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Always get a Tefal from the supermarket. They last 18 months at most, the last few months invariably with food sticking to them. Getting to a Chinese supermarket is out of the question at the minute due to tier travel restrictions. What is "seasoning"? Is it when a layer of protective oil has built up inside the wok and you simply wipe clean with kitchen towel etc.? This doesn't seem hygienic to me, but Covid may have me on cleanliness overload.
You're probably after a carbon steel wok, Amazon and loads of other places sell them. Seasoning is "baking on" oil so that it polymerises - turns non-stick. You should do that before use and if it starts to lose its non-stickness. You should still wash it after use but stay away from the brillo pad!
A carbon steel one
What is “seasoning”? Is it when a layer of protective oil has built up inside the wok and you simply wipe clean with kitchen towel etc.?
Some good tips here...
https://thewoksoflife.com/how-to-season-a-wok/
18months! Our wok is about 15 years old and will hopefully be handed on to the next generation when I pop my clogs.
Whatever doesn’t get washed out with a quick slosh of water adds to the flavour of the next stir fry!
Pop to your local Chinese supermarket pick one of the size you like. Mine is 25 years old now still in regular use.
Had one of these for a few months which I am really liking, made in Britain too, not cheap
https://www.netherton-foundry.co.uk/NFS-114-13-inch-wok
Iron and a a flat bottom? They asked what wok not which expensive pan.
What kind of hob? Makes a difference to the shape.
Seasoning a pan is much more environmentally friendly. All non stick surfaces wear out, and then the pan gets chucked away. Plus where do you think the coating goes?
Still got the wok I got for a fiver, it's older than the ones already posted, but to be fair, only gets used once a month or so.
I love netherton stuff, got loads of it, not sure I'd get a wok from them though, but check their website for seasoning advice.
Another vote for a cheap chinese supermarket job. Big. Flat bottomed unless you have a fancy wok burner ring on your massive range. Seasoning and washing as Murray says.
Same goes for the omelette pan.
Gas hob. Don't think I'd like a round bottom one. Liking the look of Netherton. Nice to support a British business.
Mine's ceramic and excellent. Had it for 5 years now.
Good call OP me too but for an induction hob.
Want to try a non stick one this time around.
I'm happy on how to season/reseason it now. What about washing after use? Is it just a hot water rinse or in the sink with suds?
Cheap carbon steel one, season it, and then enjoy for a lifetime.
This is one of those few occasions when cheap is actually better, it's a vast step up on non stick, and way better for the environment. A true no brainier.
Wash as you would any other pan lotto.
Hot water and a little suds don’t scrub or soak. A washing brush helps with stubborn bits but be gentle. If you do take your seasoning off just redo it. Once washed dry it and rub a little oil on it with kitchen towel to keep it sealed.
You can pick wok stands which can sit on top of your gas burner which sometimes can help keep them steady, not essential but handy. And no you don’t need a professional burner for round wok, would be nice though.
A wok gets very hot this kills any bugs.
Any non-stick coating is going to get frazzled at the temps a wok needs to be at. If it’s non-stick it’s not a wok.
Essentially repeating what everyone else has said, but a cheap carbon steel wok is about as good as you'll get, no need to spend more than that - I love Netherton stuff and have several of their other pans, but that one is way overkill.
You want a wok to be thin so that it doesn't store heat that well, the idea being that the heat is controllable. Only the very base is designed to be heated so you can push food to the cooler aides and then back to the hot middle. I've always seen that more expensive woks - including the Netherton one - are far too thick/heavy and would hold too much heat.
A decent seasoning takes a little while, but once on there it is just on another planet to non-stick. What you find is that food will still stick, but it will stick properly in that when food sticks that is where you get flavour from. It doesn't stick to the point you are chipping it off, but will gently stick until the sugars in the food caramelise and then release itself easily. The result is all the flavour and none of the mess. You then get to use proper deglazing - which never works in non-stick - to release any slightly more stubborn stuck on bits which are then incorporated into the dish (or a separate sauce or whatever) for even more flavour!
Only thing to be aware of to start with is highly acidic food - until the seasoning is built up this will remove some of it. But once you have a good layer it's fine. I read somewhere that seasoning is like a bank account - seasoning it or cooling with fatty food is like your salary going in, cooking with acidic foods is like your bills going out; as long as the two are in balance and your salary is > bills then all good!
tl;dr - get a cheap steel wok and cook great good!
Oh, and non stick means you can't use the proper steel tool, and no chinese restaurant noises!
My late sister bought me this as a pressie once, not sure when, but she passed away in 2004, so it's doing not too bad.
Iron and a a flat bottom? They asked what wok not which expensive pan.
Haha fair point however I did not get on with a cheap carbon steel one on a ceramic hob and have found this better. It’s thin spun iron not a great thick pan.
Another vote for a cheap wok. We've had ours over 10 years now and it gets a tickle with a sponge in the sink to clean it out.
We also got a 5 ring gas hob about 5 years ago, which has a large central ring for woks. Works brilliantly. Don't know how well cheap woks fair on an induction hob.
I was never a fan of non stick for all the reasons above, but more recently been put off by the awful business practices of the companies that make it The poison found in everyone, even unborn babies – and who is responsible for it
Sorry I did a typo up there ^
I'm looking for wok that works on an induction hob and that ISN'T non stick!
Seasoning with pork fat works well.