Got an email from Amazon about Black Friday sale on this wok. Not the cheapest but very close to according to 3 camels. I got the round bottom version and this one seems good too for people who don't want to use a wok ring.
CamelCamelCamel.
Is coupon still on page?
Can't see the coupon.
Waiting for the Uncle Roger comments…..
Haiya…
been looking for a wok that can produce "wok hei", can this do it? $61 seems a bit expensive for a wok
some say their local asian market can get a carbon steel work for like $30-$40
been looking for a wok that can produce "wok hei", can this do it?
This is the right kind of wok for that style of cooking, but the wok is only one component. There are other things you need to produce wok hei and there's no such thing as a wok that produces wok hei on its own. Wok hei is essentially the result of burnt oil and is pretty hard to achieve in a home kitchen. Have you ever seen videos of Asian restaurants or street food vendors with what looks like a jet engine under their wok? This is because it's easiest to get wok hei with a very hot, very tall flame. The high heat output heats the oil/food up to combustion temp, and the tall flame licks into the wok and directly touches and ignites the oil/food when you toss it over the flame. There are ways to get this at home, but home cooktops are not designed for this, not even the ones with a "wok burner". You can still make great tasting Asian stir fries though.
some say their local asian market can get a carbon steel work for like $30-$40
This is true, especially if you live near an Asian immigrant hotspot suburb (e.g. Springvale and Box Hill in Melbourne) but your mileage may vary depending on where you live. The wok in this deal is a good option if you just want a good quality without the hassle of leaving your house and choosing between whatever the stores have to offer.
thanks, you seem to be very knowledgeable in regards to asian style cooking, are you a chef??
Do you have any recommendations for what to look out for when buying a wok? (Especially for someone of a smaller stature).
Adam Liaw explains it really well and succinctly.
Pailin goes in a bit more detail.
Ultimate wok respect is a carbon steel wok that you've seasoned yourself, and can achieve wok hei as Franckel above mentioned.
Non stick woks are easier to care for but you can't use it on screaming hot heat otherwise the teflon strips.
If you've got space outdoors, austcrown sell the Rambo high pressure wok burner that makes great wok cooking easy at home
Wok Hei comes from the gas burner. Domestic stoves will never match the BTUs they have in the restaurants.
wok hei is a pipe dream unless you are willing to put in serious effort to acheive it.
if this is what you want to acheive i suggest you do some research before wasting any money or time.
you need serious heat and that means you need skill not to just burn whatever your cooking, so lots of practice.
but if you really want to try it, you can use a butane torch to add some heat to your cooking.
good luck.
can't I just leave the wok in the heat until it smokes up? Will that achieve wok hei?
I have a gas stove with actual fire and not electric stove if that helps
Get a WokMon. The creator reminds me of Po's dad from Kung Fu Panda (the goose, not the panda). It redirects the flame to concentrate heat under the wok. It's not cheap, but there are D.I.Y. tutorials on YouTube if you're handy with tools and stuff.
I bought a Rambo wok burner off eBay about $200. Sounds like jet engine ready for take off. Wok hei can be achieved in seconds. I think the burner is more important than he wok itself. You will never achieve any kind of hei with a domestic burner and you food will be stewed more so than stir fried. Only down side is gas bottle need to be migrated to the bbq when they get below 60%.
@22slurpee: Pretty much, it still works but you notice it’s not as powerful anymore. They use a high pressure regulator. BBQs use a low pressure regulator so it’s a good use of the remaining gas.
You won't really be able to get wok hei alone in an indoor set up so the wok doesn't matter as much, although high heat woks like this are certainly better than shitty non-stick ones. J Kenjo Lopez-Alt is a chef who's pretty popular on the internet, posts some cooking videos sometimes; if he wants to get wok hei when he's just cooking inside he actually just uses a blow torch on top of the food while stir frying, see Franckel's excellent comment as to why this works. It's not going to be restaurant level but it's better than nothing.
Love Kenji. He's the real deal.
You will be able get the "wok hei" with domestic burners, however the amount of food to wok space ratio has to be very big. IE: very small amount of food in the wok
You need a proper wok burner to get wok hei. High heat, fast movement to get even scoring.
Concept is similar to steak.
You can fake it by adding extra oil to your stir fry & add some toasted sesame oil at the end.
There are few other tips like adding some Chinese wine and (as Uncle Roger always says) MSG.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/82enyj/guide_chine…
(In restaurants they cheat by re-using oil that they used for something else, so it has a "toasted" flavour already. They often use Knoor chicken stock powder to make their stock base)
This non stick carbon stick wok for $19.97
https://www.myer.com.au/p/the-coks-collective-non-stick-carb…
That appears to have a non stick coating, which isn't good with the high temps you use woks with.
Pffffft you don't want PTFE in your blood for all eternity??
Pansy
Brought to you by DuPont Gang
A proper seasoned wok will be non stick
Thanks OP bought one. Was looking for long time.
Looking for a long time but not a good time?
I don't like flat bottoms. Curvy ones are better…
No seriously, woks with a curved bottom are a much smoother action when stir fry cooking.
they are also hard to put down safely in a regular kitchen…hence flat bottom
Uncle Roger would approve this wok.
I bought an unseasoned carbon-steel wok with a flat bottom for $14 at a homewares shop in Top Ryde. Seriously, how is $61 a bargain?
I bought one from Kmart for $8.
No complaints
This is handcrafted premium steel according to the description, has great reviews all round even at its original price. So a big discount on a highly well-reviewed item generally means it's a decent deal. Not sure about bargain, but it's a good deal.
What's the difference between the cheap carbon steel woks and a premium steel one? If it's the same material won't it perform the same?
These are "handcrafted". I think they want to give the impression of a Chinese blacksmith banging each one out with ancestral hammers in their mountaintop forge but it probably means "prisoners screw on the handles and if they don't do it fast enough they get hit"
Presumably the cheap ones are made entirely by robots, which sounds cooler frankly
Dammit I bought a carbon steel round bottom wok at Eastwood for $25. There was only one asian grocery store that sold it, 15" though. 14" is a steal!
may be that's like Nike shoes to someone compare with Kmart shoes? i got the Kmart one so far happy too.. not much of wok hei due to my stove. anyway. cheers
Are these woks found in retail shops? Would like to feel the quality and weight properly. Been searching for a good wok for years but haven't found one yet.
I thought this was a good wok but then I saw the salad and olive oil in the photos and now I'm having doubts..
Just curious what OP is referring to as wok ring? We have the typical ikea cheap wok and its a round bottom, but i use the ring that sits on a stove (if thats what the reference is) but the partner also uses it without the ring (out of laziness)? Not sure what the difference/proper requirement is for a wok?
A wok ring sits around or on your existing gas burner supports. It provides a more stable platform for a round-bottom wok to sit on. Not always necessary, depending on your stove design.
Been looking for a decent wok for ages thanks!!!
Any tips on seasoning the wok? I want that breath of the dragon goodness :D
Get a rambo outdoor burner. 55mj/hour.
Wash with soup, blue the steel, wash again. Reheat to dry then season with peanut oil. Add shallot/ginger towards the end of seasoning and burn them in.
Leave to rest for at least two hours before using.
Plenty of videos on youtube.
ty!
Ordered, thanks mate.
Can get a carbon steel wok from an asian grocer for $25.
The more important item is the wok burner. Ideally you need A LOT of heat E.g. Rambo high pressure burner.
The rest is up to you - seasoning of wok and cooking.
Asian market sells much much cheaper. Always buy Asian products from Asians.
just about the only thing i've noticed is the d.line isn't "hammered" whatever difference that makes. i've ordered the d.line one, and still yet to use, but had researched it thoroughly at the time when one of these previous mamma fong deals came up. the d.line one is fairly well reviewed as well.
Though poor reviews on amazon…
I have one of these and it seems to work just fine /shrug
I might have missed it but where’s the voucher? Seems to be cheaper on their website.
Any thoughts on the blue steel version pre seasoned?
How does this compare to the Soffritto carbon steel woks?
I have one of these, would buy again.
Are these the type of woks youre meant to leave oily and never use detergent ?
wash with water. wipe down with paper towels. then reheat to dry and season. same as cast iron
no detergent ideally.
Some say you can use detergent as long as you don't scrub the seasoning off but you MUST reseason after to avoid rusting.
You don't need to reseason after washing, just dry it over the stove. Water is what makes it rust.
Detergent is fine to use.
nah I stick with my cast iron :)
Hi OP, just wondering if you have any cast iron woks deals? thank you!
Mama Fong using olive oil on wok… Hiiyaaaaa.. need peanut oil
I was about to jump, then the olive oil photo put me off a bit. Then I quite like the Japanese/traditional Chinese style lid that can be purchased separately and was going to buy both. Then the review about the $34 lid complaining its flimsy and gap and poorly made..
That's how I give up.
Thank you! Was just looking for one, this is handcrafted too, nice. Quick Google search shows it's around $130+ elsewhere.
EDIT: There's a $5 coupon on the page itself that you just activate, which takes it down to $60.99