Do You Love A Wok?

[Sherry]

Years ago in my twenties I went through a wok-loving phase. I also went through a ten year near veggie/dairy phase at the same time, but that's another subject.
Anyway, my husband (then) and I made several moves and somewhere along the way my wok was misplaced and lost. Due to a number of other changes in my life along the way, it wasn't until about three years ago that I thought about it again and I replaced it with a new one. Boy do I love that thing. I find that it is quite versatile and I can do many things with it. And, of course, I can do them all with a minimum of oil.
Aside from that I just have a thing for the way a wok looks.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I have one, but it is cast iron, which makes it so heavy to move around or to toss the food that's being cooked.

Thinking about getting a lightweight one, which would be much easier to toss the food being cooked.

 

[Ella]

I was brought up using woks and they are great, even when I moved out I bought a small wok and it was easier to cook with. The only thing was storing it and I used to hang it up on a rack because it was still quite bulky. Using a wok also requires good utensils as that can also make a difference to the cooking.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I was looking at some cheap ones with a non-stick coating at BB&B. Something that I can easily manage and manuever to toss the food as it stir fries!!

 

[Sherry]

I have one, but it is cast iron, which makes it so heavy to move around or to toss the food that's being cooked.

Thinking about getting a lightweight one, which would be much easier to toss the food being cooked.

Yeah. I hear you there. Mine is also cast iron, which I ordinarily love. A wok is pretty sizeable thing, though, and in cast iron one really is quite heavy. There will come a day when I replace mine with something lighter, for sure.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Yeah. I hear you there. Mine is also cast iron, which I ordinarily love. A wok is pretty sizeable thing, though, and in cast iron one really is quite heavy. There will come a day when I replace mine with something lighter, for sure.

I'll still keep the cast iron one. I just want a lighter one so that I can toss the food easier.

 

[Rosyrain]

A couple of years ago I had a cheap made wok and the enamel started to peel off after I had only used it a few times. I need to buy a new one because Asian foods taste best when you use the proper equipment to cook them.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Here's my new lighter-weight one that I just bought from a Target store!

Along with the orange cups & small bowls that you see over to the right!!

I just LOVE things in orange!!!

 

[worldmachine]

I love woks as i enjoy Chinese cooking, they are so versatile, they can be used for stir frying, steaming, pan frying, deep frying, poaching, boiling, braising,stewing and soup making. The wok is without doubt my favourite piece of kitchen equipment as it is fun to cook with and gives an authentic feel.

It seems to be an unwritten rule that a wok must be seasoned before using it. This is done by heating it with a tablespoon of oil and a tablespoon of salt, then when it smokes empty the oil out and wipe it with kitchen paper. They say also that a wok should never be scoured clean as a blackened wok improves the flavour of the food. Personally i have never been able to tell the difference between a well scoured wok and a blackened one.

 

[Athenagdlyt]

I grew up with the sight of different sizes of woks in the kitchen. There were aluminum ones, stainless, and the Teflon woks. It was "the" main cooking tool for our family. Being Asian, not having a wok in the kitchen is like not having a chair. Most of our food are either sauteed or fried. I love woks just like everyone else here. I haven't owned an iron pan wok, though. That would be too heavy for us to manage.

 

[sidevalve]

Don't have gas now so a wok is out of the question but I must admit my waist is developing to match the shape - at least in profile.

 

[OhioTom76]

I don't bother with the huge traditional sized Wok's since they aren't ideal for cooking on a traditional gas or electric stove, and honestly the sides of the pan are so high up and spread out they don't really serve much of a purpose at all. It's like whipping out some enormous pan (that I don't have a lid big enough for) just to cook one or two portions of something.

Instead I am more partial to the "stir fry pans" which are sort of like a skillet but with higher sides. There is a larger bottom flat area that heats more evenly though and works better with the flat surface of traditional stove tops. Plus the overall circumference of them is still small enough that my largest lids will work with them. I can still do all the same stir-frying that I can do with a traditional Wok, but they heat up better than a regular Wok would on my burners. Plus they work well for non-stir fry dishes too - such as when you are making a pan sauce, and need something deep enough to hold the sauce and the pasta you eventually throw in to coat.

 

[queenbellevue]

YES! Woks are so awesome. I make everything in mine. Soups, stir fries, fried rice, meat dishes. They're awesome

 

[winterybella]

I was looking at some cheap ones with a non-stick coating at BB&B. Something that I can easily manage and manuever to toss the food as it stir fries!!

Well back in the day I was big on using woks and they were all non stick but I had to end up changing them so often I soon got tired. Maybe they were too cheap although I don't remember that being true. I went out and bought a big stainless steel one some years ago but I don't know if I have used it once. Now I have been doing more research and learning about the care of these utensils I might bring it out and be sure to 'season" it etc.

 

[Berties]

Not at home as we only have a solid top,but at work light weight cured for non stick,the wok is great for fine cut veg and quick stir frys,if you get the chance of a use of a high pressure gas wok Bruner they are great,quick and even heat distribution of the base half of the wok