More stirfrys

[Toliver]

Great! Follow Mudbug's advice (see the post above) and treat it like a cast iron skillet. Get the wok home, wash it, then dry it and season it on the stove. And like Mudbug stated, when cleaning it after cooking make sure you put it back on the still-warm burner to dry out any residual moisture. Rust is a bad thing!

In addition to the above-mentioned brush, make sure you have a good wok spatula, too (like the one pictured in the middle here).

Over time, the more you use your wok, the better seasoned it will become. I could have sworn when I just did a stirfry in my wok a couple nights ago that is was like cooking in a non-stick pan. But that's also the nature of wok cooking: stirring ingredients quickly enough that they won't have time to stick. That's where mis en place comes in so very handily, as you know.

Over time, if used enough, the wok should also develop a blackness starting in the bottom middle (again, as Mudbug pointed out). This is just evidence of the seasoning of your wok and should be left alone.

Let us know how your wok shopping went.

As for those who have non-stick woks, given the recent eGullet threads on the toxicity of non-stick coatings when exposed to high heat (like in wok cooking), personally speaking, I wouldn't recommend using a non-stick wok for cooking.

[Mabelline]

There was a reason I advised steel ugly over cast iron. Cast iron is made from the slag melting on top of the real metal. When you superheat the cast iron type, it's not really set up to handle the high heat like we're talking about. Beside that, cast iron does react with acidic ingredients. Steel is the 'racehorse' brother of the cast iron cart horse. But I am quite sure that if you find an Asian market, and make nice with an amma, she will surely find you a thing of years' worth of devotion. Good luck!!!

[Hest88]

As for those who have non-stick woks, given the recent eGullet threads on the toxicity of non-stick coatings when exposed to high heat (like in wok cooking), personally speaking, I wouldn't recommend using a non-stick wok for cooking.

I dislike non-stick for another reason; I like being able to push what I'm cooking up the sides of the wok to isolate certain ingredients that may not be cooking as fast as others or to let something brown or, if there's too much lliquid, to let some liquid evaporate quickly. Can't do that with non-stick without everything falling back down.

[trillium]

We use our le creuset frying pan that has matte black enamel (it isn't acid reactive but doesn't scratch up like the ivory) or an all-clad saute pan to do all of our stir-frying. We had a wok (please...it was the real kind) for a while but found we couldn't cook enough food in it at a high enough heat, and you lose that nice smokey flavor. The deal with woks is that they are really easily overloaded. And before I get a lecture on what all the grandmothers do, it was an grannie that told me not to bother with a wok on a US stove, she didn't. I'm not saying you can't use woks on them but just that the volume of food you can cook in them is trickier than when you use a big, flat pan that has more contact with the flame or burner. I hate to sound like I'm from Northern California, but not every solution is right for every person. What works for you may not work for someone else. There's more than one way to stir-fry a chicken.

regards,

trillium

[Mabelline]

trillium, you just expressed the sentiments of eG!!! The very reason there are discussions is to postulate different views. By hearing others care enough to give an opinion is great.You all ought to be able to come away with a different set of perceptives.

[trillium]

I'm all for different perspectives and discussions, it's why I love the internet as a resource (eG doesn't have the monopoly that...yet). It's just that, while I like hearing from opinionated cooks, I don't think the pressumption that my way is the only way to do something "right" is the most instructive form of discussion!

regards,

trillium

[Mabelline]

Well, you gotta do like an old venerable man told me "Don't believe anything you hear, and only half of what you see!"

[Toliver]

As for those who have non-stick woks, given the recent eGullet threads on the toxicity of non-stick coatings when exposed to high heat (like in wok cooking), personally speaking, I wouldn't recommend using a non-stick wok for cooking.

I dislike non-stick for another reason; I like being able to push what I'm cooking up the sides of the wok to isolate certain ingredients that may not be cooking as fast as others or to let something brown or, if there's too much lliquid, to let some liquid evaporate quickly. Can't do that with non-stick without everything falling back down.

Excellent point! You're also supposed to push the food up the sides and be able to use the exposed center to add your sauce and then thicken it. Once thickened then your bring your food back down and incorporate it all.

This can't be done as easily with a non-stick wok.

[Toliver]

We use our le creuset frying pan that has matte black enamel (it isn't acid reactive but doesn't scratch up like the ivory) or an all-clad saute pan to do all of our stir-frying.  We had a wok (please...it was the real kind) for a while but found we couldn't cook enough food in it at a high enough heat, and you lose that nice smokey flavor.  The deal with woks is that they are really easily overloaded.  And before I get a lecture on what all the grandmothers do, it was an grannie that told me not to bother with a wok on a US stove, she didn't.  I'm not saying you can't use woks on them but just that the volume of food you can cook in them is trickier than when you use a big, flat pan that has more contact with the flame or burner.  I hate to sound like I'm from Northern California, but not every solution is right for every person.  What works for you may not work for someone else.  There's more than one way to stir-fry a chicken.

You are very correct in that not everything works for everybody. In responding to Marlene's query, I offered a cheap simple solution that works for me. She may find out she doesn't like it or may find out it's perfect for her needs. I am looking forward to hearing the results of her quest.

This makes me wish I had one of those new fangled digital cameras. My cheapo (sheet metal) wok is of the Big-Ass variety (okay, it didn't say that on the shelf in the Asian market where I bought it, but it's an appropriate description ). Because of its size, I usually make too much food for one sitting which I don't mind since I love leftover chinese food.

How do I know the wok is hot enough? I put a drop of water in the empty heated wok. If the water drop immediately starts dancing around like a whirling dervish, I know it's ready. I'll wipe up the drop (if it doesn't evaporate from the heat), add my oil and "wok on".

I'm also beginning to think that the real key to making homemade chinese food taste like what we get in a chinese restaurant is mostly in the sauce. The pot sticker dipping sauce I found in one of my chinese cookbooks tastes exactly like what you get in the restaurant so that's one little victory.

[mamster]

You know, you can stirfry pretty darn well in a 12" nonstick skillet over high heat, as long as you don't have a pet bird.

[MRX]

I second, third, and fourth the advice from Bond Girl et al regarding using a carbon steel wok. I have had the same one from the Pearl River Dept store on Canal Street for around ten years. Indespensible. Like a Lodge cast iron frying pan, or a cast iron dutch oven, why spend extra money for something more expensive and doesn't do the job half as well - Le Creuset for Asian food? Pah.

Oh and when you buy the wok, spend another three dollars on the bamboo cleaning brush - it works great for the Lodge type frying pan as well, no soap, gentler than steel wool and never rusts.