Cooking School

[The Main Kitchen] Wok

(Cantonese translation: Wok) (Mandarin translation: Kuo)

The most well known Chinese utensil of all, the wok is an important cooking utensil in Chinese cuisine. As everyone knows, the wok is a thin-walled, round-bottomed, cast-iron pot. Serving various cooking methods such as: stir-frying, deep-frying, stewing, smoking or it can even be used as a steamer, Its popularity is mainly because of its efficiency in cooking. As for the wok shovel--the wok's closest companion--is used for stirring the ingredients and scooping up cooked food. Slow-heating substances will be best for making woks since it can prevent the food's burning to the bottom of the wok. With its original descendents of pottery, cast iron and aluminum are widely used for making woks.

Woks on fire
Have you ever seen woks on fire when skilled Chinese chefs cook with them? This is definitely not a fault; it is caused by the high evaporation of liquid in the wok, and when the heat travels through the smooth arch of the wok sides, the heated air will rise rapidly, which makes the cooking so speedy. But if the hot oil in the wok really catches fire, cover it at once with the wok cover!

Cleaning the Wok
The best way to clean the wok is to run them in very hot water clean the surface with bamboo brushes or plastic scours use paper towels to dry the wok.

Use steel wool to scour them only when there is carbon material left on the surface after burning the food or use it to scrub the part of the woks that touch the cooking flame during cooking.

Re-seasoning the Wok
1. Place a small amount of oil on your fingertips to re-coat it.
2. Repeat the step several times until a dark brown film is developed in the wok.


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