The Joyce Chen range of products includes stir fry pans, woks, sushi knives, teapots, shredders and slicers, bamboo steamers and sashimi knives.

Cooking.com are currently holding a sale on all Joyce Chen products! with a whopping 20% discount.

Some of the items on sale include:

• Joyce Chen Ceramic Teapot with Handle
• Joyce Chen Carbon Steel Wok
• Joyce Chen Stainless Steel Chopsticks
• Kitchen Shears by Joyce Chen
• Joyce Chen Shredders and Slicers
• Sushi Kits
• Dumpling Press
• Wok Sets

The sale is on until December 18 2008 so it’s a great opportunity to pick up some great Christmas presents.

CLICK HERE to Save 20% on all Joyce Chen products! (on sale through 12/18)

You can use it for all your Asian style dishes such as your stir-fry, Chicken Chow Mein, Mongolian Lamb or beef and black bean.

This Le Creuset Wok is made from cast iron which is of course well known for its heat retention properties. It has a colorful enameled exterior with the handles that flare stylishly from each side.

The domed glass lid seals in the flavor of the food as it cooks and lets you monitor the food while it cooks.

The Le Creuset Wok does need seasoning as you will find with most cast iron cookware, and the instructions are included in the package.

Le Creuset is known for the quality of their products and this Wok is no exception. It is a fairly solid piece of cookware that will last you a long time simply because it is well made.

Le Creuset enamelled cast iron Woks come in a range of excellent colors.

This All Clad wok is no exception. At around the hundred dollar mark at Cooking.com for All Clad that is a bargain.

What We Like

• This wok has an aluminum core which means that foods cook evenly without hotspots. You won’t have the problem of having a mix of burnt and undercooked foods - it will all cook evenly. If you haven’t used good quality cookware in the past you will be surprised at how much improved your cooking results will be.
• This wok comes with a reversible base ring on which the wok sits on when cooking. This can be reversed so to accommodate high or low heat cooking.
• This wok comes with a tempura rack which basically drains fried foods whilst keep them warm at the same time.
• This wok just looks damn good.

What We Don’t Like

• The handles on this wok can get hot so you will need to use oven mitts.

Where Can I Get the Best Price?

We found the best price for this All Clad wok at Cooking.com.

Many people think of woks are only good for preparing Chinese dishes. However, woks are a practical way to make healthy and fresh-tasting stir-fry and vegetables. These tips on how to choose a wok will help you find a great piece of cookware that you’ll use over and over again.

Why Are Woks Better Than Frying Pans?
The traditional wok has a rounded bottom and flared sides that allow food to be pushed up and away from the heat. This allows fast-cooking items to be kept farther from the heat so that nothing is burned or undercooked. Pushing the food up the sides of the wok also allows the cooking oil to drain away. Because your food doesn’t bathe in oil, wok cooking is healthier.

What is the Perfect Wok Made Of?
Like most pieces of cookware, the metal that your wok is made from will have a dramatic effect on both its price and its effectiveness. Some like woks with non-stick aluminum woks because the surface prevents sticking and is easy to clean. However, non-stick pans make it more difficult to keep the food on the sides, and they lose some of the traditional seared flavor. Aluminum also does not hold up well under the high temperatures used for wok cooking.

The traditional wok was made from cast iron, which remains a good choice. Cast iron retains heat well, and will distribute that heat along the sides of the pan. However, cast iron is also very heavy, making it unpopular with some cooks.

Another great choice of wok material is carbon steel. Carbon steel is durable, distributes heat well, and is lighter than cast iron.

Are Round-Bottomed or Flat-Bottomed Woks Better?
The traditional round-bottomed wok allows a pool of oil to form where food can be quickly seared and then moved to the side. The disadvantage is that the round bottom is unstable on electric burners. Many western woks have flat bottoms to accommodate stoves. In order to get the advantages of a round-bottomed wok on an electric stove, you can also use a wok ring which lifts the pan above the burner and holds it steady as you cook.


Handles for Woks
Traditional woks have two small, round handles on opposite sides of the pan. While this was convenient for lifting a wok from an old-fashioned Chinese wood oven, the small handles are not as convenient when tossing food during cooking. You will need to use a towel or other hand protection if your wok has small handles.

More practical for modern-day cooking is a long, sturdy wok handle with a small “helper” handle opposite.

Woks are great cookware to own whether you plan on making Chinese meals or just cooking delicious meats and vegetables. By following these tips, you can buy a great wok that will last for many years.

More woks:-

We love stir fry meals, they are so easy to prepare, tasty and healthy. I can throw in anything I have on hand to make a nourishing meal in a short time.

Woks come in a variety of sizes so it’s simply a matter of selecting one that suits your needs. I have recently downsized as the kids have left home so we no longer require a large wok, although the larger one does come in handy when we have guests.

Some woks have 2 handles, one on each side, but nowadays woks often come with a small ‘helper” handle on one side and a long handle on the other. The long handle makes it easy to move and tilt the wok when stir-frying and also makes it easy to lift.

A flat bottom is also important (for the wok, I mean) after all, you need the wok to sit flat on the element to ensure even heating. Cast iron and carbon steel are ideal materials for woks although manufacturers are making non-stick coatings that also work well. Cast iron of course, is reknown for the heat-retention properties that are so important for stir frying.

A lid is optional but if your wok has a lid, you will find it ideal for sealing-in flavors.

Quick, tell me where I can find a good quality wok:

Cooking.com
Kitchenetc.com
Shop.com

Shop.com - UK

I think my favorite is Thai. One of my favorite eating places in the town where I live is a restaurant called Thai Spice. The food is always beautifully cooked, well presented and the taste is divine.

My brother’s girlfriend is Thai and on their last visit both she and my brother cooked up 3 Thai dishes for dinner one night. I just loved it and was eating it as leftovers for the next two days. That’s saying a lot for me because I am just not into eating leftovers.

But as always, I am getting sidetracked as I really wanted to talk about woks. I think woks would have to be one of the most useful of cookware items. They are reasonably priced and at a pinch can cook a multitude of things over and above the normal Asian cuisine.

The shape of a wok ensures that food is cooked evenly and quickly and it is a healthy alternative as minimal fat is required in order to sear foods.

The key to cooking in a wok are high temperatures and continual stirring of the ingredients.

It is also not necessary to spend a lot of money on a wok in order to ensure good cooking results.

Read our latest article - What sort of wok should I buy?

Woks come in a variety of materials including stainless steel, electric, non-stick and aluminum. Carbon steel woks are very popular with chefs as they relatively inexpensive, easy to clean and conduct heat well.

If you have purchased a carbon steel wok then you will need to ensure it is seasoned for best results.

Read our latest article on how to season your carbon steel wok.

It is also possible, though less than ideal, to use woks with electric stoves. Electric stoves usually do not reach the levels of heat that are needed for traditional wok stir frying or searing. However, woks can be used on lower heat for braising, steaming, and for cooking soups and rice.

Read more about woks here…