Useful links for selecting and seasoning woks:
Serious Eats: selecting and caring for woks [seriouseats.com]
Serious Eats: Wok ratings [seriouseats.com]
Serious Eats: Wok Guide [seriouseats.com]
New York Magazine review of Joyce Chen wok [nymag.com]
America's Test Kitchen review of woks [youtube.com]
America's Test Kitchen: Woks vs Skillets [youtube.com]
America's Test Kitchen: Answers for Wok questions [youtube.com]
expiredgaamn114 | Staff posted Feb 28, 2023 09:07 PM
Item 1 of 5
Item 1 of 5
expiredgaamn114 | Staff posted Feb 28, 2023 09:07 PM
14" Joyce Chen Classic Series Carbon Steel Wok Set
$20
$32
37% offAmazon
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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00428M7K2/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002AQSWMU/
A factor is whether you want an unseasoned pan you then season yourself so you can use it with very high temperature cooking, or one that comes with a so-called "non-stick" coating that may not be best for the highest temperatures used for traditional wok cooking.
EDIT: Also, these are best used with gas stoves. While you can use them with induction and other electric stovetops, they do not heat the surface of the wok as evenly and produce hot spots which do not help with most wok cooking styles that work best with more even heat across the whole bottom. If you have electric, you may want to consider the tri-ply or clad style of woks.
For anyone interested in trying a carbon steel wok, I think this is a great deal. The lid is absolutely necessary as most residential stoves don't put out enough heat to stir fry well. You can toss a little bit of water and the lid on top to effectively steam your food inside to get a more proper cook without drying out your food. I would get this but I have the cheap imusa one from Walmart I bought 5 years ago still going strong. That's the great thing about carbon steel, it gets better the more you use it and you really can use it for a long long time. Also clean up is much easier, no soap required, just scrub gently with a sponge, dry on the stove, and wipe a small bead of oil around it evenly.
I use it cook everything from stir fry to omelets, just don't do any super sticky or citrus based stuff in it
******
Regarding electric (either induction, infrared, ceramic top, or the old large coils), they will all heat the bottom of the wok evenly--in fact induction will be fastest (faster than even gas). Induction will instantly create heat in the pan bottom directly over the induction elements (which can be a circle as small as 4-5 inches across, depending on the induction cooker) and heating stops once you lift the pan of the surface.
Same with other electric cooktops: heat is applied mainly when in direct contact with the surface, unlike with gas where the flames will heat the flat bottom off the pan as well as go up the sides of the pan and will still heat the pan as you flip the food around the pan as in stir-frying (and if you need to flambé, having a gas flame there makes it much easier)
I change my style of cooking with induction and smooth tops by using a spatula to turn and flip the food around compared to my gas stove top (I use induction, gas and electric glass top stovetops).
Using electric/induction, the bottom of the wok will get as hot (if not hotter than with gas), but it takes longer for heat, and there will be less, to spread over the sides of the wok compared to using gas where the flames are also heading up the sides of the wok as much as the bottom, creating a larger cooking surface.
Part of using a wok is using the range of temperatures all along the inside of the wok for cooking. With electric/induction, the bottom is very hot and the sides are much cooler than when you use gas.
Edit:. Here is a link with info about seasoning a carbon steel wok: https://www.seriouseats
Edit 2: Did a quick search and saw this wok was on sale last November. The previous SD thread had some interesting discussion which may be useful: https://slickdeals.net/f/16149334-14-joyce-chen-carbon-steel-wok-16-85?page=1#comme
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In all honesty, not the best deal but it certainly could be good for others! Thanks, OP!
In all honesty, not the best deal but it certainly could be good for others! Thanks, OP!
I guess they forgot to count the plastic wrap and the tape goes on top of it
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank mike93704
...!
I guess they forgot to count the plastic wrap and the tape goes on top of ityes,
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00428M7K2/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002AQSWMU/
A factor is whether you want an unseasoned pan you then season yourself so you can use it with very high temperature cooking, or one that comes with a so-called "non-stick" coating that may not be best for the highest temperatures used for traditional wok cooking.
EDIT: Also, these are best used with gas stoves. While you can use them with induction and other electric stovetops, they do not heat the surface of the wok as evenly and produce hot spots which do not help with most wok cooking styles that work best with more even heat across the whole bottom. If you have electric, you may want to consider the tri-ply or clad style of woks.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00428M7K2/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002AQSWMU/
A factor is whether you want an unseasoned pan you then season yourself so you can use it with very high temperature cooking, or one that comes with a so-called "non-stick" coating that may not be best for the highest temperatures used for traditional wok cooking.
EDIT: Also, these are best used with gas stoves. While you can use them with induction and other electric stovetops, they do not heat the surface of the wok as evenly and produce hot spots which do not help with most wok cooking styles that work best with more even heat across the whole bottom. If you have electric, you may want to consider the tri-ply or clad style of woks.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank mike93704
******
Regarding electric (either induction, infrared, ceramic top, or the old large coils), they will all heat the bottom of the wok evenly--in fact induction will be fastest (faster than even gas). Induction will instantly create heat in the pan bottom directly over the induction elements (which can be a circle as small as 4-5 inches across, depending on the induction cooker) and heating stops once you lift the pan of the surface.
Same with other electric cooktops: heat is applied mainly when in direct contact with the surface, unlike with gas where the flames will heat the flat bottom off the pan as well as go up the sides of the pan and will still heat the pan as you flip the food around the pan as in stir-frying (and if you need to flambé, having a gas flame there makes it much easier)
I change my style of cooking with induction and smooth tops by using a spatula to turn and flip the food around compared to my gas stove top (I use induction, gas and electric glass top stovetops).
Using electric/induction, the bottom of the wok will get as hot (if not hotter than with gas), but it takes longer for heat, and there will be less, to spread over the sides of the wok compared to using gas where the flames are also heading up the sides of the wok as much as the bottom, creating a larger cooking surface.
Part of using a wok is using the range of temperatures all along the inside of the wok for cooking. With electric/induction, the bottom is very hot and the sides are much cooler than when you use gas.
Edit:. Here is a link with info about seasoning a carbon steel wok: https://www.seriouseats
Edit 2: Did a quick search and saw this wok was on sale last November. The previous SD thread had some interesting discussion which may be useful: https://slickdeals.net/f/16149334-14-joyce-chen-carbon-steel-wok-16-85?page=1#comme
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank darkNiGHTS
The person I was replying to said you need to "season it all the time", as if you'd need to season it weekly or biweekly if it was just sitting there. Which is not true and what I was responding to. After initial seasoning, you only season when you cook. I know this because I have owned a carbon steel wok for a decade.
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