One of the most important items to buy for cooking Chinese food is a wok. What do you use a wok for and what accessories do you need? There are many types out there, so how do you know which one to get and why? What type of wok do restaurants use? What type of wok should you use at home and why? Why does your food stick to the wok? How do you clean and maintain your wok? In today’s post, I will talk about all the answers to these questions.
What do you use a wok for and what accessories do you need?
A wok is the primary cooking vessel for Chinese cooking. Chinese people cook almost everything in a wok! Most people are familiar with stir frying in a wok, which is the act of panfrying and stirring contents at the same time. But did you know that the wok is also used for steaming, boiling, and braising? The wok is the number one multi-purpose kitchen item you need. Second, is something to cook your rice in – either a rice cooker or pot.
Check out some recipes using a wok in different ways:
- Stir Fry Recipe: Easy Black Pepper Chicken
- Steam Recipe: Steamed Black Bean Pork Ribs (Dim Sum style)
- Braising Recipe: Three Cup Chicken
What else do you need for the wok? Important accessories for the wok are a lid and flipper/turner. Often times when you stir fry, you’ll also need to cover the contents with a lid to trap heat or steam in the wok. A flipper is called a “wok chan” in Cantonese or “chan zi” in Mandarin. A metal flipper for a carbon steel or stainless steel wok is best, because plastic flippers can melt due to the high temperature. If you use a cast iron wok, you can use a wooden flipper. The flipper should have a large flat surface, a curved edge (to work inside the curved wok) and a long handle.
Other important accessories are a steamer rack and large spider (large strainer). You will see that most Chinese cooks own steamer racks that they place inside the wok, to elevate dishes and steamers above water inside the wok to steam buns, dumplings, etc. I personally like a rack with taller legs, so that more water can sit at the bottom of the wok enabling me to steam things for a longer time. A spider is important because of the long handle enabling you to remove things boiled or blanched in the wok.
What type of woks do restaurants use?
Chinese restaurants typically have very large woks to go with their large gas burners shaped just for these large round bottom woks. Even Wilson Tang of Nom Wah says in his book The Nom Wah Cookbook that the woks used at their restaurant in New York City are 32 inches in diameter. These large woks are carbon steel and sit close to a gas flame, so the woks get very hot quickly, creating what is well known as “wok hey”.
What type of wok do Chinese home cooks use?
The type of wok used in homes can vary depending on preference. Unlike restaurants, the space for a large diameter wok is usually limited and the flame or heat source is smaller. For this reason, typical home woks range in size from 12-16 inches in diameter. Chinese woks come in various materials: carbon steel, cast iron, and stainless steel and you will likely see all versions in different homes. The key really is to ensure you can bring the wok surface temperature up high and create a relatively non-stick surface.
Carbon Steel Wok:
A carbon steel wok is the traditional material used for making woks. The material is thinner than stainless steel and cast iron, so can conduct heat faster at high temperatures. Carbon steel is also lighter making it easier to lift.
The downside of a carbon steel wok is that it has to be seasoned and cleaned carefully otherwise it will rust. The School of Wok is a good resource for how to care for carbon steel woks. Here is a link to a video by School of Wok of how to season your carbon steel wok:
Stainless Steel Wok:
Stainless steel woks are becoming more popular, because it does not require seasoning, won’t rust and is easier to clean. You can cook acidic foods on stainless steel without worrying about them reacting with the metal. Also stainless steel is still a good conductor of even heat. There are plenty of low quality stainless steel woks out there, so if you buy a stainless steel wok, choose something that is at least 3-ply. Thin stainless steel woks can easily be scorched from high heat so you’ll likely need to cook at medium to medium-high heat instead of full high heat to prevent your wok and food from being scorched. As such, a stainless steel wok can take a longer to heat up compared to a carbon steel wok.
As a home cook, I personally like a large 5-layer stainless steel wok. I have Buffalo brand’s 38cm diameter flat bottom wok (that’s ~15 inches and pictured at the top of the post). Buffalo Brand’s 5-layer stainless steel wok, because it is lighter than other stainless steel clad woks, heats up evenly, and mostly importantly to me: it is easy to clean and very durable. I remember my mother telling me about Buffalo brand when I was fresh out of college. I went looking for it in Chinatown and when I walked into the restaurant supply stores, they all said they did not have it but knew exactly what I was talking about. I knew my mom was on to something, so I eventually found a Buffalo brand wok dealer which had a back room beautifully displaying the woks in a store of air conditioning units! It was quite the memory, because I felt like I discovered an amazing secret. The Buffalo wok has served me well, because I STILL have mine, which is now coming on 20 years and it still looks new and works great!
Cast Iron Wok:
A cast iron wok also takes time to heat, but can cook at a higher temperature and maintain high heat better. This can be great for searing and braising. However, cast iron also is not as reactive if you want to make quick temperature changes. Cast iron is very heavy making it difficult to toss or move, but tossing is not really that necessary for home cooking if you’re good at using your flipper! Cast iron also requires seasoning otherwise it can rust. However, these days there are companies that make cast iron woks with non-stick surfaces that can handle high heat like Le Creuset’s cast iron wok, so you can give this a try. Be sure to not scratch the surface though.
Non-stick Woks are not recommended:
There are many woks that have non-stick surfaces, but they are generally not good for Chinese cooking. The non-stick surfaces cannot be used at high enough temperatures without releasing toxic fumes or the surface breaking down. Teflon is a very common non-stick surface and it can be easily scratched and then it becomes a safety concern. As such, I do not recommend using a non-stick wok.
Round or Flat bottom Wok?
There are round bottom and flat bottom woks. Either type is fine really. The wok just needs to sits well on your stove. Most Chinese cooks prefer gas stoves for the ability to quickly heat a wok and some of these gas stoves even have grates that can hold round bottom woks well. A round bottom wok makes for easier tossing and stir frying. However, a flat bottom wok is typically what sits better and is more stable on home gas stoves and works just fine. If you have an induction or electric stove, a flat bottom wok is a must both for stability and best conduction of heat.
Why do things stick to my wok?
One key technique to using your wok to stir fry is to ensure that you wok is heated to a high temperature and add oil. This will prevent your food (especially proteins) from sticking to the wok. This is especially true for using stainless steel woks which are not seasoned. The reason why food sticks to the wok is because there are ridges and bumps in the metal of the wok that you cannot see with the naked eye. By adding oil and letting that oil heat up it will flow into these crevices and prevent the food particles from going into these crevices.
Some cooks will add cold oil to a cold wok and others will add oil only when the wok has been heated. Either way is fine, so long as you spread out the oil around the bottom and slightly up the sides of the wok. If you heat up a wok before adding oil, you can check to see if the temperature of the wok is high enough by flicking some droplets of water into an empty heated wok to see if it beads up. If it does, then the wok is hot enough. Do not add oil to a wet wok though, because then the oil will splatter. Make sure the water has evaporated and then add the oil. Careful not to let the wok get too hot before adding oil and food otherwise you might burn your wok! If you heat a cold wok with cold oil, then you can also see that the temperature is high enough if the oil is rippling or slightly smoking. Be careful not to let the oil smoke too much before adding food otherwise the oil will burn and turn brown.
Proteins can especially stick, so if your protein is at room temperature instead of cold it will also help prevent the protein from sticking to the wok. When you’re cooking, if you also wait for the protein to be more cooked before stirring and flipping, the protein will naturally unstick from the wok making it easier to stir and flip.
How do I clean and maintain my wok?
If you have a carbon steel or cast iron wok, you will need to reheat the wok over the stove with water inside until the water is boiling to clean the food off the sides of the wok. After cleaning the wok, you dump out the water and then have to reheat the wok until dry and then wipe it with a light layer or oil to re-season the wok to prevent it from rusting and to maintain a non-stick surface. If you have a stainless steel wok, just wash with dish detergent and a scrubbing pad.
Here is another video by School of Wok for how to clean a carbon steel wok:
I hope this was helpful and I hope you find a wok that works for you just like I did!
