A wok is a cooking utensil with a dome-shaped base and high walls. It can either have a long handle or two open-loop handles on either side.
A wok is typically 12” to 14” in diameter. It’s widely used in Asian and Chinese cooking. It enables cooks to whip up perfect fried vegetables, meat, or fried rice.
The unique shape and construction of a wok make it different from typical frying pans and other kitchen utensils.
Some woks heat quickly. Check the heat guidance for your model, especially if it has a manufactured nonstick coating, and get comfortable handling its size and weight.
So, here are the steps to use a wok efficiently.
1. Identify the Type of Wok
Traditional woks are made of carbon steel. However, you may find woks that are made of non-stick material, stainless steel, and other construction materials too.
The properties of the utensil will be affected by the material used for construction.
Check whether your carbon-steel wok is pre-seasoned. If it is unseasoned, follow its maker’s first-use cleaning and seasoning instructions before cooking.
Seasoning will transform the shiny silver color of the wok to black because of the formation of a patina.
A maintained seasoning layer helps food release, although heat control and cooking technique still matter.
For a new unseasoned wok, remove any protective coating as the maker directs, then follow its thin-oil heating process. Kitchen Supply explains these separate first-use steps for its uncoated woks. Swirling oil before cooking is not a substitute, and bare-metal seasoning instructions do not apply to a manufactured nonstick coating.
2. Choose the Right Type of Oil
Choose an oil suited to the recipe’s heat and your wok’s instructions. Smoke point and flavor vary with refinement and the particular product.
Refined canola, peanut, grapeseed or avocado oils may suit some high-heat methods, but do not assume every oil sold under one of those names has the same limit or flavor.
Keep heat within the wok maker’s guidance, and reduce it if the oil smokes excessively. A high-smoke-point oil does not make overheating a coated wok acceptable.
3. Add Ingredients in The Right Order for The Best Results
Cooking in a wok is different from cooking in other utensils. The order in which you add ingredients matters.
You can play around with the ingredients to a certain extent. Nevertheless, here is how we recommend you add the ingredients to a wok.
Start with Protein
Thinly sliced or chopped meat, chicken, seafood, tofu, or pork should ideally go first.
Cooking time depends on the food, piece size and heat. Use a food thermometer and the safe minimum temperature for the protein, rather than treating four to seven minutes as a guarantee. Poultry, including ground poultry, needs 165°F; ground beef or pork needs 160°F; whole beef or pork cuts need 145°F with a three-minute rest. Fish needs 145°F.
Depending on the recipe, you can either let them remain in the wok while the rest of the ingredients cook or take them out once they are done.
Add the Aromatics Next
Shallots, leeks, garlic, onions, carrots, and celery are commonly used aromatics.
These ingredients will quickly integrate into a dish. They cook swiftly and will need only a minute or two to be done.
Cook Vegetables
Vegetables that form the bulk of the dish, like broccoli, cauliflower, and potatoes, are next.
The cooking time, in this case, depends on the size and the density of the vegetable.
Some vegetables like broccoli and potatoes can take longer than greens to cook.
Plan cooking time around the vegetable, piece size and recipe. There is no seven-minute limit that works for every vegetable.
Finally, Add the Starch and Sauce
At the final stage, you can add starchy ingredients like rice or noodles. Simultaneously add the sauce and flavoring ingredients.
Most experts like to add sauces like soy sauce and fish sauce along the sides of the wok.
This helps them caramelize before reaching the rest of the ingredients.
But it’s necessary to quickly toss and mix the ingredients after adding the sauce to prevent it from burning.
So, it’s a tricky method that requires practice to master.
4. Stir or Toss the Ingredients Safely
Stir and fold ingredients with a utensil suitable for the wok’s surface. You can mix a stir-fry without sliding the wok around the cooking surface.
Toss only when you can safely control the filled wok and the stove and cookware instructions allow the movement. A heavy or unstable wok is better kept securely in place.
Do not drag a wok across glass. Lift it when moving it, and keep hot food and oil under control.
5. Adjust the Cooking Method for Each Type of Stove
Use a wok with the base and size approved for your stove. A suitable flat-bottomed wok is often the practical choice for a flat cooking surface.
On glass or induction surfaces, keep it stable and stir with an appropriate utensil. Do not scrape or drag the base across the glass.
Follow the appliance’s restrictions on rings and supports, and the wok’s heat limits. Flames climbing the sides are not a goal to pursue by moving the wok unsafely.
6. Woks Can Be Used to Make Dishes Apart from Stir-Fries
When we think of cooking with woks, stir-fry dishes first come to mind.
It’s widely used to stir-fry vegetables and meat and prepare fried rice.
However, woks can be used to make much more than just stir-fries. They include the following.
- Shallow frying and deep frying: Use these methods only in a wok and stove setup that is suitable and stable. Follow the maker’s fill limit and the recipe’s oil temperature, leaving room for food and bubbling. Monitor frying continuously; the wok shape does not guarantee faster or better cooking.
- Steaming: You can use a wok for steaming dumplings and other cooking ingredients. The best way to do this is to fill the base of the wok with water and place a bamboo steamer or metal colander inside the wok with the cooking ingredient.
- Boiling: A suitable wok can hold water for boiling ingredients, but its shape does not guarantee faster cooking. Follow the recipe, leave headroom and check doneness.
- Making curries and stews: You can use a wok to make curries and stews. The process begins with tempering aromatic ingredients, followed by adding the rest of the ingredients for the curry or stew. The deep and wide base has enough space for the liquid that goes into the dish.
