What material makes the best wok

As a few of you know I recently exchanged my electric cooktop for a 5 burner gas cooktop. I am now thinking that I want to buy a round bottom wok, and I want to be sure to get one made of of the best material. At this point I am thinking cast iron, but am also wondering about a hand hammered wok that basically is two sheets of steel hammered together. of course there is stainless, and aluminum, and non stick, and enameled, ad infinitum. Also, since I am now cooking with gas, do I also need a wok ring? I will stop by a couple oriental stores today and see what is available from them. I have looked at Ebay (I almost hate that place) and at Amazon, as well as Google. I looked at the Lodge cast iron home page and they want $80 for a 14" cast iron wok, which seems a bit high priced. So, which is best, what would you buy? And where would you buy it?

IMO the best woks are the traditional hammered steel kind. They're made from sheet steel that's rolled into a tight coil that is approximately the diameter of the finished wok. This is then thinly sliced across the grain, then placed into a form and hammered into shape. The hammering also obliterates the gaps in the coil so that you end up with a single, continuous piece of metal and a smooth inner surface. If you look at the outer surface of a wok made in this way, you can still see concentric circles that are the remnant of the original coiled sheet of steel.

I would avoid aluminum, non-stick, and enameled. Cast iron strikes me as likely to be too thick.

Whether or not you need a wok ring depends on the construction of the gas burners on your stove. As long as the wok is stable sitting on the burner, and is at an appropriate height above the flame, you don't need a wok ring. Wok rings are designed for the high-BTU "chop suey range" burners used in Chinese restaurants. I also use one when I stir-fry on my outdoor high-BTU propane gas ring (the kind used for deep-fried turkey).

With a steel or cast iron wok you will of course have to season it. If you have any cast iron or non-stainless steel cookware, you'll already be familiar with the process.

-Paul W.

To elaborate slightly on Paul's excellent response: in traditional wok cookery, you want a material that heats up quickly and cools off equally quickly, hence the use of rolled steel. Cast iron and enamel will retain too much heat and non-stick surfaces are unnecessary: that's what the oil is for. And unless you have a special purpose wok burner, you'll need a wok ring for stability.

Mark Lipton

IMO the best woks are the traditional hammered steel kind.

Thanks for the input Paul. It looks as if the Hand hammered is probably the way to go, even if it has to be replaced ever few years. I found a place on the Internet for $15 plus shipping. http://www.wokshop.com/HTML/products/wo ... mered.html I will look locally though before ordering one. About seasoning a high carbon wok, is this done the same way as seasoning a cast iron skillet? If you look at the link you will see that the wok ring comes with the wok, so That will take care of my needs re stability. Thanks again.

To elaborate slightly on Paul's excellent response: in traditional wok cookery, you want a material that heats up quickly and cools off equally quickly, hence the use of rolled steel. Cast iron and enamel will retain too much heat and non-stick surfaces are unnecessary: that's what the oil is for. And unless you have a special purpose wok burner, you'll need a wok ring for stability.

Mark Lipton

Thanks for the elaboration Mark. see the link in my response to Paul, and see what you think.

To elaborate slightly on Paul's excellent response: in traditional wok cookery, you want a material that heats up quickly and cools off equally quickly, hence the use of rolled steel. Cast iron and enamel will retain too much heat and non-stick surfaces are unnecessary: that's what the oil is for. And unless you have a special purpose wok burner, you'll need a wok ring for stability.

Mark Lipton

Thanks for the elaboration Mark. look at the link in my response to Paul, and see what you think.

Has anyone ever seen a copper wok?

Has anyone ever seen a copper wok?

I haven't Dzve, and I've looked at a 1lot of woks this afternoon. Lots to choose from here though. http://www.wokshop.com/

Has anyone ever seen a copper wok?

I haven't Dave, and I've looked at a 1lot of woks this afternoon. Lots to choose from here though. http://www.wokshop.com.

This looks a lot like the one I have, Bob. I've had it for decades and love it.

http://www.wokshop.com/HTML/products/wo ... ndles.html

This looks a lot like the one I have, Bob. I've had it for decades and love it.

http://www.wokshop.com/HTML/products/wo ... ndles.html

I looked at that one Chef, but It seems to be a flat bottomed wok. I do though like the domed lid with wooden handle. Is yours flat bottomed? And do you use it on an electric or gas stove?

We've been using a ScanPan wok for several years and love it.

This looks a lot like the one I have, Bob. I've had it for decades and love it.

http://www.wokshop.com/HTML/products/wo ... ndles.html

I looked at that one Chef, but It seems to be a flat bottomed wok. I do though like the domed lid with wooden handle. Is yours flat bottomed? And do you use it on an electric or gas stove?

I've used it on gas and electric ranges. I've used it on portable butane stoves. I've used it on high BTU restaurant stoves and in small apartments kitchens. It works just fine, flat bottom and all.

I've used it on gas and electric ranges. I've used it on portable butane stoves. I've used it on high BTU restaurant stoves and in small apartments kitchens. It works just fine, flat bottom and all.

Thanks for the quick response Chef, I do like the looks of that one and the price is right for sure. I have bookmarked the web page. I'll look around in oriental stores locally tomorrow then make a decision. You offer good advice what with having had yours for 30 years.

Diamond.

I also vote for steel. Aluminum and SS suck. Cast iron is too thick. And you don't need teflon. My seasoned woks work as good as teflon.

Stuart, diamond is likely to burn if you get the heat too high.

Bob and Chef - Your URLs point to the round-bottomed and flat-bottomed versions of the same type of wok. Chef's is a tad more expensive because it comes with the lid. If you browse around The Wok Shop site some more I'm sure you can find the lids for sale, too, for use with the round-bottomed wok. Mine came with a lid but I don't recall ever using it. I advise the round bottom if you're using a gas burner exclusively. But as Chef said, the flat bottom is OK, too (just marginally inferior for stir-frying), and has the advantage that it will also work on electric cooking elements.

Regarding having to replace a steel wok every four or five years--that might be true if you're using a 100,000 BTU professional restaurant kitchen heating element. It's certainly not true for a mere mortal home gas range. I've had my hammered steel wok for over 20 years and it's still going strong.

I would advise against a copper wok. Copper conducts heat magnificently, but it's too soft a metal for a thin, round pan such as a wok. I'd be worried about it getting dented, scratched, and deformed. Also, it's a far more reactive metal than steel. I don't think you can season copper.

-Paul W.

A lid is handy at times, though. Some dishes require "steaming" after sauteing.

I agree with Paul. You'll never need another wok. I've had mine for over 30 years.

You can frequently pick up steel woks at garage sales in the $3 or less range. Since they usually come with a lid, you can throw away the wok and use the lid if you want to. BTW, an aluminum lid is okay.

Regarding seasoning a wok:

Non-stainless steel has microscopic pits and pores in its surface, and in the absence of an alloy metal the iron is prone to rust formation when exposed to atmospheric oxygen, especially in the presence of heat and moisture. The seasoning process fills the pits and coats the surface with a thin film of triglyceride lipids (fats) that have been partially carbonized and oxidized into a fairly hard, water-repellent surface that seals the metal from oxygen and prevents corrosion and rusting.

You need some neutral, high smoke point fat, such as peanut oil, canola oil, corn oil, soy oil, or even lard. It doesn't matter which it is. Be sure to use fresh oil or fat, not filtered oil that you've cooked in already. Cooked oil has already partially broken down and won't do as good a job of seasoning.

A new steel wok will have been coated with a mineral-based oil (machine or motor oil) to keep it from rusting in storage. First order of business is to scrub the wok thoroughly with a steel pad and dish detergent to remove this. Dry the wok thoroughly.

You now have two choices on how to proceed: stove top or oven.

To season in an oven, pre-heat your oven as hot as it will get. Using paper towels, apply a thin coating of oil/fat to the entire inside of the wok. You want a good coat, but not so much that oil is running down the sides. Place the wok in the oven and leave it there for half an hour. Turn off the heat and let the oven cool down on its own. When it's completely cool, remove the wok. You may see stains along the side where oil has run down--don't worry about these.

To season on the stove top, place the dry wok over the heating element set on high. Heat the wok thoroughly. Using several sheets of paper towels crumpled up, very quickly apply several thin coats of oil to the wok, pausing between each coat. The oil will smoke and partly burn--this is what you want. Be careful not to set the paper towels on fire. You're done when the oil starts to bead up on the surface when it's applied. Turn off the heat, wipe off any excess oil, then let the wok cool on its own.

If you've properly seasoned your wok, any food that sticks to it will be easily removed with warm water and nothing more abrasive than the plastic pads you use for cleaning teflon. If you use soap or detergent, you'll have to repeat the seasoning process.

Most oriental stir-fry recipes start by adding a small amount of oil or fat to the wok and heating it to high heat. This has the side effect of reinforcing the seasoning at each use.

The wok probably will need to be re-seasoned after you do boiling, braising, or stewing in it. Otherwise the seasoning will hold for many cooking sessions. To re-season, scrub it thoroughly with detergent and steel wool (or a brillo pad) and repeat the seasoning process as outlined above. I've found I very seldom have to do this.

-Paul W.

I only had to reseason my wok once in all those years.

One day after class the student who was the designated pot and pan washer that day stayed very late - much later than anyone ever needed to stay. I wanted his ass out of there. He had stayed late a few other days, too.

On this day he was hunched over something in the sick scrubbing away. I don't need to go on, do I?

At that point the wok only had about 18 years of seasoning.

He held it up to me.

"See, Chef, spic and span." It was. I didn't kill him.

The pot and pan sink was in a smaller room right next to the pantry where I kept the liquor. Turned out this was the reason he was staying late every day. He had burned through a bottle of brandy and a bottle of bourbon before I nabbed him.

He didn't graduate.

That's a good story.

I waited tables to pay my way through school and one of the places I worked at asked for a volunteer to stay and close up the restaurant each night after everyone left. I jumped at the chance to do this because I was underage and it meant unsupervised access to a very well stocked bar and wine cellar.

This arrangement worked very well for the majority of a summer. I would close up the restaurant and while working would help myself to whatever I was thirsty for that evening. Of course all good things must come to an end. On a hot and humid August night I called up one of my buddies and told him to stop by the restaurant after 10:30 for a drink. Well, one drink turned into two, two turned into four, four turned into eight, etc. and the next thing we knew it was a little before 2:00 AM and who should come through the door into the restaurant but the owner. And his mistress or prostitute. He exclaimed, "What are you doing here???" And I replied, "What are you doing here???"

Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.

At that point the wok only had about 18 years of seasoning.

He held it up to me.

"See, Chef, spic and span." It was. I didn't kill him.

You're a better man than I, Chef. I have several very nice cast iron skillets that my mother graciously gave me when I left home at age 18. Needless to say, the first thing that I did was to season them, then spent the next several decades scrupulously cleaning them with water only and non-abrasive scrubbers. Then, one fateful day when several of my in-laws were visiting, I entered the kitchen to see my well-meaning mother-in-law scrubbing one of my cast iron skillets with a Brillo pad because "it looked dirty" It is a testament to the strength of our marriage that my mother-in-law never learned of my reaction.

Mark Lipton

[quote="Paul Winalski"]Regarding seasoning a wok:<snip>
/quote]

Excellent tutorial, Paul. I'd just add that this same technique is used to season cast iron cookware.

Mark Lipton

On this day he was hunched over something in the sick scrubbing away. I don't need to go on, do I?

An unfortunate misspelling.

-Paul W.