Work this way! (Part 2 of 5) Selecting a wok

As mentioned in Part 1 of the series, woks come in different sizes ranging from 10 to 32 inches in diameter, but an 11 to 14-inch diameter wok should be sufficient for use in a home kitchen.

Woks come in 2 different bottoms, traditional round bottom woks and “westernized” flat bottom woks. Both have their advantages, but there are reasons why the traditional wok lasted thousands of years in Chinese kitchens. Flat bottom woks don’t heat as evenly. The flattened area creates a slight angle around the bottom that makes it difficult to handle your cookware. Food can get caught in this area, overcook, or even burn due to lack of movement. This could also present a problem when you clean it later. That small angle also increases the likelihood that you will accidentally scratch the wok while frying. Flat bottom woks were designed for better balance on flat American stoves, especially the electric stove. But there is a simple solution for that. You can buy a “wok ring” to put on the stove and place the wok on top of it for balance. We’ll see it in more detail in Part 5, “Wok Accessories.”

A wok is generally made of iron, copper, carbon steel, or aluminum. Carbon steel and aluminum are the best due to their superior thermal conductivity, but the general consensus is that carbon steel is by far the best material for a wok. Carbon steel is the most porous and, when exposed to high temperatures, the pores open to absorb cooking oil, helping to develop the “patina” and then the elusive “wok hay” (discussed in Part 3) . If you tour Chinese restaurants and ask their chefs what kind of woks they use, an overwhelming majority will swear by carbon steel woks. The best part is that carbon steel woks are relatively inexpensive to buy. There is an old adage that says “you get what you pay for”. This is definitely not the case with woks.

There are now stainless steel versions of the wok, although it is generally not recommended. Stainless steel is not a good conductor of heat, defeating the purpose of Chinese cuisine which relies heavily on rapid cooking over high heat. They sure look pretty, but do you prefer a pretty wok or a mouth-watering gourmet dish? The answer should be obvious. Nonstick coated woks are also undesirable. All of them inevitably get scratched and the food sticks to the metal, ruining the taste, smell, presentation of the dishes, not to mention the extra effort required to clean the wok. Also, the high heat required for Chinese cooking can eventually damage the nonstick coating. A well seasoned wok will last forever, while a nonstick wok will inevitably need a replacement over time.

There is an enamel coated version where there are no reactions between metal and food, which makes it a good alternative. But, if a carbon steel wok is seasoned well (explained in Part 3), it will become practically non-stick and will perform better than any other version out there. If you must buy one with a non-stick surface, we recommend buying a hard anodized or heavy gauge aluminum wok, but the downside is that they are very expensive. Why spend a lot of money on an expensive wok when you can get one that will do a better job, at a fraction of the price, right?

The bottom line is that if you really want to cook Chinese food and create dishes that taste authentically Chinese, choose a round base carbon steel wok and include a wok ring as an accessory (if necessary) to balance it out in the kitchen.

In Wok Part 3 like this! We will cover the important topic of “Seasoning” a new wok.