Buying a wok

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karaRobert

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I've decided to buy a new wok. I know there are different opinions, but would welcome some help in deciding what to buy - what type, preferred brands, special tools, and where to buy.
so I may have to get online.
Thanks
 
I like a hammered steel wok...you can get a pretty good hand made one for very little money...try the wokshop.
 
What kind of stove will you be using it on?
 
i live close enough to go to Wok-shop. the parking chokes out my spirit every time. (and it's across the street from Golden Gate Bakery, the undisputed king of DAN-TAAT - the chinese egg custard)

i need to order a wok. i would use the wok shop.
 
The stove question is important. Do you have a removable "wok ring" on a gas burner that will allow the use of a round-bottom wok? That's far better than having to use a flat-bottom wok, which isn't really a wok at all, just a frying pan with high walls. You might get away with using a round-bottom wok on a circular holder over a gas burner if the flame is hot enough.

You don't need to spend a lot of money, a good wok is just plain steel (hammered or smooth surface, I prefer smooth). I bought ours at a local restaurant supply place, don't remember the name or the cost, but it wasn't much. Ours is 16" with two small metal handles, and we have another larger one that doesn't get much use. You may want a smaller one, I have a large wok burner where this size works well. The larger the wok, the more surface area you have for floating food in a pool of oil when deep frying, so you can fry more items at a time.

Handle preference is a personal choice. I like just two small handles, some folks prefer one long handle. The advantage of two small handles is I can boil water in the wok as part of the post-cooking cleanup, then carry it over to the sink with two hands without worrying about spilling it. I also use a few Chinese techniques involving frying in oil, then dumping the hot oil and finishing with just a light coat of oil in the wok. I like having two hands (with mits) on the wok handles when dumping hot oil, instead of a wobbly single long handle. But again, this comes down to personal preference. A smaller wok can work okay with a single handle.

For tools, I just use a metal shovel-type paddle and a large metal scoop with a deep bowl. Both wok tools have wood handles for heat protection, and they're fairly long. For years, I used wooden wok paddles and that was a mistake, I think. I was being too gentle when stir-frying, and that would leave food buildup and crud on the wok surface. With the metal paddle I'm more aggressive about shoving things around, not worrying about damaging the "seasoning" and the wok stays cleaner and smoother.
 
oh..i do my wok work out back in a turkey fryer.

my weak link is my hood vent. there is no way i could wok in house.
 
oh..i do my wok work out back in a turkey fryer.

my weak link is my hood vent. there is no way i could wok in house.

Yeah, there's that. We put in a massive hood with commercial fans and filters when we did a big kitchen remodel years ago. Not just for the wok burner, but also for pan-searing steaks and other smokey stuff. We'll be down-sizing to a smaller house soon, but a big powerful hood will be a first priority for anything we do to the kitchen. Can't cook now without it.
 
oh..i do my wok work out back in a turkey fryer.

my weak link is my hood vent. there is no way i could wok in house.

Dude, good idea. I have a gas burner and stand for my paella setup that I could easily use a wok on. Time to buy a wok!
 
Wok Shop, hammered steel, round bottom if you can use it safely - flat otherwise.

While you're on-line pick up their $20 cleaver (was $10 when I bought mine some 20 years ago)

I use a modified Bayou Classic burner outside when I wok and roll.
 
The stove question is important. Do you have a removable "wok ring" on a gas burner that will allow the use of a round-bottom wok? That's far better than having to use a flat-bottom wok, which isn't really a wok at all, just a frying pan with high walls. You might get away with using a round-bottom wok on a circular holder over a gas burner if the flame is hot enough.

This was what I was getting at. A true round wok is great... if you're using it on a true wok burner. For most home stoves however it's less than ideal. I have one of those 3-ring 'wok burners', but even those usually don't have enough output to really keep up - unless you have a really high end stove.
So what tends to happen if you use a normal wok on a normal home stove:
-The pan goes cold, or at least loses too much heat once you dump stuff in, and the stove will need time to get it back to temperature.
-The round shape of the wok allows a lot of the heat from the gas to bleed off along the sides, again making it difficult to keep the temperature high enough.

For those reasons I actually use... a carbon steel skillet (deBuyer) for all my stirfrying needs instead. Just heat it up for a good while to make sure it's really screaming hot. Works just great. Just watch out your oil doesn't combust. I can imagine cast iron also working well altho I haven't tried it.
 
This was what I was getting at. A true round wok is great... if you're using it on a true wok burner. For most home stoves however it's less than ideal. I have one of those 3-ring 'wok burners', but even those usually don't have enough output to really keep up - unless you have a really high end stove.

Yeah, I didn't want to discourage the OP, but round woks really need high heat, and unless you have the right burner (or the outdoor methods mentioned earlier in the thread) it's almost a waste of time. I now have a 30,000 btu Viking countertop wok burner, which is great.... but it took me years of trying to use woks on standard kitchen stoves before I could afford that kind of thing.

And even that is a compromise. I was originally looking at one of the "real" Chinese 90,000 btu wok burners for the kitchen remodel, before finding out that we probably couldn't meet the fire safety and code requirements in a home kitchen. Using a turkey fryer on an outside deck isn't a bad idea...
:biggrin:
 
For real, I've worked on wok sections at a couple of restaurants, and cooking on a wok is more about the power of the stove rather than the wok itself.
I'd love to test one of those really cheap Thai wood burning bucket stoves that I've seen going for about $15 at the markets. Has anyone here used them before?
I bet you could get an impressive amount of heat out of the things with the help of a quick charcoal-blower modification.
tao34cm2.jpg

xcooking-outdoor-charcoal-stove.jpg.pagespeed.ic.JixDQy3HVl.jpg


But I can't justify buying one when I can use my forge! :laugh:

UCKsQmG.jpg
 
If you have the space outdoors for a small table and a propane tank, a "fast stove" makes a huge difference with the wok experience. I was intimidated for a long time by the BTUs, but finally picked one up and it made a tremendous improvement in my results and wok-ing enjoyment. Makes seasoning the wok fast and allows you to more easily achieve wok hei. No more stewing foods, waiting for excess liquid to dissipate. Best $100 cooking purchase I've made in a long time...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GH9WMC2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

For a wok, hammered carbon steel is my preference and Craft Wok carries some excellent ones (I have both):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PUZT9MU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XK6KNHQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

The latter wok is just as serviceable as my Cen wok, though without the cool provenance...
http://www.graceyoung.com/2016/12/mr-cens-wok-the-end-of-an-era/
 
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I am not sure if you have used it but there is a very convenient parking in Bush steet, half a block from the Grand street entrance that is a couple of blocks from the shop. It might help you with the soul crunching experience of parking in Chinatown
 
Get a Yamada hammered wok if you can find one that suits you… they are hammered and variable thickness (think like distal taper in a knife lol). I have a 36cm x 1.6mm (nominal thickness) round bottom single handle; but they are also available in 1.2mm thick with flat bottoms, dual handles, and every iteration depending on where you buy from. I use mine on an iwatani 35fw 15k btu portable butane stove which is not ideal but better than a flat bottom on electric imo. I know @inzite likes his Yamada wok too

I got mine from global kitchen japan… also got the Yamada hoak and wok strainer
https://www.globalkitchenjapan.com/collections/yamada

the prices are good but the shipping can be expensive, however I've noticed the shipping appears to factored into the price when they're available elsewhere so it's kind of a wash I suppose
 
+1000 Jovidah et all for asking "on what stove".

In any case, *additionally* get a cheap IKEA nonstick - they are great for all those "recipe says wok but it is more of a kadai you need" recipes :)

For anyone not blessed with gas or grills:

Old-style cast plate electric hobs are best served with one of these HEAVY cast iron woks and a lot of preheating. Can't wok-toss with these though - they are about seven pounds and the handles get hot! - a sheet metal skimming ladle (sharp edged) works well to move stuff around.

Induction? Go thin, and abuse the pot detection as a gas pedal by moving the wok in and out of the detection zone .... Netherton spun iron is not a bad choice for that. Don't try to use that one on a contact hob - the bottom is pretty thin and will just warp and make for bad heat transfer.
 
I have a cast iron wok, but I never use it. My double burner (which Miele calls a wok-burner) isn't powerful enough. I use my flat de buyer carbon steel pans for stir frying. Works much better.
 
I'm w/Mansion on this one. pretty much brings both ends together tool and temperature.

We can get into semantics but Wok cooking can only be achieved by having a round bottom carbon steel wok over a burner that produced hundreds of thousands of BTU. The flame is usually jet or at least focused in the center of the wok. Thats is. I have a CS Wok, Debuyer Flat bottom CS wok but not the heat source. So my food aint woking nowhere either.

Its clear that all posters get that this can't be achieved at home without very specialized expensive equipment and possible even home remodeling.

I'm interested in this Fast Flame setup.




If you have the space outdoors for a small table and a propane tank, a "fast stove" makes a huge difference with the wok experience. I was intimidated for a long time by the BTUs, but finally picked one up and it made a tremendous improvement in my results and wok-ing enjoyment. Makes seasoning the wok fast and allows you to more easily achieve wok hei. No more stewing foods, waiting for excess liquid to dissipate. Best $100 cooking purchase I've made in a long time...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GH9WMC2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

For a wok, hammered carbon steel is my preference and Craft Wok carries some excellent ones (I have both):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PUZT9MU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XK6KNHQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

The latter wok is just as serviceable as my Cen wok, though without the cool provenance...
http://www.graceyoung.com/2016/12/mr-cens-wok-the-end-of-an-era/
 
Last edited by a moderator:
...I'm interested in this Fast Flame setup.

I have a gas grill on the back patio that runs off of a 15lb propane tank (for those outside of the U.S., we see these tanks in front of every home improvement store and many groceries here). I just put my fast stove on the steel grates of my grill - it's solid, a fire-proof surface, and I use the same propane tank that's under the grill. (The fast stove comes with its own regulator that provides the increased PSI required for high BTUs.) Super simple and about as safe as you can get with 75-100K BTUs! Since it's outside, no ventilation worries. I can't recommend the stove enough if you have the space outside. It's fun to use and the results are dramatically good. Honestly, I don't think you can truly wok at home without some sort of similar, high-BTU setup.
 
Enabler. Just what I needed to push me over the edge.

I have to say that the pics on youtube look and sound ferocious. I have an outdoor kitchen including grill setup that I use as a surface for my Aiwatani portable, but have never had true woking power.

I've got two tanks out back full too. Guess my fate is sealed and into the cart it goes.

Will provide update after first meal.
 
Enabler. Just what I needed to push me over the edge.

I have to say that the pics on youtube look and sound ferocious. I have an outdoor kitchen including grill setup that I use as a surface for my Aiwatani portable, but have never had true woking power.

I've got two tanks out back full too. Guess my fate is sealed and into the cart it goes.

Will provide update after first meal.

Yes!!! You’ll love it! Can’t wait for the update :thumbsup:

P.S. read the reviews on the link I provided for some helpful info and tips on setup
 
Enabler. Just what I needed to push me over the edge.

I have to say that the pics on youtube look and sound ferocious. I have an outdoor kitchen including grill setup that I use as a surface for my Aiwatani portable, but have never had true woking power.

I've got two tanks out back full too. Guess my fate is sealed and into the cart it goes.

Will provide update after first meal.

please update me later!!

i have one in my cart as well. i thought i wanted a turkey fryer, but when i read the description, the simple two words, "pilot light" caught my attention. that is the single achilles of a turkey fryer..the damn re-light if you have to pause. man! a pilot light is a game changer if you are doing multiple dishes.

having said that..do you think i could put a turkey fryer pot on top..anyone?
 
...do you think i could put a turkey fryer pot on top..anyone?

On the stove I linked to, there are 4 feet, positioned N-S and E-W, that your cooking vessel is supported by. The distance from the outer tip of one foot to the outer tip of the foot directly across from it is 13”. I don’t have experience with a turkey fryer, but that seems like an awfully large pot with a lot of hot oil to perch on top of a fast stove. It would seem a good idea to at least secure (i.e. bolt down) the stove to a table somehow for additional stability (this doesn’t seem too necessary with a wok, which also benefits from a round bottom which nestles within these four feet).

And yes, the pilot light is immensely useful!

(sorry OP if I’ve taken this off-topic from woks to wok stoves)
 
On the stove I linked to, there are 4 feet, positioned N-S and E-W, that your cooking vessel is supported by. The distance from the outer tip of one foot to the outer tip of the foot directly across from it is 13”. I don’t have experience with a turkey fryer, but that seems like an awfully large pot with a lot of hot oil to perch on top of a fast stove. It would seem a good idea to at least secure (i.e. bolt down) the stove to a table somehow for additional stability (this doesn’t seem too necessary with a wok, which also benefits from a round bottom which nestles within these four feet).

And yes, the pilot light is immensely useful!

(sorry OP if I’ve taken this off-topic from woks to wok stoves)

thanks.

i can almost smell the homemade BEEF CHOW FUN coming from my backyard..

this is gonna required that i buy a wok too..i have the tinest goofiest wok..i bet it is 14" without a handle..so the heat coming around this sides would be way to dangerous. it is unuseable.
 
thanks.

i can almost smell the homemade BEEF CHOW FUN coming from my backyard..

this is gonna required that i buy a wok too..i have the tinest goofiest wok..i bet it is 14" without a handle..so the heat coming around this sides would be way to dangerous. it is unuseable.

A 14” wok is actually perfect and probably the most common size, especially if you’re not cooking for a lot of people. And between the gas controls and regulator, you can make the stove as tame or beastly as you wish. I have the regulator set at about half power, which is still enough oomph to make a carbon steel wok glow dull red or have a docile flame, suitable for just keeping a dish warm as I grab a serving plate.

“Beef Chow Fun” :lol2:
 
Good to know cause my carbon wok is 14" too. I've been watching videos on proper woking technique. I have a wok spoon, wok spatula and Singapore strainer. I should be good to WOK in a couple of days.

What should the first recipe be? I'm going dust off my copy of Phoenix Claws and jade Trees
 
i'll pull a tape measure tonight.

i know the one we use at deer hunting camp is probably closer to 20" across. lots of real estate.

i was taught that the smaller woks need a handle to grab to toss the food. the bigger woks should have those two hook handles and most of the food tossing is done with the two tools. you dont really move the wok.

my stepdad had the strongest forearms..he could move some stuff around.
 
A 14” wok is actually perfect and probably the most common size, especially if you’re not cooking for a lot of people.

It may be common, but I like a 16" wok, even cooking smaller amounts for the two of us. Part of that is matching the wok to the burner. Our 30,000 btu Viking wok burner (indoor 24" countertop style) has a wide open burner. With the center insert removed, the flame reaches up about a third of the way from the bottom of the wok on high setting. I wouldn't want a smaller wok with that wide a flame. You want the heat focused on the bottom, not too much on the sides, which means sizing the wok to the burner. This might be an issue with wide burners designed for outdoor turkey fryers, I dunno. I haven't tried one of those.

The other reason I like larger woks, is that they give you a little more surface area for floating food when deep frying ("passing through oil," Chinese style), without using too much oil.
 

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