means “cooking pot.” Not particularly specific, perhaps, but neither are its uses. As time has shown, the wok's design is that of a workhorse—a multi-cooking wonder with infinite capabilities. It is durable because when you drop your dish on the floor, hit it into one more container in the cabinet, or erroneously overheat it, its odds of breaking, scratching, or distorting are slim. Hungry for stir-fry? Want to try your hand at baking a dutch baby? No matter what you are making, make it the Yosukata way, in a cookware brand you can trust. Believe us when we say — you will be able to taste the difference. Traditionally, woks are made with a round bottom that helps distribute heat evenly throughout the pan. Round-bottom woks were originally used over open flames, but since the majority of modern stove tops are flat, woks are now designed with flat bottoms to make them compatible. However, flat-bottom woks don’t have the same heat consistency as round-bottom options. If you have a gas stove, you can use a round-bottom wok as long as you have a wok ring, which is a metal circle that holds the wok in place above the burner.
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