action in loop-handled woks requires a large amount of hand, arm and wrist strength. Loop handles typically come in pairs on the wok and are riveted, welded or extended from the wok basin. Stick handles are long, made of steel, and are usually welded or riveted to the wok basin, or are an actual direct extension of the metal of the basin. The handle is sometimes covered or ended with a wooden or plastic hand grip, but it is not uncommon to find a bare metal grip. This handle facilitates the tossing action for cooks used to using western saute pans with similar style handles. These kinds of woks are often referred to as " Peking pans" or "pau woks". Stick handles are normally not found on cast iron woks since the wok is either too heavy for the handle (thick cast iron wok), or the metal is too thin to handle the tensile stress exerted by the handle. Larger woks with stick type handles usually also have a loop on the other side to aid with handling the wok as well as to counter balance the stick type handle.
Materials
The most common materials used in making woks today are carbon steel and cast iron. Although the latter was the most common type used in the past, cooks tend to be divided on whether carbon steel or cast iron woks are superior.
Currently, carbon steel is the most widely used material. Steel woks are usually inexpensive, relatively light in weight, have quick heat conduction, and reasonable durability. However, carbon steel woks are more difficult to season and the carbonized season is easily removed in newer woks, both making food more prone to sticking to the wok. Carbon steel woks vary widely in price, style, and quality, which is roughly based on ply and forming technique. The lowest quality woks tend to be single ply and stamped straight from a piece of steel. These woks have a higher tendency to deform and misshape. Cooking with them is also more difficult and precarious since they often have a "hot spot". Higher quality woks are almost always "hand hammered" and made of two sheets of carbon steel which are formed into shape by "ring-forming" or hand forging. The real purpose of hand hammering is to create small ridges or dimples along the sides of the wok. These ridges are used in the frying technique of the chef.
Two types of cast iron woks can be found in the market. Chinese cast iron woks are thin (~3 mm) and weigh about the same as a carbon steel wok of similar size, while western cast iron woks tend to be thick (~9 mm), tend to be heavy, and require very long heating times. Cast iron woks are superior to carbon steel woks in heat retention and uniform heat distribution. They also form a more stable carbonized layer of seasoning which makes it less prone to food sticking on the pan. However, both types of cast iron wok also have some disadvantages compared to carbon steel woks. Chinese-style cast iron woks, although quicker in heating and relatively light, are relatively fragile and are prone to shattering if dropped or mishandled. Western-type cast iron woks are slow-heating and slow-cooling, which makes temperature control more difficult. Furthermore, heavy western cast iron makes the tossing action required in stir-frying and bao difficult for smaller chefs.
Non-stick, steel woks coated with Teflon are common in the western market. These woks are easily scratched and cannot be used to cook in the high heat required for stir frying to excess of 230°C (c.450F) since the Teflon coating will break down chemically at these temperatures. At 350°C (660°F) the burning coating produces vapours which, if inhaled, can cause flu-like symptoms (see Teflon flu). Xylan coated woks are slightly more robust, but still cannot be used for very high heat cooking. Less commonly found are clad woks, which sandwich a thick layer of aluminum or copper between two sheets of stainless steel. These woks perform extremely well but are often quite expensive, quite heavy and usually cook no better than carbon steel or cast iron woks. Their biggest advantage lies in the durability and ease of maintenance of a stainless steel exterior and cooking surface. Many of these vessels are dishwasher safe.
Woks can also be made from aluminium. Although an excellent conductor of heat, aluminium does not retain heat (heat capacity) as well as cast iron or carbon steel. Although anodized aluminium alloys can stand up to constant use, plain aluminium woks are too soft and damage easily. Aluminium is mostly used for wok lids.
Cooking
The wok can be used in a large number of cooking methods. Before the introduction of western cookware it was often used for all cooking techniques including:
- Boiling: For boiling water, soups, or rice. In the latter case, guoba often forms
- Braising: Braised dishes are commonly made using woks and is useful when one is reducing sauces.
- Deep frying: Usually accomplished with larger woks to reduce splashing, but for deep frying less or small food smaller items small woks are also used.
- Smoking: Food can be hot smoked by putting the smoking material in the bottom of the wok while food is place on a rack above.
- Steaming: Done using a dedicated wok for boiling water in combination with steaming baskets
- Stewing: Woks are sometimes used for stewing though it is more common in Chinese cuisine either uses stoneware or porcelain for such purposes especially when longer stewing times are required.
- The most common use for a wok is stir-frying.
Basic stir-frying
Typically a small amount (1-3 tablespoons) of peanut oil, soy oil, sunflower oil, or canola oil is placed in the wok and heated under full burner heat. Fresh chopped garlic and ginger are often added to the oil to flavor it, then quickly scooped out before burning or turning brown. The first item to be cooked, for example, sliced meat, is stirred in the very hot oil until hot, then pushed up the side to regulate the amount of heat on the meat or cooking items. The meat may be returned to the oil and then flipped and pushed to the sides several times until the cooking is done. The hammered ridges or dimples along the side of the wok "grab" and prevent the meat from slipping back into the oil at the bottom of the wok. There is a misconception that the cooking items are merely pushed around. The technique in stir frying with a wok is traditional to flip and push the cooking items from the centre of the wok to the edge of the wok. This technique regulates the distribution of heat.
Once cooked, the meat is often scooped out with a Chinese strainer to a side plate and the next ingredient such as vegetables are then cooked in the same manner, strained out or held against the side while any leftover cooking oil is thrown out before all of the ingredients are typically thrown back together, with sauces, seasonings, liquids, corn starch mixed with a little water for thickening, stirred and covered for a final heating for a minute or two or until smoke begins to escape from the cover. This way the chef controls the length of cooking for each item and the food does not cook sitting in the oil.
Skillful chefs, when stirring food in a wok, they can turn the food materials in it up-side-down as a whole by waving up the far side of the wok a little. This waving skill can make mixing and stirring very quickly done. This is important when cooking dishes that require short cooking time. |
