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(More customer reviews)I've been obsessed with seasoning woks and cast iron skillets lately and figured out a thing or two from trying out all the different advice I've read online. Here's a synopsis:
On Seasoning:
-- I recommend seasoning with Crisco shortening and then vegetable oil and then mineral oil in that order. Mineral oil is good if you plan to store your piece because it never goes rancid. Vegetable oil is recommended by The Wok Shop but it tends to be sticky if not done perfectly. The disadvantage to using mineral oil is that it has a low smoking point (somewhere in the high 200's) so it smokes a lot more. Also some people say that you don't cook with mineral oil so you shouldn't apply it to your wok. However, I feel fine doing this if I get food grade mineral oil. I'd only do mineral oil if planning to store the piece for years because of the low smoking point. Fats that are solid at room temperature is best for seasoning. (I read lard is best but I don't know where to get any but shortening is close enough for me).
-- If you have an outside gas grill where you can control the temperature and not worry about the smoke, that would be ideal. Second choice is whatever appliance is closest to the vent. If your oven is not next to your vent, you should season on stovetop instead of the oven. I have a wall oven next to the smoke detector. This setup is bad for seasoning. There is so much smoke produced by this process that the smoke detector goes off 100% of the time and it literally took an hour to get all the smoke out with all the windows in the house open. There was a burnt oil smell lingering for days. It is important to season where you can deal with the smoke.
-- To season effectively in the oven, you have to put the oven at least at 400 degrees. (wokshop recommends 425 or 450, if I recall correctly). You can do it at a lower temperature to reduce the smoke but it is not as effective and the seasoning will be more gummy. Shortening smoking point is somewhere in the high 300's. I read Lodge recommends 300 degrees. This produces an OK finish. When I did it at a higher temperature, I got a seasoning that was a lot more black and smooth but had to deal with a lot more smoke. My oven is sealed tight so the smoke stays in the oven if I don't open it. You should let the smoke out b/c you don't want the smokiness sealed in with your seasoning layer.
-- To season on stovetop, first wrap your handle with a wet towel followed by foil. On high heat, heat your dry wok until it starts smoking. Wet a wad of paper towel with the oil of your choice and using a tong, wipe it around the inside of the wok. I never seasoned the outside of my wok. Since I don't plan to cook on the outside of my wok, I don't care about making the outside of my wok nonstick. If you season in the oven, you should probably season the outside of the wok too to get a uniform finish on your wok. On stovetop, it is not necessary to season the outside. Move the wok around so that the burner "burns" the oil into the wok uniformly around all parts. The wok will turn black after a while. When all parts of the wok are black, you are done. You can season many times.
-- You are supposed to use a metal spatula with a wok. There is a specific "wok spatula." This scratches the wok, at least initially when the seasoning is not strong enough but that is ok. Next time you use, you can season just the part that is scratched. Over time, all the scratches will even out.
--I accidentally burned a part of the helper handle while seasoning on stovetop and I read somewhere I was supposed to cover with foil to prevent this, not just in oven but also on stovetop.
--flat bottom vs. round bottom
I got a round bottom to be "a wok purist" as someone put it. Traditionally, woks have round bottoms which work for the fire pit set up they have in old chinese kitchens. To accomodate a stove setup, they invented flat bottom. I noticed all the woks in stores around here are flat bottom and after using my round bottom wok for a while, i can see why. I have a gas Thermador stove and while I can cook without feeling like the wok is going to fall over or anything like that, I'd worry if I were deep frying or had kids in the house who could accidentally bump it. I hear it's easier to scratch the flat bottom wok and you need more oil but I think I'd trade in my round bottom so I don't have to worry about the stability. Which brings me to wok rings.
--Wok ring
Wok rings are supposed to be used to stablize round woks. It does that but I find that raises the wok too high from the flame. Yesterday, I found the perfect cast iron wok ring for 10 bucks at a chinese grocery store. This is much better than the 2 kinds of stainless wok rings I've seen online (and tried) because it is much heavier and won't shift around while on my stove. My thermador stove has an wok ring accessory for $90 bucks. I think I prefer the $9 kind given how cheap it is even though it wasn't made to fit my stove perfectly. I use this cast iron one upside down on my stove because I think it was made for a 14inch. I'd recommend trying out any cast iron wok ring even if it wasn't made for your stove b/c you need one that is hefty that won't move around. Make sure you can return it though in case it doesn't work for you. I see that there is a Smeg Cast Iron wok ring for around $30 bucks online. I'd try that if you want to try a setup like mine. I can see that one working on my stove, either right side up or upside down. You only need a little ridge to stablize a round wok. (It's a round wok, not a cone shaped wok afterall.)
Actually, you should note on my Thermador stove, you can't take out the grill over the burner for just one burner. You have to take out the grill for two burners at a time. That's why I used the wok ring on top of my burner grill. If you can remove your burner grill and put the wok ring right on top of your stove, it might work better. In my case, I couldn't do that. You are supposed to experiment with different setups and see what works for you. For me, it is the cast iron wok ring. It has two things going for it-- its weight and the low height which doesn't raise the wok too much from the flame.
-- size
In The Breath of a Wok, the author says the best kind of wok for residential stoves is a 14 inch flat bottom carbon steel wok. 14 inch seems to be the standard size. I also read somewhere 12 inch cooks for 2, 14 inch cooks for 4 and 16 inch for 8. I got the 16 inch b/c I read somewhere you should get the 16 inch to have a little more real estate to work with. I think I would get the 16 inch again even though we are a family of 2. I enjoy the extra room and also it keeps my stove area clean b/c there is a lot of splatter when stir-frying. The 16inch diameter catches more grease. I think the 14inch would be OK though... The rim would be a little lower and I find the wok a little two high to work with sometimes.
As for the wok (I purchased a 16 inch round bottom from this vendor), it is everything that is promised. The long handle is held by a long screw that goes through the wooden part. It seems to be that a nut is needed to secure the screw to the wok. It may have come with the wok but perhaps it got lost in the box? (The handle comes shipped unscrewed to the wok so it may have gotten lost.) Anyway, I just took the long screw to the hardware store and got a fitting nut for 8 cents. Problem solved. Other than this issue, the wok is good. I recommend ordering online. I checked out a couple of huge asian grocery stores and none carried the carbon steel type. Everyone says you can pick one up for ~$15 bucks at your Chinese grocery store. I tried this. I tried some other stores-- crate & barrel, macy's. Everyone has woks but not in carbon steel and not in the diameter you want. Also, around here (major metropolitan area), everyone only stocks flat bottom, even in the Chinese grocery stores. Save yourself some time and just order online if there is a specific kind you want.
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16 inch Carbon Steel Wok w/ 2 Wood Handles (round bottom)USA madeThe 2 wood handle model is the original wok design. This wok is a heavy-duty 14-gauge round bottom carbon steel. A flat bottom is designed to sit directly on an electric stove or ceramic stovetop to take advantage of all the heat since wok cooking is done with high heat. A flat bottom wok also works very efficiently on a gas stove and is available with long wooden handle and helper handle or two metal loop handles.Round and flat bottom woks are available in 12", 14", and 16". Wok measures at least 4" in depth. Woks also available18", 20", 22", 24", 26", 28", and 30" (for commercial use) and are round bottom only. Must be seasoned. Made in USA. Wok only. Lid may be purchased separately.
Click here for more information about 16 inch Carbon Steel Wok w/ 2 Wood Handles (round bottom)USA made
