A wok. It makes dinner very easy. It works for a multitude of different meals and rarely has to clean another pan. Benefits of a carbon steel wok:
Makes cooking faster because it heats up immediately.
Makes cooking easier because it cools down very quickly. I can undo some mistakes or tell things to hold up, stop cooking for a second while I prepare some other thing.
Because of these first two, I actually enjoy cooking. I have more control over my process.
It’s carbon steel so it’s just a stamped piece of metal. That’s essentially going to last a lifetime.
Seasoning is the hardest thing to do. Which is just turning the heat up on it while there is oil. Wait until it lightly smokes. Rub it with a paper towel to get the excess off, and let it cool. You are done. Takes maybe 2 minutes and is usually done when I am cleaning the rest of dinner up.
As long as your soap doesn’t have lye in it, you can use it in the wok. You still shouldn’t need to though. Just use the oils you cooked with as the seasoning. Eventually, it will build up and you won’t need to even season it.
It absolutely matters and there is a ton of different sizes. It entirely depends on how big the dishes you are cooking will be. For a single or double serving, get a smaller wok, around 12 inches. For about 4 servings, grab a 14-inch wok. The more you fill up a wok, the cooler the overall temperature.
I use a 12.5-inch wok for 2 adults and 2 kids and it’s a struggle not only in keeping things evenly heated but also in that you should be able to get a nice stirring motion with some dishes like fried rice and you simply can’t get that if you fill it too much. You usually want to fill it to a maximum of 1/3rd and I’ve found myself getting close to that limit, if not slightly over it. That said apparently a 12.5-inch wok is fine for 2-4 people but not much more. So it could just be my novice cooking skills. I hesitate to get a bigger wok because they do take up a ton of space. I leave mine on the stove and it’s constantly used for everything from eggs to fish to sauces. It’s a pan+pot combo for everything. I deep-fried chips with it this weekend and it was the best deep-frying experience I had. Super easy to clean up and less mess overall on the stove.
Lastly, I forgot to mention the best thing. Any utensil works with a wok. You don’t need to worry about scratching it. You can’t hurt it. It’s just a piece of metal that’s had oil slightly cooked onto it so it sticks.
A wok. It makes dinner very easy. It works for a multitude of different meals and rarely has to clean another pan. Benefits of a carbon steel wok:
Makes cooking faster because it heats up immediately.
Makes cooking easier because it cools down very quickly. I can undo some mistakes or tell things to hold up, stop cooking for a second while I prepare some other thing.
Because of these first two, I actually enjoy cooking. I have more control over my process.
It’s carbon steel so it’s just a stamped piece of metal. That’s essentially going to last a lifetime.
Seasoning is the hardest thing to do. Which is just turning the heat up on it while there is oil. Wait until it lightly smokes. Rub it with a paper towel to get the excess off, and let it cool. You are done. Takes maybe 2 minutes and is usually done when I am cleaning the rest of dinner up.
As long as your soap doesn’t have lye in it, you can use it in the wok. You still shouldn’t need to though. Just use the oils you cooked with as the seasoning. Eventually, it will build up and you won’t need to even season it.
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It absolutely matters and there is a ton of different sizes. It entirely depends on how big the dishes you are cooking will be. For a single or double serving, get a smaller wok, around 12 inches. For about 4 servings, grab a 14-inch wok. The more you fill up a wok, the cooler the overall temperature.
I use a 12.5-inch wok for 2 adults and 2 kids and it’s a struggle not only in keeping things evenly heated but also in that you should be able to get a nice stirring motion with some dishes like fried rice and you simply can’t get that if you fill it too much. You usually want to fill it to a maximum of 1/3rd and I’ve found myself getting close to that limit, if not slightly over it. That said apparently a 12.5-inch wok is fine for 2-4 people but not much more. So it could just be my novice cooking skills. I hesitate to get a bigger wok because they do take up a ton of space. I leave mine on the stove and it’s constantly used for everything from eggs to fish to sauces. It’s a pan+pot combo for everything. I deep-fried chips with it this weekend and it was the best deep-frying experience I had. Super easy to clean up and less mess overall on the stove.
Lastly, I forgot to mention the best thing. Any utensil works with a wok. You don’t need to worry about scratching it. You can’t hurt it. It’s just a piece of metal that’s had oil slightly cooked onto it so it sticks.