Straight to the Point
Our favorite wok is the Yosukata Black Carbon Steel Wok. It’s heat-responsive, easy to season, and reasonably priced. We also highly recommend this more budget-friendly wok from Joyce Chen.
Spun woks are produced on a lathe, giving them a distinct pattern of concentric circles. This pattern offers the same advantages as a hand-hammered wok, allowing you to easily keep your food in place against the side of the pan. They are, without fail, made from low-gauge steel and prone to developing hot and cold spots as well as feeling flimsy. Spun woks can be found in heavy gauges, with flat bottoms and flip-friendly handles. Fortunately, both spun woks and hand-hammered woks are inexpensive.
Wok Shapes and Handles Serious Eats / Vivian Kong Traditional woks have a deep bowl shape designed to fit into a circular opening directly over the hearth. Unless you have a custom wok insert in your range (if you do, you probably aren’t reading this article anyway), you want to avoid round-bottomed woks. They won’t work, period, on an electric range, and are tough to use on a gas range—even with one of those wok rings. On the other hand, woks with bottoms that are too flat defeat the purpose of a wok, making it tough to flip properly and move food in and out of the high-heat zone. Your best bet is a wok with a four- to five-inch flattened area at the bottom, with gently sloping sides that flare out to between 12 and 14 inches. This will give you plenty of high-heat space for searing meats and vegetables at the bottom, while still providing ample volume and room to maneuver when flipping. As for handles, you have two choices. Cantonese-style woks have a small handle on either side, while Northern-style woks have a single long handle, and usually a smaller helper handle on the opposite side. The latter is the type of wok you want. The large handle facilitates flipping and stir-frying, while the short helper handle makes it easy to lift. What is Wok Hei? Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik Wok hei is a flavor. It’s often described as smoky, singed, and, at times, just short of burnt. To paraphrase from The Wok, wok hei comes “from a combination of polymers and oil breaking down within the skillet, and from microscopic droplets of fat vaporizing as you toss food up and over the edge of a wok into the hot column of air created by the intense burner below”. Wok hei also includes the searing of soy sauce or other liquids around the lip of the wok, which caramelizes and imparts additional smoky flavor. How to Season and Clean a Wok 6:53 How to Season a Carbon Steel Wok Just like with a good cast iron pan, a carbon steel wok’s performance will improve the more you use it. Most come with a protective film of oil to prevent them from rusting or tarnishing in the store, but it’s important to remove this layer before using it the first time. Scrub the wok out with hot, soapy water and dry it carefully; then place it over a burner on the highest heat possible until it starts to smoke. Carefully rotate the pan, so that every area of it is exposed to this super-high heat. Rub it down with oil using a paper towel held in a pair of tongs, and you’re ready to go. After use, avoid scrubbing the wok unless absolutely necessary.Maintaining a seasoned wok is crucial for ensuring its longevity and non-stick properties. Here are some expert tips to help you care for your wok properly.
**Washing and Drying**: A simple rinse and a gentle rubdown with a soft sponge are often sufficient for cleaning your wok. Some purists advise against using soap, but we find that using soap, like Dawn, which is free of lye, helps to maintain our woks’ seasoning and nonstick properties. After rinsing, it’s important to dry your wok thoroughly with a kitchen towel or paper towel to prevent rust.
**Oiling the Wok**: Once your wok is dry, apply a thin layer of vegetable oil to the surface. This creates a vapor-proof coating that protects against rust and further seasons the wok. Over time, the oil polymerizes, filling the microscopic pores in the metal’s surface, resulting in a deep black, nonstick finish.
**Regular Hand-Washing**: Hand-wash and dry your wok after every use to maintain its seasoning. Stir-frying, braising, and steaming can all introduce imperfections on the wok’s surface. Lightly scrubbing and washing helps to even out these imperfections and maintain a smooth surface. Avoid using a dishwasher, as it can damage the seasoning.
**Soap Usage**: Contrary to popular belief, dish soap is perfectly fine to use on a wok. It acts as a surfactant, stripping away unwanted flavors, grease, and residues. Just make sure to rinse off all the soap thoroughly.
**Drying and Heat**: Water is the enemy of carbon steel and cast iron, especially for a wok. To prevent rust and maintain the non-stick seasoning, ensure your wok is bone dry after washing. You can dry it with towels or heat it up on the stove to evaporate all moisture.
**Eliminating Off Flavors**: If you cook pungent foods, the fats can linger on the wok’s surface and affect the flavors of subsequent dishes. Heating your wok after washing can help eliminate these unwanted flavors.
**Final Oiling**: After ensuring your wok is dry, apply a thin, even layer of neutral, high-heat oil to the inside surface. Use a paper towel to wipe off the excess until the surface is coated but not shiny. This oil layer protects the wok from moisture and contributes to the seasoning process.
Storing your wok in a dry area is crucial as water can damage its surface. Keep your wok away from moisture to maintain its longevity.
Be cautious when cooking with acidic foods, such as vinegar or citrus juices, as they can corrode the wok’s surface if left in contact for too long. Avoid making long-cooking acidic dishes, and wash your wok immediately after cooking with acidic ingredients to minimize corrosion.
Re-seasoning your wok is a beneficial practice, as the seasoning changes with use. Depending on cooking frequency, food types, and stove conditions, some parts of the wok may require more seasoning than others. Following systematic steps for re-seasoning can help maintain your wok’s performance.
Our Favorite Woks:
The Best Wok – Yosukata Carbon Steel Wok Pan: After testing, our top pick is a pre-seasoned wok that heats up quickly, is affordably priced, and features a helper handle. It’s available on Amazon and comes with a protective film that needs to be removed before use.
Alternative Pre-Seasoned Pick – Mammafong Pre-Seasoned Blue Carbon Steel Flat-Bottom Pow Wok: This wok heats up quickly and evenly, making it ideal for stir-frying. Its lightweight design and angled handle provide perfect leverage for tossing food.
The Best Budget-Friendly Wok – Joyce Chen Carbon Steel Wok: This wok offers great nonstick performance after a quick round of seasoning. It has a large capacity, which is perfect for cooking large quantities, and its wooden helper handle stays cool during cooking.
The Best Wok with Included Accessories – Souped Up Recipes Carbon Steel Wok: With a wide, flat bottom that provides stability on various cooking surfaces, this pre-seasoned wok comes with a wooden lid and a chuan, making it an excellent choice for beginners.FAQs:
What kind of wok is best for an electric stove? A flat-bottomed wok is recommended for electric stovetops as it provides better heat distribution and stability.
When it comes to selecting the best wok, we recommend a 14-inch size. You can read our full review of flat-bottomed woks here.
What are the best woks made of? We recommend buying a carbon steel wok. It heats quickly and evenly, is responsive to heat changes, is pretty affordable, and is easy enough to season and maintain. We do not recommend buying a nonstick, cast iron, or stainless steel wok. Should a wok have a lid? Yes! There are many times when you might want to simmer or braise a dish covered. In fact, dishes like whole steamed fish or steamed lobster practically demand a lid. And in the (hopefully rare) event of a grease fire or similar mishap, you’d be wise to keep a lid handy to snuff out those flames. To be honest, you could get away with any lid that fits. However, having a dedicated wok lid can be helpful since many are designed with the wok’s large diameter in mind. In general, you’ve got two styles: the flat, lightweight wooden lids, and the more modern cloche-style metal or glass lids. The flat lids are low profile and don’t offer much clearance, but they’re considerably easier to store. The larger domed lids are better suited for tasks like steaming since the added clearance allows air to circulate. Why We’re the Experts: J. Kenji López-Alt is the former culinary director of Serious Eats and still moonlights as a culinary consultant for the site. He’s the author of the James Beard award-winning cookbooks The Food Lab and The Wok. Tim Chin is a professional cook and previously worked at America’s Test Kitchen. He’s written many recipes, explainers, and equipment reviews for Serious Eats—including woks and sauciers. Tim also heavily contributed to The Wok issue, helping to re-vamp several of our skill-based pieces, like guides for deep-frying and stir-frying. Tim grew up cooking with a wok, it being one of the first cooking tools he encountered in the kitchen. To Find the Best Woks for Stir Frying and More, We Smoked up Our Kitchen: CookwareAsian Cuisines
