Home Shop Reviews Blog Guides Contact    
Stainless Steel - Cast Iron - Dutch Ovens - Rice Cookers - Pressure Cookers - Woks - Pot Racks
     
  A Guide to Woks
       
Le Creuset 14.25-in. Enameled Wok with Glass Lid, Cherry Red   Menu
   
       
 
 
 
 Information about Woks
 

Woks have been used in cooking for thousands of years in China, and are now very popular in the Western world as well. 

Traditional woks or stir fry pans are made from heavy metal, such as cast iron, and have a rounded bottom and curved sides. 

They were designed to be used over fires, searing food very quickly at high temperatures to seal in juices and flavors. 

 

The curved sides remain cooler than the bottom of the pan, allowing foods with different cooking times to be heated simultaneously.

 

 

Flat or round bottomed woks?
 

In order to be used with modern stoves, many woks today come with a flat bottom, rather than a rounded one.  Other models come with a metal ring to stabilize the base. 

 

Restaurants often have special gas stoves where the woks sit in a recess above the heating element, which prevents heat loss around the sides of the cookware.

 

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. 

 

 
See more guides…
 
 
 
  What is a Wok
 

A wok is a deep bowl-shaped pan made of metal.  A traditional wok has a 14 inch diameter and is made from carbon steel.  It takes a while to heat up but then retains the heat for a long time.

It allows a small amount of oil to be heated to a very high temperature.  Food is fried in the oil and then sat on the deep sides (which are slightly cooler) to stop cooking and keep warm until serving.

Woks can be used for stir-frying, deep frying or steaming. 

Wok Materials
 

Serious chefs prefer woks that are made of cast iron or carbon steel. 

 

Opinions are evenly divided over which of these two materials provides the best surface for wok cooking.  Both can withstand very high temperatures and retain heat well.  Cast iron woks, like all cookware made from this material, must be seasoned before using.

 

Stainless steel cookware sandwich a layer of copper or aluminum between stainless steel sheets.  These woks look beautiful and work as well as cast iron or carbon steel, but they are generally much more expensive.

 

Woks are also available in aluminum and Teflon, although these are much less desirable materials.  They are not suited to cooking over high heat, and will quickly become unusable with traditional Wok cooking.
 

See more articles…
 
 

 

 
 
Top Rated Woks
  Cookware Guides

 

Stainless Steel - Cast Iron - Dutch Ovens - Rice Cookers - Pressure Cookers - Woks - Pot Racks

 

Copyright (c) 2006-2008 Only Cookware. All rights reserved.