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 Information
about Woks |
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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.
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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.
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What is a Wok |
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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.
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