So, I just bought a Wok...

[hookied_up]

I always loved asian cooking, and have always wanted one so I finally picked one up from the asian grocery. I will have to measure it but I am guessing it is about 14 inches across at the top. I payed about $13.00 for it. I brought it home and washed it and immediatley used it for stir fry that night. I knew I was supposed to season it but I couldn't wait.

I decided tonight to finally season it, as I type this actually. I will hopefully have an after pic soon, if all goes well. The following is the method I used.

mmm-yoso!!!: "Wokking" the Wok

So was this a good method to season my wok? Would it have maybe been a better idea to do this on the grill outside? It hasn't really smoked but did set off the smoke alarm once. I am on round 2 of four in the oven and keeping a close eye on things, with fire extinguisher ready. I used corn oil, is that OK?
Anything else I should know other than the cleaning instructions and info contained there? Tips? Tricks? Ancient secrets?


I am also looking for any new and interesting uses for my wok. So far I have made lo mein, (soft noodles, meat and veggies)and stir fry in it a couple times and it turned out great. I dont have a high output stove, just regular gas burners, so I cant get the really high heat going like they can in most resteraunts. Also it is a round bottom wok, and did not come with the ring for the bottom to make it sit without tipping over. Much better than a regular frying pan if even just for the extra room I had. I am hoping to notice a difference once it is properly seasoned. I am hoping to become a pro with this thing, so any info would be appreciated.


I will post the after pic as soon as I am done with the seasoning process.

 

[hookied_up]

OK so I am all done (I think). It took a good couple hours and I stunk the house up pretty good, even with the windows open. I used the method described in the link above and finished off by cooking up some onion, garlic, garlic chili paste, and some soy sauce, and a few spices. Seems to be a little better as far as food sticking to the wok now.

The last pic was after I fried up the garlic and onions and stuff. I was a little worried about over scrubbing, but I went back and scrubbed the spot that looks a little burnt on. Most of it came of but I am not sure if the rest will or of it is just part of the pan now.

Judging from the pic in the link, I think I did it right. Anyone want to confirm or deny this? Suggestions for something to try next?

 

[chynablue]

Yummy! That looks beautiful! You must be doing something right if you can make food like that with your new wok. Congrats!

 

[Robo410]

certainly an effective way

I like the salt cure method...found at the wok shop on line. Stir fry in clean dry new wok, 1 cup of sea/kosher salt for twenty minutes, moving it around. discard. wipe out the wok and oil and reheat, keep oiling with a cloth as you heat the wok. stir fry some chopped onion garlic and ginger till blackened and discard. wipe out the wok.....ready

the aromatic veggies have a chemical that removes that metalic taste from the raw steel.

It is a fast and effective method of breaking in a new wok.

 

[ducdebrabant]

Is that technically a wok? It has a welded handle and, I gather, no ring. I've seen that advertised as a wok pan. Actually my own wok has no ring either, because it's cast iron (I regret buying it now, because it's so heavy that I use it less), but it only has the little loop handles, one on each side.

 

[Andy M.]

I believe it's a wok. I don't think the attachment method for the handle or the presence or absence of a ring defines the utensil.

I've heard the woks with two loop handles are representative of Chinese style woks while those with one long handle are in the Japanese style. I have no idea if this is true.

 

[silentmeow]

The patina is beautiful! I always have trouble scraping the seasoning off when I stirfry! Guess I'm a little heavy handed. I used to make popcorn in mine when the kids were home. I've also found that crisco seasons the wok best. I use it all the time on my cast iron too. I brown stew meat in the wok, easier to flip around to brown all sides. Experiment and have fun. I want to be burried with my woks and dutch oven!

 

[LEFSElover]

Is that technically a wok? It has a welded handle and, I gather, no ring. I've seen that advertised as a wok pan. Actually my own wok has no ring either, because it's cast iron (I regret buying it now, because it's so heavy that I use it less), but it only has the little loop handles, one on each side.

could you post a picture of yours? didn't know you could get them in cast iron, heavy yes, but I'd bet wonderful at what it's supposed to do.
had been thinking of gettng a wok for some time so bought one about a year and a half ago but couldn't figure it out, no time to want to, so returned it. if I do get one, I think I'll look for a used one, that way, it's seasoned already and therefore ready to go. We did have one in my very young married youth, but couldn't clean it right, didn't care to bust a move over trying too hard and garage sold it...

 

[Chipotle Tom]

That wok looks beautiful. I don't really have anything significant to contribute. I'm now considering replacing my wok just so I can season a new one.

 

[hookied_up]

It WOKS great.
It is like a totally different pan since I seasoned it. Seems to heat alot quicker and more even and is much more non-stick. I can tell I am going to be using this A LOT. I been thinking of so many things I could try in it. Even non asian things like frying potatoes or eggs. I am thinking about getting the ring for it just so its sits on the stove easier. I was worried the ring would keep it too high from the flame and I wouldnt get a high enough temp, but I am willing to give it a try.
I am going to try to throw together my basic stir fry recipe- I know there are tons on the net, but this one is the one I have been working on for years, so I am going to pay a lil better attn. to my "measurements" and see what I can come up with.

 

[KirkK]

Looks like a great job on seasoning.

The Wok looks sort of like a Northern style wok or "pao" wok. This type of wok usually is round bottomed with a long hollow metal handle.

Kirk

mmm-yoso!!!

 

[Green Lady]

Your food presentation on that plate looked absolutely beautiful - fit for a magazine or cookbook! Go and have fun with your new wok.

 

[Robo410]

the smallish 14" or so wok with a welded handle is a pow wok, Chinese, used as a subsidiary to the huge double ring handled woks on the main burners of Asian stoves. They move partially cooked ingredients to the back holding area until reincorporation. But becaus eof their size, they are often great for stir frying for a small meal at home. I have one and a 16" ring handle one.

 

[hookied_up]

Your food presentation on that plate looked absolutely beautiful - fit for a magazine or cookbook! Go and have fun with your new wok.

Thank you
I could have made it a lot prettier, but I was hungry and excited about using my newly seasoned toy. I try to cook for the eyes as much as I do the pallette. I usually like cutting all my veggies and meat in neat little uniform sizes so they cook evenly. That was more thrown together than my usual efforts, but the taste and learning to use my new wok was my main concern.

My wok has a hollow handle that is riveted to the pan part, and a round bottom. I have heard that without a high output burner you are really just steaming the food (especially if your veggies are not properly dried) and not doing a true stir fry, but to me it taste pretty close to what I have had from places I know use a high output burner. I am still learning and that was why I started this thread. I still have a lot of research to do and a ton of things I want to try. Kinda why I started this thread since I didn't really see anything like it here, and I hope I am not the only one that is curious about woks, and asian cooking.

 

[GotGarlic]

My wok has a hollow handle that is riveted to the pan part, and a round bottom. I have heard that without a high output burner you are really just steaming the food (especially if your veggies are not properly dried) and not doing a true stir fry, but to me it taste pretty close to what I have had from places I know use a high output burner. I am still learning and that was why I started this thread. I still have a lot of research to do and a ton of things I want to try. Kinda why I started this thread since I didn't really see anything like it here, and I hope I am not the only one that is curious about woks, and asian cooking.

A high-output burner is not necessary to produce a traditional stir-fry. Restaurants use such burners to produce a lot of food quickly for serving to customers, but stir-frying in a wok is a cooking method developed to conserve scarce fuel - the oldest civilization on earth used up much of its forests early on And if you don't have a lot of fuel to begin with, you won't be using lots of it to prepare your food. From Chef's Toque Culinaire - Kitchen Management - Chefs Kitchen :

"Chinese cookery is basically quick cooking and best known for the unique-shaped frying pan called the wok. The wok is designed in a way to circulate heat quickly and evenly while keeping its contents in constant motion. The Chinese cook uses small, chopped ingredients, so he can expose the maximum amount of food surface to heat in the quickest possible time to conserve a most valuable and diminishing component: fuel. A sauce can easily be made with the ingredients, again, to conserve fuel."

 

[girlgioush]

hei..I'm using that kind of wok everyday for my meals,it's good you like it

 

[keltin]

The seasoning looks great, but I'm curious; is it "sticky" at all when you touch it?

 

[GB]

I am thinking about getting the ring for it just so its sits on the stove easier. I was worried the ring would keep it too high from the flame and I wouldnt get a high enough temp, but I am willing to give it a try.

Before you go out and spend and $, take some aluminum foil and fashion a ring out of that and try it out to see if it does what you want it to do.

 

[hookied_up]

Before you go out and spend and $, take some aluminum foil and fashion a ring out of that and try it out to see if it does what you want it to do.

I like that idea. I am a little bit skeptical about the ring because I think the heat is suppoesed to go up the sides of the pan so you have an are where the food is getting an indirect heat. The ring seems like it would concentrate the heat on the bottom and make the sides cooler. However I do like the idea of the ring because I am a little worried about my wok just rolling off the stove top some day. I would like to try deep frying in it some day but would want something under it if I was going to do that. I am also thinking about a propane type high output burner in the future. It's not a must have, but I would like to see the difference it makes whn cooking on it.

Keltin- it is not sticky or tacky in the least. It looks shiny and almost wet but the patina is pretty much baked on to the wok.

girlgioush- so far I am in love! I have used it for everything from eggs to frying potatoes. I made some chili tonight and used it to brown the burger. I don't know how I cooked all these years without one! Part of it is the noveltyof something new, but it really is easier to move food around in and isolate parts of the food I want to cook faster as opposed to the things I pull up to the sides of the pan.

GotGarlic- Chef's Toque Culinaire - Kitchen Management - Chefs Kitchen :
That looks like a great article. I bookmarked it and will be sure to read the whole thing soon. I didn't know the wok went that far back, but now I know a little better why people that do use them swear by them.

 

[Andy M.]

I don't think the ring will effect the heating of the sides. The heat is transferred through the metal up the sides.