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Craft Wok Traditional Hand Hammered Carbon Steel Pow Wok with Wooden and Steel Helper Handle (14 Inch, Round Bottom) / 731W88?
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Don’t buy a BGE wok. Get a real good one. I bought this. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PUZT9MU/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_EB1X2HB9S4N0AVKPA92A?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 You will want to see how to season a wok properly. Also Kenji Lopez-Alt’s book “the Wok” is a great introduction to stir fries if you like authentic Chinese food like me. It just came out. Great book, lots of detail. The Egg can put out way more heat than your kitchen burners unless you bought a cooktop designed for a wok. We are talking massive BTUs.
I got this one and love it. Craft Wok Traditional Hand Hammered Carbon Steel Pow Wok with Wooden and Steel Helper Handle (14 Inch, Round Bottom) / 731W88 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PUZT9MU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_H7THPDD1TN59JT2MRAA2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
These are not hard to find since they are a simple home staple in China. Personally, I had one of those Presto Electric Woks for years before I got tired of storing it. I was really happy with it, but I moved 5 years ago into a house with much less kitchen storage, so the two large woks went.
https://www.amazon.com/Craft-Wok-Traditional-Hammered-731W88/dp/B00PUZT9MU
I ordered this one: Traditional Hand-Hammered Carbon Steel Wok with Wooden and Steel Handle (Diameter 35.6 cm, Round Bottom) / 731W88 by Craft Wok https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00PUZT9MU/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_X1759QQ447YY8A7X4WMW
Any idea if it should be good?
Stealing from a great comment on Amazon for the same wok... You can see Lance S Owens comment here https://www.amazon.com/Craft-Wok-Traditional-Hammered-731W88/dp/B00PUZT9MU/?_encoding=UTF8&pf_rd_p=178d1a4d-962e-4497-b328-a577abcf2443&pd_rd_wg=Cr57D&pf_rd_r=X7BEFX3XXMZXJBG1B805&pd_rd_w=KAgCD&pd_rd_r=2f584349-647f-4ed8-8d31-1...
Carbon steel is chemically very reactive. It rusts -- it reacts with oxygen and forms red iron oxide, Fe2O3, when exposed to oxygen, such as the oxygen in H20 water. Rusting, or red iron oxide, will form quickly on naked steel that is not properly prepared. The naked iron is also reactive with food moisture, and food will stick to it. BUT black iron oxide, formed on a steel surface that has been heated to HIGH temperatures, is less reactive, more stable, and adheres extremely well with oils. When well-oiled, the oil incorporates in the black iron oxide surface on the steel; this provides a non-reactive coating that protects the steel.
So what you need to do is BLUE the steel -- heat it to a very high temperature, and let the surface steel oxidize to black iron, Fe3O4, also called magnetite
Let me repeat: If clean carbon steel is heated to above 550 degrees F. it reacts with the oxygen in the air, and the surface steel will oxidize to black iron oxide, Fe3O4. This black surface gives the steel a beautiful black-blue to aqua-blue patina. This blued steel, or black iron oxide surface, adheres quickly to oils. When coated with oil, the oiled blued steel is very rust resistant, it is also a non-stick surface for cooking. And it has been used by blacksmiths (and Chinese cooks) for millennia to treat steel surfaces.
The instructions that come with the wok tell you what to do. Do it. But they are brief. Here are the details.
Craft Wok Traditional Hand Hammered Carbon Steel Pow Wok with Wooden and Steel Helper Handle (14 Inch, Round Bottom) / 731W88 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PUZT9MU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apanp_NdUEr6bI7wM1q
You'll need to season it, and the handles sometimes come a little loose in the process (retightening the screw fixes that), but these woks are fantastic for the price point
the first and best option is to get a set of good cast Iron pans.
for pots I am not picky but good steel pots are my favorite. Amazon has a set for 52 dollars I have no Idea how good they are but if you are clumsy like me. don't go with the glass lid ones. believe me you don't wanna have to throw away a whole meal just cause your stupid sausage hands managed to hit one of the lids against god knows what diamond surface and it exploded in a million tiny pieces and now your fucking dinner is ruined.
Get a WOK. a good steel wok!! if you can handle this beauty then go for it. it takes some work time to season it but believe me it is fucking worth it!! once you go Wok You never go back
https://www.amazon.com/Craft-Wok-Traditional-Hammered-731W88/dp/B00PUZT9MU
Yeah it’s Craft Wok. They are sold out rn on amazon. I reached out to the company because I was tracking the price for 3 months and the week I went to buy they were “sold out”. Craft Wok told me Amazon holds their inventory and just wait a couple days. 3 days later everything was back in stock.
I really like this one, which I own and use on a 160k BTU outdoor wok burner:
Craft Wok Traditional Hand... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PUZT9MU?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I bought the following wok off Amazon two years ago and it has been doing a great job so far!
Craft Wok Traditional Hand... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PUZT9MU?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Craft Wok Traditional Hand Hammered Carbon Steel Pow Wok with Wooden and Steel Helper Handle (14 Inch, Round Bottom) / 731W88 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PUZT9MU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_0DZ181Q04HWMKJ66JQFS
> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PUZT9MU
Just cut off the ref part of the link
I bought this one. I love it. It's beautiful. The seasoning process was extremely satisfying. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PUZT9MU/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_asin\_title\_o05\_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Craft Wok 14 Inch, Round Bottom https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PUZT9MU/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_KPQBZCHZPBDH5NED5ZFR?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Craft Wok Traditional Hand Hammered Carbon Steel Pow Wok with Wooden and Steel Helper Handle (14 Inch, Round Bottom) / 731W88 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PUZT9MU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_4CW4DQ120E65KDKD938Q
Just make sure to get a heavy wok. A lot of them are light and only 1.2mm thick steel and can warp.
Instead get a wok that's 1.8mm thick (14 or 15 gauge steel) and it won't warp.
E.g. here's a good round bottom one (but can only use on gas stoves). https://www.amazon.com/Craft-Wok-Traditional-Hammered-731W88/dp/B00PUZT9MU
Here's a decent flat bottom one: https://www.wokshop.com/newstore/product/carbon-steel-pow-wok-hollow-metal-handle/
A lot of people like this wok. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PUZT9MU
It's thick enough to retain a lot of heat which is important for stir fry (heat is lost when food hits the pan).
this one is my favorite out of all the ones i’ve tried
non affiliate link:
Cs wok? This is the one I been debating on. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PUZT9MU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_1JNA3RR0JQH66646E9RY?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
For reference, this is the wok I bought on Amazon, though it appears to be sold out at the moment.
I followed the instructions given by someone in the reviews section, who was referenced frequently by the other reviewers. If you decide to buy a carbon steel wok or pan, I highly recommend you read this review and tutorial.
It was my brand new one. I was not in love with it. I am looking to buy a new one.
https://www.amazon.com/Craft-Wok-Traditional-Hammered-731W88/dp/B00PUZT9MU/ref=psdc_289834_t1_B00428M7K2 I like this one from amazon more. I am going to get this :-)
I bought this one on Amazon, and have been very happy with it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PUZT9MU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 .
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Just make sure to follow the instructions; I'm not entirely sure if you'll be able to get it hot enough on an electric cooktop (I've never really used one, so don't have any experience).
I would recommend a carbon steel wok like this: https://www.amazon.com/Craft-Wok-Traditional-Hammered-731W88/dp/B00PUZT9MU/ref=asc_df_B00PUZT9MU/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167135614232&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1831352049261272180&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9025161&hvtargid=aud-801381245258:pla-307223985981&psc=1
Though I don't have particular expertise with woks, it is ideal for heating up fast and the best material for woks that I've seen referenced.
notes on burning the wok from this amazon review
Excellent traditional carbon steel wok. BUT -- and I emphasize this -- it MUST be properly tempered before use. None of the YouTube videos or comments I have seen understand this process, and you probably will not either. So read on.
This process of preparing the wok is NOT really a "seasoning" -- that implies some sort of cooking process. What is need is very high temperature tempering of the bare steel surface. This is metallurgy, not cooking! It is an ancient process used on steel to "blue" it. It is the same process used on old steel swords and gun barrels, to give them a protective non-rusting black-blue coating. Let me explain the "bluing process" you need to perform on your new wok.
Carbon steel is chemically very reactive. It rusts -- it reacts with oxygen and forms red iron oxide, Fe2O3, when exposed to oxygen, such as the oxygen in H20 water. Rusting, or red iron oxide, will form quickly on naked steel that is not properly prepared. The naked iron is also reactive with food moisture, and food will stick to it. BUT black iron oxide, formed on a steel surface that has been heated to HIGH temperatures, is less reactive, more stable, and adheres extremely well with oils. When well-oiled, the oil incorporates in the black iron oxide surface on the steel; this provides a non-reactive coating that protects the steel.
So what you need to do is BLUE the steel -- heat it to a very high temperature, and let the surface steel oxidize to black iron, Fe3O4, also called magnetite. Again this is not cooking. This is metallurgy!!
Let me repeat: If clean carbon steel is heated to above 550 degrees F. it reacts with the oxygen in the air, and the surface steel will oxidize to black iron oxide, Fe3O4. This black surface gives the steel a beautiful black-blue to aqua-blue patina. This blued steel, or black iron oxide surface, adheres quickly to oils. When coated with oil, the oiled blued steel is very rust resistant, it is also a non-stick surface for cooking. And it has been used by blacksmiths (and Chinese cooks) for millennia to treat steel surfaces.
The instructions that come with the wok tell you what to do. Do it. But they are brief. Here are the details.
FIRST STEP, you must clean the steel. It comes covered with oils to prevent rusting. You MUST strip all this oil off, to expose the bare steel surface. As instructed, use a scouring pad and go at it with detergent. Plan on working 30 minutes at this. Scrub, and rinse. Scrub and rinse. Take a white paper towel and rub the surface dry. If you are still getting black staining on the paper towel, then scrub some more. You want NAKED steel, without any oil residue on it. If there is oil on it, the oxygen cannot reach the surface when it is heated and oxidize the surface steel to black iron oxide, the beautiful blue magnetite surface you want.
SECOND step is heating to HIGH temperature. The instructions say put the wok on high heat until the steel turns BLUE. Few people understand what that means. It means REALLY heat the steel, really really really heat the steel -- all of it, all of the wok.
This requires a very hot gas flame. Use a 12,000 to 15,000 BTU (or higher) burner to do this. A BBQ is not hot enough, your oven is not hot enough. This is big flame on bare steel hot. Most modern stoves have at least one big high output burner. On my stove, I can take off the top diffuser plate from the big burner and and get a single huge gas jet -- this is what I use both for the bluing and for wok cooking. So get going. You might want to wear some heavy gloves while doing this. This is blacksmith work, not cooking. Keep animals and children away. If you touch that hot steel, it will not just burn you, it will brand you. Over a 15,000 BTU jet flame, it took my about 30 to 45 minutes to totally blue the entire wok.
Turn the heat on high. Put the wok on the hot flame, and wait. And wait. And wait. You must heat the steel to over 550 F. (around 300 C.) before the steel will begin oxidizing properly. First you will see orange yellow steel, then suddenly it will start to look "blue." That blue is the black iron oxide surface forming -- the black iron on top of the silvery steel underneath gives a bluish color. If you have properly cleaned the wok, there will be very little to NO smoke. Smoking indicates you did not properly clean off the oils, which are burning and smoking, and probably contaminating your steel surface. If you are getting lots of smoke, STOP. Go back to step one and get the steel cleaned of oils.
Now watch the blue surface expand. Carefully turn the wok over the hottest portion of the flame, move the wok very slowly so the blue transformation moves all the way to the edge. Slowly, very slowly, move up and down and around over the fire, working outward from the hottest blue edge, from center to top, expanding the blue area. When you are done, the ENTIRE surface of the wok should be beautiful blue steel. This is the the black iron oxide coat to the steel called "bluing." If there are orange or yellow-orange areas on the wok, then you did not fully heat and transform them. Heat them again until they turn blue.
Okay, blacksmith work done. The factory could do this I suppose, but none do. Chinese cooks know how to do it on a hot fire -- and a wok lasts a lifetime, so one only needs to do it once in a life!
STEP THREE. We are following the instructions that came with the wok. I am just explaining. Let the wok cool. If you put oil on that 550 degree F. steel, you will have a kitchen of smoke! When it cools quite a bit, put it back on medium flame. Now oil it, following instructions. This part may cause some smoke. It you are getting lots of smoke, turn the heat down. Use a high-temperature tolerant cooking oil, like Safflower oil, refined Light Olive Oil (NOT regular olive oil), or Peanut oil. Canola oil also works, but I hate the smell of hot Canola oil.
The black iron oxide surface you have created on your "blued" carbon steel wok loves oil. It combines with oil quickly, it hugs and bonds with oil. And when coated with oil, it is a surface that is both non-stick, and non-reactive to rusting. Look at the color! It will be shimmering with an agua-blue hue, not a really black color.
Cool the wok a bit. Turn it over. Look at that beautiful blue-black surface of magnetite you have created by proper tempering. It will be darker and thicker on the outside surface, which got hotter. Coat the outside with a thin coat of oil. Marvel at the pretty color. Coat it with more oil occasionally.
There you have it. Your are now ready to use the wok. It is properly tempered, blued; you have created a traditional non-rusting, and non-sticking surface. Traditionally, now start the wok by cooking onions and ginger. This "seasons" the surface. This is the only part of the process properly called "seasoning a wok"!
Attached are a few photos. In the first one, I added a faded blue sink cloth to help show the color. Notice the aqua-blue hue of the metal? This is blued steel color. (I have cooked a few dishes in this pan, so there is some brown oil gunk at the bottom.) At the top of wok, by the handle rivets, you will see an area that is orangish to silver -- well, that is an area I did not get properly blued. It was hard to get that area hot enough. So it goes, the job was less than perfect. But you should not have many areas like this on your perfectly blued steel wok.
The second photo shows the outside surface, and its beautiful blue-black iron oxide surface. This is what you are shooting to obtain in this process.
The third photo shows my stove burner on high flame, with the top diffusion plate remove. This gives a real jet flame, and I use it this way for wok cooking. I used this flame for the bluing process. Is that safe, you ask? Well, so far, both I and the stove are doing well, thank you. But I can offer no further guarantees. I added a photo of the wok on the jet gas flame, with the diffuser plater removed. Believe me, it is perfect for wok cooking.
Addendum: Someone asked me about the handle wrap. I added another photo. The lower metal section of the handle gets very hot while cooking, and it is easy to slide your hand on to it. Ouch. I do what our cook in Taiwan did when I was a kid fifty years ago. I wrap it tightly with cotton fabric. Take an old t-shirt, cut a three inch wide and fairly long piece. Wrap the metal very tightly with several wraps of the cotton strip. Then put on a wrap of old-fashion friction tape over that to hold the wrap tight. Tuck the top and bottom ends of the cotton under the wrap. Coat the friction tape with some corn starch or flour to take away its sticky surface. This lasts a long time, and is easy to redo if needed.
How to maintain: Simple. Never use abrasives (like a steel scrub) on the surface; doing so will remove the finish. Never use a detergent on the pan; doing so will remove the oil finish on the bluing, and detergent may contaminate the oil coating. One can usually clean the surface with very hot water and a kitchen dish brush. It really is a non-stick surface, when properly prepared and used. After washing, dry well and wipe a few drops of cooking oil over the inside and outside. And of course, don't store it in a wet place.
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