I use my wok more than any other pot or pan in my kitchen. It can steam, poach, fry, saute and braise. It can heat up quickly, cleans easily and nothing sticks to it. It has 28 ‘square’ inches of cooking surface including it’s gently sloping sides, almost double the available acreage of a conventional pan with a similar diameter. With a little practice, and some useful information, you can make the most out of your wok. And you should, because a wok has so many unique properties it can quickly and effortlessly deliver highly flavored, nutritious foods with a bare minimum of added and unwanted fats and ‘anutrative’ ingredients.

Woks are useful and versatile and the best utensil for a variety of kitchen applications because of it’s unique shape, concentrating heat down from it’s deep sides and into it’s slightly rounded or flattened bottom. The shape of the wok makes it fuel efficient, heat evenly and allows it to cook foods quickly. When used for stir frying, the higher sides of the wok allow you to work vigorously without food spilling over the edges. When frying, you do not need to use as much oil.

There are 2 types of woks, the Cantonese and the Beijing styles. The Cantonese wok has small handles perched on either side of the rim. The Beijing wok, or pau, has a long handle coming out of one side of it to keep you at a firm 14 inch distance, avoiding splashing oils and steaming liquids. I like to stir fry and saute in my Cantonese wok and steam and deep fry in my pau. One of my woks has a flat bottom, allowing it to maintain close and personal contact with my heat source. This is especially valuable if you are working on an electric stove. What’s more, you don’t need to work on top of a round ‘wok-ring’ to keep your round bottomed wok stable. However, it does slightly affect the heat distribution. If you have a gas stove that throws a lot of heat, use a round bottomed wok with a wok ring underneath it.

Buy a large wok, roughly 14 inches in diameter, with very deep sides…as my favorite wok master is always fond of saying, better to make a small batch of food in a large wok than a big batch in a small one. Be sure to buy a heavy gauge stainless or carbon steel wok. Avoid the lighter flimsier aluminum ones that conduct heat poorly and are no better to cook in than a cheap frying pan. While no-stick technology has gotten a lot better over the years, avoid buying a wok with a no-stick coating bonded to it. These woks will hold oil flavors in their ‘pores’ and not maintain high heat as well as conventional woks. Electric woks have a nifty temperature control gizmo that makes them great for steaming and frying but lousy for stir frying. They just don’t get hot enough.

All conventional stainless and carbon steel woks need to be seasoned. Clean it well, scrubbing with hot water and a gentle cleanser when you get it home. This removes the thin layer of machine oil that is usually applied to the woks when they leave the factory. Dry the wok, place it on low heat and apply 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil, rubbing it in with a paper towel. Keep it over the low heat for 10 minutes. Wipe it again with a paper towel, it will pick up a lot of black soot. Discard the towel and repeat the process of coating, heating and wiping down 3 or 4 times. The paper towel should no longer blacken. Once seasoned, using proper cooking techniques will keep it clean and ‘stick-free’. Heat the wok first, get it very hot, before applying oil to stir fry, only use hot water to clean it, dry it well and if it rusts at all…clean and re-season the wok.

Read Andrew's Tips on Stir-frying.