somewhereintime

[quote]This does sound something I been looking for! But the weight really is a big concern...  I wonder if it is gonna be cheaper to get it from the States?

Thank you Master Chef!~
hium 發表於 2010-1-9 00:07 [/quo
I think it would be a bit cheaper in Portland, if you happen to go there.

tweety

Master chef .... Is any wok durable but not that heavy for old lady? Cuz i want to buy one for my bf mom who likes to cook all the time.

somewhereintime

Master chef .... Is any wok durable but not that heavy for old lady? Cuz i want to buy one for my bf mom who likes to cook all the time.
tweety 發表於 2010-1-9 11:42

As I said, I do like the Le Creuset but i do not own one because it is too heavy for me to carry along for cooking classes.
I would recommend  Caphalon  or Kitchenaid  Hard Anodized Aluminum, WITHOUT TEFLON COATING, they are good conductive,
easy to maintain, non-reactive, relative light weight and last for ever. Not to mention that it is only less than half of price difference.
The only draw back is that they do not work on Induction stove, which I do not use anyway. The 15" wok with flat bottom would
be $120-150, depends on where you buy from.

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.

somewhereintime

14# BiscottiGelato

Carbon steel is very cheap, restaurant quality 16" hand hammered wok only under $20wok on  however,
it would be difficult to maintain at home, and they warp, dent and rust easily.Once the glime build up,
they look really ugly. Also they do not response well to home stove.
The good alternative is hard anodized aluminum, light weight, good  heat conduction and last for 20 years.
That is the reason the manufacturers tend to make them thinner and apply a teflon coating on them; the
Anodized core last for long time, but not the Teflon coating, which has a relative short life(under 2 years).
Once the Teflon coating worn out, people tend to replace them then the  product would keep selling.
I have some anodized aluminum cookwares that have been using frequently for 15 years and still in good
shape, so they worth every single penny for me, and the food always turn out  properly as expected, that is
the value of quality product.
There are lots of low end cast iron woks everywhere, $15 or so, I have not yet trying them out so I cannot
comment. I would keep the carbon steel woks in the commercial Chinese kitchen, and cast aluminum saute pans
in Western kitchens likewise.
For the LC aficiondos ,  I assume they have a nice gas stove top, it sounds odd to put a $300  on a $400 electric stove.

tweety

13# somewhereintime


so.. where can I buy it for reason price?

thanks

tweety

I got gas stove at home..

somewhereintime

16# tweety

Le Creuset or Hard Anodized Aluminum?

tweety

18# somewhereintime


no clue

tsumorichisato

Sam 叔叔, 請問你用LC 煲有無煲瀉水既問題阿, 唔可以蓋實黎煮野, 因為一定瀉水, 我自己就唔鐘意LC呢樣野