BiscottiGelato

What are you really looking for? a Wok? a Skillet?

I recently did a lot of research into proper Chinese Woks, did also take a look at the LC enamelled cast iron wok. AFAIK, not going to claim expertise on this, I am just summarizing my research here.... There are primarily 2 types of good Chinese wok.

Cast iron - Thin cast iron (~2mm?), heavy but brittle and won't survive a trip to the floor. Great heat retention, but also takes longer to heat. This means it's better if you have a weak stove, but you should pre-heat it before use. You should season (開鑊) this to create a non-stick surface. You should be able to find this under $20.

Carbon steel - Sheet carbon steel (< 1mm). Light, more durable, poor heat retention but heats up fast. This also means that the wok will lose some temperature when you initially dump your food in to cook. As steel is really alloyed iron (so is cast iron tho), it can also take seasoning to create a non-stick surface. Again, shouldn't cost you more than $20.

The LC wok is very thick (5+mm?), I don't know if any relatively weak home use stove will be able to heat this thing up any good. It is also very heavy (heavier than most lodge cast iron skillets, or LC enamelled cast iron skillet) as somewhereintime mentioned. I don't know if this will give you any good stir fry result.

Anything else (copper, aluminum, etc) I'd imagine will probably stick quite a bit for stir frying, and I don't think they respond well to seasoning. Chinese woks are very cheap stuff. The real value in Chinese wok is the seasoning. Hence why traditional chinese keep their woks forever and pass them on as heir looms. The longer you use a Chinese wok (with proper care), the better the seasoning, better non-stick ability and better (鑊氣).

As with any woks, if you have a gas stove, use a round bottom one, you'd be a lot happier as you can toss a lot better than a flat bottom one. Problem is finding a grate or a wok ring that fits perfect... If you are using any sort of induction stove tho then you are out of luck.

BiscottiGelato

somewhereintime 發表於 2010-1-9 18:34

Oh, I was really just referring to a wok if doing plain Chinese stir frying. Anything with a Teflon coat is not going to work well with high heat/high flame applications required to get more 鑊氣, or so I thought? So to get a non-stick surface for stir-fry, the next best alternative seems to be seasoned (carbon steel/cast iron) surfaces? I don't think even LC enamelled surfaces will give as good a non-stick surface as say, Teflon, or a seasoned carbon steel/cast iron surface? Along with the low cost of carbon steel and cast iron woks, makes their fragility less of a concern. You are supposed to keep steel/iron wok relatively dry to avoid rusting to begin with anyways...

Honestly, I don't know much about anodized surfaces. I see that Caphalon makes an extensive line of it (not cheap). What' the benefit of anodized kitchenware? Would it give any non-stick effects? Or does it take seasoning?

For all other purposes of course, one wouldn't even use a wok and my research doesn't apply.

BiscottiGelato

22# BiscottiGelato

I like using anodized cookware, and Caphalon makes the best yet affordable product line to my knowledge to this date.
They chose to flood the market with Teflon coated anodized   ...
somewhereintime 發表於 2010-1-11 19:04

Thanks for the info. Will try adding non-Teflon coated annodized cookware if I see a relative bargain.

For seasoned cast-iron/carbon steel, yes I don't wash the cooking surface with dish washing detergin, it seems to be holding up pretty good for a few monthes so far. Still looking for the perfect grate to hold my round bottom wok tho...

BiscottiGelato

24# BiscottiGelato

I'm used to work with Carbon steel woks, but my wife, my mom and  in-law all hate cleaning  them,
so I end up replacing the carbon steel woks very often. It works out better if I ...
somewhereintime 發表於 2010-1-12 19:01

Do you use a Anodized Aluminum wok for Chinese stir fry at home then? Flat bottom or round bottom? What brand?

I actually went there based on your recommendation in a previous thread. I showed it to them and they said they have nothing like that. Maybe it was too near closing time and they didn't want to bother. I'll see if I can try again some other time. Thanks!

BiscottiGelato

Sorry, pretty busy past few weeks. I think in short, if your kitchenware actually requires seasoning, it will tell you. The $14 bucks Chinese Cast Iron I bought has instruction of how to season, so was the $16 Carbon Steel I bought from the Gourmet Warehouse. You better off not season it if the manufacturer didn't tell you that the item is designed for seasoning.

There are 2 methods. One is the oil over stove heating, the other is to shove it in the oven (if it can go in the oven, aka no plastic handles) and have oil put over it after it's scotching hot. Try to google "cast iron seasoning" or "carbin steel seasoning" for more information.