Really, as far as woks go, you can't beat the inexpensive ones you buy in Chinatown. They're made out of some sort of steel, but it isn't stainless. You have to temper them, like an iron fry pan and they work better and better the longer you have them.

Unfortunately, the problem with a wok is that most American stoves don't put out a high enough flame to stir fry properly. Only the restaurant type stoves with the really high flames do. On the average American stove, the sides of the wok simply do not get hot enough to be useful, so you're stuck cooking the food in the rounded bottom, and it tends to get "simmered" so to speak rather than seared as it should.

For this reason, my opinion is that you're better off with a large, good quality saute pan and practicing on the kind of "flipping" motion professional chefs use to toss the food around in the pan. In this way, you have a larger surface that gets really hot and can better duplicate the "seared in" flavor of really good Chinese stir fry.

I have one of the inexpensive steel woks like Rachelellen mentioned, bought at a Chinese grocery store.

OTOH, Chinese friends of mine did not own a wok last I knew.

Jim

I've had 2 or 3 woks for the last 33 years. All "flat-bottomed".

Two are the typical, inexpensive Chinese originals. One large, one medium.

One has a non-stick coating. Not my favorite.

There is a VERY good wok currently available at Costco for $29.95. It's big without being unwieldy.

rachel is right about most American stovetops not cranking out enough heat to do it right. But you can get around some of that by:

letting the wok get REALLY hot
on highest flame
toss in the oil to bring it to almost smoking
put your meats in first, in small batches
do the same with the veggies if there's too much.

I've also found that a good, large saute pan works just as well for many recipes.

I'll post my "Stir-Fry Basics" piece later.

Joe

You don't want a non stick wok....because the non stick coating isn't stable at heat high enough tos tir fry.
And I don't think a frying pan is a substitute for a wok.
And yes...with a wok, cheap is good...just a carbon steel 14 inch wok with 2 handles....season it and cook up a storm. Never wash it with soap, just rinse and scrub with a plastic scrubby, wipew ith a little oil and dry over the heat.
And don't even TRY to wok over an electric stove....
Linda C

lindac, Why can you not use a wok on an electric stove?

Because it cycles off when it gets what it "Thinks" is too hot....and because a large part of wok cooking is from the hot sides of the pan from the flames licking up the side.
Linda C

I've had a number of woks over the years. The absolute best one I own is my thick cast iron one. Since the problem wokking at home, is getting the wok hot enough (as everyone else has noted) the cast iron, I find is the best solution. If you put the Cast Iron wok on the gas range for 15 minutes or so, it will get nice and hot, and being thick, retains that heat fairly well, even after you start adding ingredients. Even though cast iron is the best material I've found for wokking, it's relatively inexpensive as well.

My electric stove gets my wok plenty hot.

How hot does it get? After reading threads here poohpoohing stir-frying on electric stoves I decided to preheat my wok a bit longer than usual. Turned out NOT to be a good idea because when I added oil it immediately burst into a column of flames. While I don't know exactly how hot the wok got, it was so much above the 600-plus degree F flash point of peanut oil that several minutes after I covered it and moved it off the burner for better cooling, it still hot enough to burst into flames when uncovered.

Check the Wok Shop dot com. I have heard they are very nice to deal with. You can stir fry in a large pan but it isn't quite the same as a wok. I agree you do not want stainless pan, or a non stick or any of the other fancy ones. Carbon Steel and season it. The more you use it the better it gets.

lindac, I do not know what type of electric stove you are referring to but the ones I have used for many,many years do not have the heat cycle on and off. The burner gets plenty hot to use a flat bottom wok on and the sides of the wok also get hot. No problem what so ever.

My wok came from the Wok Shop. They were great to deal with. A good wok is cheap, frankly. I wouldn't get a non-stick and I wouldn't get the All Clad (as much as I love All Clad).

If it was easier for me to get into Chinatown, I would have just picked it up there. Once you season the wok, it is essentially non-stick. I clean it by scouring it with kosher salt and then putting it back on my burner for a bit to make sure it dries.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wok Shop

OP, compared to ones you listed, a 14 inch carbon steel wok at the wokshop is around $16 or so.

Thanks everyone. I do have a Chinatown that's easy to get to, so I'll piock up a carbon steel wok. I'll do my best to season it. My efforts with cast iron were not successful. I cooked a good meal the first time with the pre-seasoned lodge. But after a couple of times, I had this gunky,sticky black (or amber) residue that I could not get off. I washed it, dried it on the stove top, oiled it, cooked it in the oven. and this stick stuff remains - which interferes with proper cooking and release.

Hopefully my efforts with seasoning a Wok will go better.

Thanks everyone.
Lynn.

Lynn--the problem is oil. You can't successfully season cast iron using oil. It does exactly what you described--turns into a gunky, sticky mess. Put your cast iron on your grill out back (or in your self-cleaning oven) and cook until you've cooked off the old seasoning. Then rub lightly with solid shortening (Crisco), and cook until the pan turns black. If it's brown or sticky, it's not yet ready. You probably want to do at least a couple of coats of seasoning. I recommend doint the process out back on your gas grill, because it keeps the mess and smell out of the house. Once you've reseasoned your cast iron, you'll wonder how you ever got along without it. A well-seasoned cast iron frying pan is one of the most essential kitchen items, IMO. Good luck.

I had a real Chinese wok -- they are carbon steel. Frankly, didn't like it. It will rust at a drop of a pin so it has to oiled before you store it each time.

I have a flat-top stove and I agree woks just don't work on them. The burner does cycle on and off and the it is difficult to season the wok because their is no flame.

I agree with Cooks Illustrated. If you cook in your wok and me in my Calphalon 12" skillet -- you are not like to taste the difference.

Azzalea - thanks so much on those tips about the cast iron. I will be thrilled to be able to use cast iron as you're supposed to. Now that you point out the distinction between oil and Crisco, I recall buying Crisco and using it the first time. I think it was so long until I used the pan again, that I forgot it needs crisco - I probably did use Canola. That was over a year ago and it's hard to remember for certain.

Anyway, when it's a little less cold out, I'll put it on the grill - what a great idea. About how long does it need to grill - both the first time to remove old seasoning - and after the Crisco until it's black. I'm asking so I can make sure I have enough time (and propane) to overlook the whole project. This is also a great time to back to condition these 2 smaller Griswolds I'd bought at a yard sale.

As for Woks, I believ a 12" skillet can cook as well - but I like the ease of tossing and stirring in a Wok. I'm not the most nimble cook - and envision lots of vegetables overboard. I also think it would be fun to toss and stir in a wok. I'll probably try both (since the Wok is inexpensive).

Thanks.
Lynn.

Be careful when saying you agree with Cook's Illustrated: They specifically recommend a nonstick skillet. I've tried this, and aside from warping my pan (Calphalon graciously replaced it for free) and killing my pet bird (just kidding), I would say it definitely lacks a certain quality that I can somewhat acheive in a cast iron skillet. By the way, All-Clad SS will warp, too, and while I got this replaced as well for free I'll just stick to cast iron until I have a more appropriate heat source for a wok.

Isn't a cast iron wok heavy and difficult to maneuver?

Chinese made cast iron pots are a lot thinner and lighter than American made ones, but I was talking skillet.

Here's a video on how to season a wok.

(Ground nut oil = peanut oil)

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Ching He Huang/How To Season A Wok

Here's another.

Do you notice one distinct difference of procedure between the two videos?

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Seasoning new chinese carbon steel wok

And one more.

Watch for that step in the procedure on this one. Which of the previous videos is most in agreement with this one?

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Season a Carbon Steel Wok

Hi Lynn,

Yes, carbon steel, mine is about 30 years old.

My wife and I took a course some thirty odd years ago; not only did we have fun (with 3 other couples) we understood that with two cooks the work is less and we know what to do to do to get it done.

The amount that we eat, serving any more than 4 people, if the stir-fry is the only food served, then would be a stretch for a single 14" wok.

For stir-frying we use:
Peanut oil, Oyster sauce (it doesn't taste like oysters (and I dont' like them as well),fresh garlic and ginger root, salt and pepper.
We add almonds, stir-fried and removed to paper towel and lightly salted before the veggies go in, then over the top of the stir-fry.
Fried egg(s), over hard, fried in the wok before the veggies as well, sliced and placed over the stir-fry.

We don't use soya sauce, but if you do, buy the soya from your favourite Chinese grocer, a bottle is around 2 bucks, much cheaper the some of the "big" outlets.

That's about all that comes to mind right now, enjoy!

Well, you reminded me that I need to make a stir fry, I haven't had that in a while.

I had a wok years ago but it didn't fit well on my gas stove's grates and that little metal ring didn't help. I finally put it in the yard sale, no one bought it and I gave it to GoodWill, LOL, but it was carbon steel and worked fine other than it tipped over off the burner regularly, spilling some of the contents.

Lynn, I agree with azzelea, you need to season the cast iron with shortening instead of oil. I know some other people use oil and have been successful, and my dutch oven is well seasoned because I've done numerous batches of french fries in oil and that's kind of "soaked in", but I still think shortening works better.

I season mine for about an hour at 350 in the oven. I rub the pan with the shortening and then put it upside down in the oven with a baking sheet under it to catch any drips. Mine are pretty old and so just need occasional reseasoning when I cook something high in acid.

I never burn the old seasoning off, I scrub it off, and Dad actually sand blasted one for me, LOL, but I know someone here sprayed theirs with oven cleaner and put it in a garbage bag to get back to the "beginning".

Annie