We all cook at some point in our lives. And our cooking skills significantly depend on the utensils we use. A wok and a frying pan are two of the most commonly used utensils in any kitchen. However, both of them usually do the same thing. So, why use a wok instead of a frying pan?
A wok should be used instead of a frying pan because it is made up of carbon steel, it cooks quickly, and helps to stir-fry the food with less oil. The curved and round shape of a wok ensures that the cooked food is less oily. A wok also has a larger capacity to cook food compared to a frying pan.
Let’s now talk about all the differences between a wok and a frying pan.
What’s The Difference Between A Wok And A Frying Pan?
Given below are the main differences between a wok and a frying pan:
- A wok is curved and round shaped. This makes it easy to stir-fry the food. On the other hand, a frying pan is round and flat shaped, which makes the cooking process slow and long.
- A wok is made up of carbon steel, which has high heat retention properties. Also, carbon steel takes less time to heat up and cooks the food properly and fast. In contrast, a frying pan is commonly made up of stainless steel and takes a longer time to cook the food properly.
- Woks are naturally non-sticky utensils as they are made up of carbon steel. In comparison, the stainless steel frying pans are sticky.
- A wok is also light in weight compared to a frying pan. A frying pan is heavy as it is made up of stainless steel.
- A wok prepares healthy food compared to a frying pan because the frying pan needs more oil to cook the food. At the same time, a wok requires lesser oil and can stir-fry the food properly with a limited amount of oil.
Recommended Further Reading:
- What Size Frying Pan Do You Need?
- What Type of Coating is on a Wok?
- Finding a Wok that Won’t Rust
- Choosing the Perfect Wok for an Electric Range
Is Wok Better Than A Frying Pan?
Given below are the reasons why a wok is better than a frying pan:
- Made Up of Carbon Steel: A wok is made up of carbon steel. As we all know, carbon steel has high heat retention capabilities. So it consumes less heat and cooks the ingredients uniformly. The food doesn’t remain uncooked from one side, which is a common issue while using a frying pan.
- Cooks Fast: With a wok, you can increase the speed of your cooking. As a wok takes less time to heat up, it takes less time to cook food as well. On the other hand, a frying pan takes at least 2 to 3 minutes to heat up.
- Better for Stir-Frying: A wok is better for stir-frying compared to a frying pan. As the shape of a wok is round and curved, it takes less oil to stir-fry the food. A wok can stir-fry carrots, onions, or potatoes better than a frying pan with a limited quantity of oil.
- Makes Less Oily Food: A wok requires less oil to cook a dish properly than a frying pan. A frying pan is round and flat shaped. So it takes more oil to fry and cook ingredients properly. While cooking food in a frying pan, the food soaks up a lot of the oil. Consuming oil-soaked food can cause various health issues such as cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, etc.
- Has Larger Capacity: As we have mentioned above, a wok has a larger capacity to cook numerous ingredients simultaneously, unlike a frying pan that has a lesser capacity. If you want to cook veggies, sauces, non-vegetarian food, and other ingredients simultaneously, then using a wok is a better choice. That’s because a wok is bigger in size than a frying pan. Moreover, as the shape of a wok is curved and round, you can easily stir, cook, or fry various ingredients together. On the other hand, the shape of a frying pan is round and flat, and therefore it can cook only limited food at one time.
Related Further Reading:
- Are Anodized Pans Covered in Teflon?
- Are Cast Iron Skillets in Need of Seasoning?
- Can Hot Pans Go On Quartz? (What To Do Instead?)
- Is Sticking an Issue with Ceramic Pans?
What Are The Advantages Of Using A Wok?
Given below are the various advantages of using a wok:
- No Loss of Nutrients: Since a wok takes less time to cook food, it doesn’t lose many nutrients from the food, such as minerals, vitamins, carbohydrates, etc. You can also prepare your food quickly in a wok.
- Large Capacity: A wok has a larger capacity to cook food compared to other utensils. This is because a wok is curved and round in shape.
- Uniform Cooking: A wok helps to cook food uniformly from all sides. Uniform cooking is very essential. No one likes their food uncooked or overcooked.
- All In One Utensil: Since a wok is a multi-purpose utensil, it can cook various types of food. A wok is perfect for stir-frying, boiling, sauteing, etc. So using a wok also means using fewer utensils in the kitchen.
Interesting Further Reading:
Does Cooking In A Wok Make Any Difference?
If you have already read the difference between a wok and a frying pan above, then you already know the answer to this question.
Indeed, cooking food in a wok makes all the difference in the world.
Given below are some of the reasons why you should cook in a wok:
- Uses Less Oil: As we have already mentioned above, a wok requires less amount of oil to cook food. As the shape of a wok is curved and round, even a little oil can properly cook the food.
- Cooks Healthier Food: The food cooked in a wok is comparatively healthy as it requires less oil to cook food in a wok. This means you will eat less oily food, which is good for your health.
- Does Not Burn The Food: A wok is a good conductor of heat. Also, it can handle a significant amount of heat. This makes sure that the food doesn’t burn in a wok.
- Cooks Uniformly: You can cook food easily, effortlessly, and uniformly in a wok as it is round and curved. Unlike other utensils, a wok doesn’t overcook the food nor keeps it uncooked.
- Cooks Quickly: A wok cooks the food quickly and evenly from all sides as it takes less time to heat up. A wok is made up of Carbon steel that has excellent heat retention properties, making it easier and faster to cook food.
- Makes Tasty Food: If you want tasty and uniformly cooked food, then a wok should be your first choice. It cooks tasty food, fast and uniformly.
