Tips For Wok Cooking

Wok and roll

In China wok cooking is as much about technique as it is about the dishes produced. Techniques that range from the preparation of a traditional duck dish to the quick and decisive way a talented chef agitates the ingredients are essential. There is also a term for the essence imparted by a hot wok, Wok Hei.

Hot hot hot

Wok cooking is done over very intense heat when compared to other rangetop cooking. It is not unusual to attain temperatures in excess of 450f degrees. It is for this reason that most traditional woks are made of cast iron or spun carbon steel. Like similarly made cast iron skillets these woks must be "seasoned" before use.

Unlike their American skillet counterparts, woks are best seasoned on a burner rather than in the oven. This is because of the shape of the pan. With its tapering towards a rounded bottom oil will usually not season equally in an oven. On a range the cook can control the oil, or fat, coating of the wok.

While it can make some cringe lard is usually the best lipid to use when seasoning your wok because of its high smoke point. Indeed, traditionally woks would be sold with an amount of lard appropriate of its size and seasoning needs.

Season your wok over a high heat to insure the oil will be burned into the pans surface. The pan will smoke and may even seem to be burning, this is how you know that the pan is being properly seasoned.

Not just a stir fryer

Too often we westerners tend to think of woks in terms of stir-frying. While the wok can do this very well, it does have numerous other uses. A wok is great for frying, deep frying boiling stewing and steaming. One area though where a woks versatility falls short is on electric stovetops.

One way that woks work quite well is when frying in a way that falls between deep and pan-frying. Ironically, I have found that woks are the perfect pan for making southern fried chicken. Also southern fried catfish is also a great fit for wok cooking. Given that both fish and chicken are staples of the Chinese diet this should come as no surprise.

The stir-fry is the job though that the wok was made for. When doing a stir-fry you want to use very high heat and keep the food constantly in motion. Also keep in mind that traditionally in Chinese cooking vegetables are most likely stir fried and meats are often steamed, grilled or deep fryed. Where vegetables are concerned cooks should be more concerned with overcooking than their being underdone. Vegetables that emerge from such high heat will continue to cook with residual heat.

More information on woks