New Wok - sticky coating??

[LizD518]

I just bought a wok in a Chinese restaurant supply store in Philly's Chinatown. It was $15 for a 14" wok and seems to be basic, all-metal, the type of thing that everyone on here recommends. It has a single metal handle in the same metal as the bowl, welded to the bowl.

Here is an image of pretty similar model: http://www.wokshop.com/HTML/products/woks/wok-iron-pow.html

So far, I have only used once - on Saturday, I used it along with a bamboo steamer to hold the wrappers for a Peking Duck appetizer station. We put the wok on a riser, put sterno underneath, hot water in the wok and set the steamer on top - just as you would to steam product at home, only using sterno as the heat source. It worked great, but when the dishwashers ran the wok through the dishwasher at work, It came away with a sticky film all over it, inside and out. There is one spot on the interior of the wok that looks like it was scrubbed - probably with a plastic scouring pad - and that area is not sticky. It isn't the dishwasher, per se, there is no film on anything else. It seems to be some sort of reaction to a coating on the metal of the wok.

So, the last wok I bought was from IKEA (don't judge ) Do woks like this need to be treated in some way?

[mkayahara]

Usually woks are shipped and sold with an oil coating on them to prevent them from rusting (they're carbon steel, not stainless, so they will rust if not treated). That oil coating needs to be scrubbed off, then the wok needs to be seasoned with cooking oil before use.

[weinoo]

Yeah, just scrub it good with a steel wool pad and some cleanser (Bon Ami, Comet, etc.) and start all over by seasoning it properly.

And don't run it through any more dishwashers - ever.

[Paul Bacino]

I always wanted to take it to my favorite chinese place and have them..torbo heat that thing with thier burners.. clean and season it after that.

Never did thou

Edited August 27, 2013 by Paul Bacino (log)

[LizD518]

Ah Ha! I guess I know what I will be doing this evening then. Thanks for the help!