I've noticed different carbon steel woks seem to have slightly different metals even though they are both carbon steel. I've noticed the larger 15" woks react differently to the 13" woks. I think the gauge of the steel is different. I noticed the smaller wok when seasoning i left it on my high powered burner untill it started glowing bright red and it didn't burn but the 15" wok the metal reacted differently and started burning.
*** FAIL *** -- Seasoning means heating the oil so that it cures, hardens, and bonds to the metal. Once cured, the oil forms a hard, non-stick surface, and it also keeps your food from tasting like steel. All you did is blue the steel and paint it with oil, just to make it look nice, without any of the benefits of seasoning. Now you need to clean it, apply a good oil high in Omega 3 (flax oil works great), and heat it until it cures. (Before teaching something, best to learn it yourself first.)
I used a mixture of videos on you tube, (and cantonese blog instructions too) for seasoning my wark. I have an electric stove and a flat bottom wark. I heated the dry wark all over until blue black, then added pig fat ( in UK, it is simple lard, try the smart price aisle) and heated it on all sides to burn it in. Then cooled it to room temp, before repeating the process three times. Then burned in a mixture of chives and spring onion greens until wark had a lovely shiney patina.
for some dishes i prefer cast iron. carbon steel woks do not work well for low heat simmering as it quickly cools down where as cast iron retains heat better. I personally use different types of woks for different cooking. i use cast iron, carbon steel, stainless steel and high quality non stick. I personally dont use the carbon steel wok for dishes with high water content and long simmering due to rusting concerns contaminating the food.
Today i bought a Wok-pan from Fackelmann, and i tried to make an Egg, and when i start to scrape it i notice that the Teflon or smth like this is very gentle.
So
! Underside of the pan scrathed a little, so i can see the steel on the edges.
what are the risks of acidic ingredients in carbon steel woks? say rice vinegar and other packet sauces from blue dragon like sweet and sour. what about rusting issues when simmering water in carbon steel woks. my local chinese supermarket says alot of chefs are not using carbon steel woks any more and have moved onto stainless steel. is there any truth about not using acidic ingredients in carbon steel or is it unfounded myths. for example lemon chicken in carbon steel pan
there is another type of wok i have seen. its called a hammered iron wok. it looks like cast iron but is much lighter. its one of those cantonese style woks. are these any good? I have seen this other type called blue steel. it is steel that has been heat treated. Can anybody tell me what the blue steel is like compared to carbon steel. i have a reasonably high powered wok burner of 9.2kw.
i have seen this oher type of wok chinese chefs use. ITs called a hammered iron wok i think. IT looks like cast iron but is much lighter. I tihnk its those cantonese type woks called an double eared wok. THey are quite had to get in the uk. I don't think all the chefs sue carbon steel wok. I think they use hand hammered woks
have i anything to worry about the risks of rust forming on these pans. I no that only occurs if you do not oil after each use and clean. my concern is when simmering sauces like curry in these for 20 minutes that rust might form in the actual dish. or are these not really ment to be used for simmering dished like curry and purely meant for stiryfrying only. can rust ever actually form whlst they are in use. they seem to give food a metalic taste compared to normal stainless steel pans
When seasoning a steel pan for the first time, after cleaning it, should I rub oil all around first or just heat it up with nothing in the pan at all? Can I do this in an oven?
i have generally found carbon steel woks best for stir frying food. They seem unsuitable for simering pasta tomatoe sauces as this tends to react with the carbon steel and may tend to rust whilst cooking. Am i right in thinking this way? i tend to avoid dishes that contain lots of liquid in wok cooking in general. I find carbon steel not ideal for simmering sauces. there is nothing to stop you doing it but carbon steel tends to rust quickly if you use it for liquid simmering sauces
hi i bought a morphey richards wok, does it need treated? i rubbed it with a little oil and began cooking my chicken, as soon as i put the chicken in the pan it stuck like clue,,anyone any ideas thaks
Hi, I am having real trouble seasoning my 14 inch carbon steel wok. It's currently pitch black in many parts because I may have put the oil in it at high head and continued at high heat. I have some patches of light brownish silver, some on the bottom, some up the sides. I have tried re-seasoning several times, but the seasoning comes off so easy, and foot sticks very easily too sometimes unless I use alot of oil. What am I doing wrong?
No it should not be seasoned. This is one of the main reasons people buy teflon woks - they don't need to be seasoned because you don't have to worry much about the food sticking. But many people, including myself, prefer to season carbon steel woks over teflon..
I have to say, I just got done with a teflon wok. It didn't take high heat cooking with things like pad thai well for long, and the teflon is starting to flake. It was nice while it lasted, but I'm considering a carbon steel wok now.
No, you don't need to season it, but you should keep in mind that a Teflon coated wok is only really good for cooking on a standard gas range on medium-high heat, because Teflon gives off noxious fumes that can make you sick on temperatures higher than 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Have you blackened the inside of the wok, carbonizing it? Also, your temp may not be high enough. Woks do better with very hot temps, so they don't work very well on electric stove eyes.
I had to get an LP gass burner, such as are used to cook turkeys with, and now cook on top of it - and the bottom of my wok literally glows red. But nothing sticks when I am frying it.
No i purchased the roundbottomed cast iron wok.. i havent used it yet im just seasoning it...lol i fried an egg in it but thats it... i want to season it some more...
I'm using a carbon steel wok from wal-mart and once I seasoned it for only 5 minutes on high heat and smoked my mom out of the house the food is absolutely non stick.
I ordered it from the wok shop in california.... its cast iron.. i also bought a ring for it... the lady insisted that i purchase the flat bottom wok for an electric stove.. but i wanted the round bottomed wok like i had before... i hope i dont have a problem using it on my electric stove.
I use a round bottomed wok on my electric stove,just keep holding handle as I fry to keep it steady. I like the way the wok spatula glides on the bottom curve of the wok,the curve of the spatula matches the curve in the wok.The curve also allows me to use the spatula to clean the wok afterwards.Now, if I could just find a curved heating element that matches the bottom of the wok since a flat burner does waste some of the heat from the burner.Does anyone know of one that will fit a Frigidaire?
I shopped at the wok shop before. In fact, many times. Anyway, you have a flat bottom cast iron wok? That is very unusual. Are you sure it is cast iron? Last time I check the wok shop does not carry that. Flat bottom carbon steel wok, sure, but not cast iron. The reason the ladey (Tane Chan probably) recommended you the a flat bottom wok is that almost all electric stove is low power. If you went with a round bottom wok with a ring, it will takes very long to heat up.
Try using a butane cooking eye, or a portable LP gas burner (like that are used for cooking large turkeys).
Electric stoves *will not* give the heat necessary for true wok cooking. You have to gave at least 40,000btu to get a wok hot enough to cook with. Otherwise you will just boil the food rather than flash-fry it, which is what a wok does.
It will not hurt the strength of the wok,since the metal is not heat treated anyway, but you should never do it with any kind of knife it will destroy the temper. The color change you see is the formation of iron oxide on the surface of the steel. When you see the color change,indicates that the steel has lost temper and is softer. This oxide provides no rust protection. To protect carbon steel knives, keep them dry when not in use and away from moisture, not in drawer near the dishwasher.
You normally only need to season a wok once. Remember: this is seasoning is not for a non-stick pan. If you have a deep scratch on your wok, you may need to apply some oil to the bottom of the wok and heat it up to seal scratch on the wok.
They no longer manufacture cast iron wok, because it too heavy to handle and in storage. There maybe some cast wok found in older Asian grocery stores. A positive note on cast iron wok is that once it heated up, it will maintain the heat longer than the traditional type of wok.
@wokfusion I disagree, the chinese constructed cast iron wok is not heavy at all. Check the ones wokshop got. They are a hybrid wok of carbon steel and cast iron. they are coated with cast iron. Joyce chen also produces light weight cast iron woks that are like 3 lbs.
@6thCreated Yes they do. Lodge makes a 14" Cast iron wok, and they still make cast-iron woks in china, that can be bought here in the U.S. There are several places like wokshop.com, and amazon.com. I love cast-iron, too!
@JonNicc Cast iron US woks are 9mm thick, extremely heavy; Chinese woks are 3mm thick, extremely light. Carbon steel is currently considered the better material and more often used in China.
Question for Wokfusion : Can you use electric stove to do the seasoning without the ring you are using? Also, I did not know about the seasoning of wok, so my wok is rusting, is it harmful (to health) to cook in such a wok? Is it too late to season the wok (only bought is 3 days ago)? Thanks
I've noticed different carbon steel woks seem to have slightly different metals even though they are both carbon steel. I've noticed the larger 15" woks react differently to the 13" woks. I think the gauge of the steel is different. I noticed the smaller wok when seasoning i left it on my high powered burner untill it started glowing bright red and it didn't burn but the 15" wok the metal reacted differently and started burning.
210482fmj 3 weeks ago
*** FAIL *** -- Seasoning means heating the oil so that it cures, hardens, and bonds to the metal. Once cured, the oil forms a hard, non-stick surface, and it also keeps your food from tasting like steel. All you did is blue the steel and paint it with oil, just to make it look nice, without any of the benefits of seasoning. Now you need to clean it, apply a good oil high in Omega 3 (flax oil works great), and heat it until it cures. (Before teaching something, best to learn it yourself first.)
OakAged72 3 weeks ago
I used a mixture of videos on you tube, (and cantonese blog instructions too) for seasoning my wark. I have an electric stove and a flat bottom wark. I heated the dry wark all over until blue black, then added pig fat ( in UK, it is simple lard, try the smart price aisle) and heated it on all sides to burn it in. Then cooled it to room temp, before repeating the process three times. Then burned in a mixture of chives and spring onion greens until wark had a lovely shiney patina.
steve998 6 months ago
for some dishes i prefer cast iron. carbon steel woks do not work well for low heat simmering as it quickly cools down where as cast iron retains heat better. I personally use different types of woks for different cooking. i use cast iron, carbon steel, stainless steel and high quality non stick. I personally dont use the carbon steel wok for dishes with high water content and long simmering due to rusting concerns contaminating the food.
210482fmj 8 months ago
oh get ancient chinese can of spray oil. come guys!
toonberry 10 months ago
Very nicely done!
HotVoodooWitch 1 year ago
Oh i need your help Guys!
Today i bought a Wok-pan from Fackelmann, and i tried to make an Egg, and when i start to scrape it i notice that the Teflon or smth like this is very gentle.
So
! Underside of the pan scrathed a little, so i can see the steel on the edges.
GIVE ME ADVISE IT IS OK OR NOT ????
Unzaman 1 year ago
Shh... Be bewy bewy quiet. I'm hunting wabbits for my wok.
FreeTalkLive 1 year ago
@FreeTalkLive lol! thats what i was thinking
Musashi242 1 year ago
A "wark",.... what the hell is a wark.
ozzirt 1 year ago 5
@ozzirt This is what a duck says when they get cooked in a wok!
wokfusion 1 year ago 18
@wokfusion Ahhh,... Thank you. :-)
I always knew, "a wok is a fing wot you fwow at a wabbit" but a wark had me stumped.
ozzirt 1 year ago
@ozzirt 'WOK' is actually the Cantonese pronunciation of this fine cookware.
ginsinsan 4 days ago
@ginsinsan Oh yes, I know what a Wok is, that's not what he's saying though,... he's talking about a "Wark" whatever that is.
I was told that a Wok is a fing you fwow at a wabbit,....
ozzirt 4 days ago
what are the risks of acidic ingredients in carbon steel woks? say rice vinegar and other packet sauces from blue dragon like sweet and sour. what about rusting issues when simmering water in carbon steel woks. my local chinese supermarket says alot of chefs are not using carbon steel woks any more and have moved onto stainless steel. is there any truth about not using acidic ingredients in carbon steel or is it unfounded myths. for example lemon chicken in carbon steel pan
1982FMJ 1 year ago
there is another type of wok i have seen. its called a hammered iron wok. it looks like cast iron but is much lighter. its one of those cantonese style woks. are these any good? I have seen this other type called blue steel. it is steel that has been heat treated. Can anybody tell me what the blue steel is like compared to carbon steel. i have a reasonably high powered wok burner of 9.2kw.
1982FMJ 1 year ago
i have seen this oher type of wok chinese chefs use. ITs called a hammered iron wok i think. IT looks like cast iron but is much lighter. I tihnk its those cantonese type woks called an double eared wok. THey are quite had to get in the uk. I don't think all the chefs sue carbon steel wok. I think they use hand hammered woks
1982FMJ 1 year ago
have i anything to worry about the risks of rust forming on these pans. I no that only occurs if you do not oil after each use and clean. my concern is when simmering sauces like curry in these for 20 minutes that rust might form in the actual dish. or are these not really ment to be used for simmering dished like curry and purely meant for stiryfrying only. can rust ever actually form whlst they are in use. they seem to give food a metalic taste compared to normal stainless steel pans
1982FMJ 1 year ago
If you are going to the trouble of making a 'how to" video shouldn't you actually demonstrate the whole process?
kobbsno10 1 year ago 2
I got a tefal non stick its doing agreat job so far from stir fries to curries,
but interesting to know another bit of knowledge.
onabreeze 1 year ago
When seasoning a steel pan for the first time, after cleaning it, should I rub oil all around first or just heat it up with nothing in the pan at all? Can I do this in an oven?
AlienTruth 1 year ago
i have generally found carbon steel woks best for stir frying food. They seem unsuitable for simering pasta tomatoe sauces as this tends to react with the carbon steel and may tend to rust whilst cooking. Am i right in thinking this way? i tend to avoid dishes that contain lots of liquid in wok cooking in general. I find carbon steel not ideal for simmering sauces. there is nothing to stop you doing it but carbon steel tends to rust quickly if you use it for liquid simmering sauces
Lunarlaserranging 1 year ago
the video would look much more attractive at first sight, if I may say so, if the cooker's face was shown at the very begining of his performance
nanba25 2 years ago
I think I have that exact wok...strange.
animecrazy102 2 years ago
hi i bought a morphey richards wok, does it need treated? i rubbed it with a little oil and began cooking my chicken, as soon as i put the chicken in the pan it stuck like clue,,anyone any ideas thaks
gonky555 2 years ago
Hi, I am having real trouble seasoning my 14 inch carbon steel wok. It's currently pitch black in many parts because I may have put the oil in it at high head and continued at high heat. I have some patches of light brownish silver, some on the bottom, some up the sides. I have tried re-seasoning several times, but the seasoning comes off so easy, and foot sticks very easily too sometimes unless I use alot of oil. What am I doing wrong?
rofldinho 2 years ago
His voice reminds me of Bugs Bunny.
PineappleOranges 2 years ago 2
Hi, i've never seasoned a wok before, mine has a non-stick (teflon) coating on it, should this be seasoned or not? if so, how? thanks
TheAth123456789 2 years ago
No it should not be seasoned. This is one of the main reasons people buy teflon woks - they don't need to be seasoned because you don't have to worry much about the food sticking. But many people, including myself, prefer to season carbon steel woks over teflon..
jchief40 2 years ago 3
I have to say, I just got done with a teflon wok. It didn't take high heat cooking with things like pad thai well for long, and the teflon is starting to flake. It was nice while it lasted, but I'm considering a carbon steel wok now.
chiconspiricy 2 years ago
What about with a stainless steel wok.
13mordeth 2 years ago
no, it's non-stick. no need to season anything non-stick.
VonMilash 2 years ago
didn't see jchief's reply...
VonMilash 2 years ago
No, you don't need to season it, but you should keep in mind that a Teflon coated wok is only really good for cooking on a standard gas range on medium-high heat, because Teflon gives off noxious fumes that can make you sick on temperatures higher than 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
martythedwarf 2 years ago
why does my food stick to the wok everytime i cook? help please.
MiSTAAAHMEK 2 years ago
Have you blackened the inside of the wok, carbonizing it? Also, your temp may not be high enough. Woks do better with very hot temps, so they don't work very well on electric stove eyes.
I had to get an LP gass burner, such as are used to cook turkeys with, and now cook on top of it - and the bottom of my wok literally glows red. But nothing sticks when I am frying it.
I hope this helps.
SororThothma 2 years ago
It must be very hot before you use it!!
Sigurddrugis94 2 years ago
No i purchased the roundbottomed cast iron wok.. i havent used it yet im just seasoning it...lol i fried an egg in it but thats it... i want to season it some more...
jackthecrippler 3 years ago
I'm using a carbon steel wok from wal-mart and once I seasoned it for only 5 minutes on high heat and smoked my mom out of the house the food is absolutely non stick.
and using peanut oil tastes better, too!
Learn something new every day.
gumpdy 3 years ago
I ordered it from the wok shop in california.... its cast iron.. i also bought a ring for it... the lady insisted that i purchase the flat bottom wok for an electric stove.. but i wanted the round bottomed wok like i had before... i hope i dont have a problem using it on my electric stove.
jackthecrippler 3 years ago
I use a round bottomed wok on my electric stove,just keep holding handle as I fry to keep it steady. I like the way the wok spatula glides on the bottom curve of the wok,the curve of the spatula matches the curve in the wok.The curve also allows me to use the spatula to clean the wok afterwards.Now, if I could just find a curved heating element that matches the bottom of the wok since a flat burner does waste some of the heat from the burner.Does anyone know of one that will fit a Frigidaire?
monkeyboy4746 3 years ago
If you have money, there are curved-induction stoves -- designed specifically for woks.
Chemicalkinetics 3 years ago
maybe a portable butane stove they go for a bout 39.99 , you can place the round bottom wok on it you might need a ring to lift it slightly.
furianfire 2 years ago
I shopped at the wok shop before. In fact, many times. Anyway, you have a flat bottom cast iron wok? That is very unusual. Are you sure it is cast iron? Last time I check the wok shop does not carry that. Flat bottom carbon steel wok, sure, but not cast iron. The reason the ladey (Tane Chan probably) recommended you the a flat bottom wok is that almost all electric stove is low power. If you went with a round bottom wok with a ring, it will takes very long to heat up.
Chemicalkinetics 3 years ago
Try using a butane cooking eye, or a portable LP gas burner (like that are used for cooking large turkeys).
Electric stoves *will not* give the heat necessary for true wok cooking. You have to gave at least 40,000btu to get a wok hot enough to cook with. Otherwise you will just boil the food rather than flash-fry it, which is what a wok does.
I hope this helps.
SororThothma 2 years ago
I just ordered the 14 inch cast iron wok from....hold on i will post it here...
jackthecrippler 3 years ago
How does this effect the temper, or overall strength of the steel?
could this process be used to deter rusting on carbon steel knives too? without destroying their temper that is.
AaronAlso 3 years ago
It will not hurt the strength of the wok,since the metal is not heat treated anyway, but you should never do it with any kind of knife it will destroy the temper. The color change you see is the formation of iron oxide on the surface of the steel. When you see the color change,indicates that the steel has lost temper and is softer. This oxide provides no rust protection. To protect carbon steel knives, keep them dry when not in use and away from moisture, not in drawer near the dishwasher.
monkeyboy4746 3 years ago
do you only season the wok once?
thanks
jonfreeze 3 years ago
You normally only need to season a wok once. Remember: this is seasoning is not for a non-stick pan. If you have a deep scratch on your wok, you may need to apply some oil to the bottom of the wok and heat it up to seal scratch on the wok.
wokfusion 3 years ago
@jonfreeze It's seasoned continuously through use :) The more you cook with it, the better it gets.
bluefoxicy 4 months ago
So you just show another greenish seasoned wok, say, hei, it's done? You can do it or not?
At least demonstrate how the seasonning actually be done. Otherwise the video is useless.
mx5autox 3 years ago
Do they make cast iron woks? It seems like that would tastes better then steel.
6thCreated 3 years ago
They no longer manufacture cast iron wok, because it too heavy to handle and in storage. There maybe some cast wok found in older Asian grocery stores. A positive note on cast iron wok is that once it heated up, it will maintain the heat longer than the traditional type of wok.
wokfusion 3 years ago
@wokfusion I disagree, the chinese constructed cast iron wok is not heavy at all. Check the ones wokshop got. They are a hybrid wok of carbon steel and cast iron. they are coated with cast iron. Joyce chen also produces light weight cast iron woks that are like 3 lbs.
NattHrafn 1 year ago
@wokfusion I can get brand new ones, in fact I have one. 16 inch. The cast iron wok is extremely light, but if i drop it it'll probably shatter.
bluefoxicy 4 months ago
@6thCreated Yes they do. Lodge makes a 14" Cast iron wok, and they still make cast-iron woks in china, that can be bought here in the U.S. There are several places like wokshop.com, and amazon.com. I love cast-iron, too!
JonNicc 6 months ago
@JonNicc
I have a Lodge Logic cast iron skillet. I love it. It came pre-seasoned. I'll look for the wok. Thanks
6thCreated 6 months ago
@JonNicc Cast iron US woks are 9mm thick, extremely heavy; Chinese woks are 3mm thick, extremely light. Carbon steel is currently considered the better material and more often used in China.
bluefoxicy 4 months ago
Yeah he dus sound like Waterboy but its a gud vid all the same! Doubt mine will luk as gud as his tho!
xSeraph69x 3 years ago
Question for Wokfusion : Can you use electric stove to do the seasoning without the ring you are using? Also, I did not know about the seasoning of wok, so my wok is rusting, is it harmful (to health) to cook in such a wok? Is it too late to season the wok (only bought is 3 days ago)? Thanks
SUMNA1 3 years ago
Shit, I didn't know seasoning existed for this :(
Thank you for the information, cos now I know what I need to do.
CanadianMind 4 years ago
Not a problem. Remember, this process is only used for a new, carbon steel wok. Do not use this process on a non-stick wok.
wokfusion 4 years ago
He sounds like Bugs Bunny, you waskewee wittle wabbit...
noosaslayer 4 years ago
OK everybody, this is how to "season a wok". I am glad we have people to show us in 3D, how to do this process. Nice.
JonNicc 4 years ago 4
good!
dragkraigor 4 years ago