How cute is that?? Does it sit right on top of the burner, or does it sort of balance on a ring?

I hope you enjoy yours.

Not to be Debbie Downer (it's such a beautiful day and I'm about to go out into it) but we got the larger one as a gift for our second house and after using it a few times, I've concluded that for me, cast iron is not a good material for a wok.

You can get a good carbon steel wok for about $10 from any number of sources, including restaurant supply places. I've had one for about 30 years. They're light and easy to handle. They develop the same black carbon patina as a cast iron pot to become non-stick. My new cast iron lodge wok, which I can't chuck because it was a gift from a family member who expects to see me use it, is just not very handy.

Sjerin, it has flat bottom, so it sits on the burner. In the interior, the flat part is only about 3" in diameter.

Elmer, I have a carbon steel wok, and also a stainless steel one I got as a gift. I may end up agreeing with you about cast iron and woks, but my situation is different from yours. Most of the time I cook only for myself, and my big cast-iron pans can be unnecessarily large. I've often wished I had a small wok for various purposes, not just stir-frying. Until now, the only ones I saw were coated with non-stick stuff, which I don't use. So we shall see, but I have the feeling I'll be happy with it.

Alisande are you certain they are coated with nonstick stuff? I go to several Asian supermarkets and while some of them do have a coating it is not intended for cooking but as protection to keep the metal from rusting. It is best that you wash then heat outside or where you have lots of ventilation.

When cooking something that the wok shape is suitable for, I've found the cast iron one to be not to my liking. And not even close. I can't imagine a stainless steel wok being useful either but I haven't tried one.

maifleur, it's true that most standard range/cooktop gas burners don't get as hot as they should to take greatest advantage of what a wok can do but when both are properly preheated, how could it be that a cast iron wok doesn't reach the same temperature as a carbon steel one? Do you have high temperature woks? I find I rarely use much more than the bottom 50% of the surface and often not even that, the food is never near the top.

I don't have a commercial range but I do have one of the brands known for higher BTU burners and have a wok grate. It's ALMOST as hot as I can make good use of. I'm not Asian and that's why I qualify it.

Elmer I used to have a stove that would get the wok hot enough that it was red when I turned the light off which was my signal it was hot enough. I used to have a range of woks but when I moved to this house were put into the basement never to be seen again.

Cast iron can reach the temperature but the problem is that anything that is placed in them when they are that hot must be almost the same temperature or the cast iron can crack sending pieces of pan all over. Skillets because of the way they are shaped seldom do this unless there were flaws in the iron.

Alisande are you certain they are coated with nonstick stuff?

Yes, it was pretty obvious, plus sometimes the label announced it. These were not from Asian supermarkets (we don't have any)--just the usual stores.

A guru in the cast-iron group I belong, uses his big 14" wok to make Dirty Rice, and almost any other dish.

He does preheat the wok in the oven to get it good and hot, then puts it on the stove top to brown the meats, onions, garlic, rice etc. and finishes cooking it on the stove top.

Cast iron should be heated long and slow anyway, not set over high heat. That's why people have trouble cooking eggs and frying potatoes. They tend to stick when the heat is too high.

I haven't cooked in my mini wok yet, but I have to comment on how beautiful it is. It's like a work of art in my kitchen. However, see the tiny bright spot on the rim toward the bottom of this picture? It feels like a little chip. I thought it would be hard to photograph, but it really reflects light--which makes me think I should return the wok and get a replacement.