Which wok to buy?

Question

Which wok to buy?

Danika Sage · Answer

If you’re new to Chinese cooking, you’ve probably asked yourself: What is the best wok to buy? Well, we’re here to help you with a guide to buying the right wok so you can cook our recipes and get the best possible results!

We strongly suggest reading this entire post to choose the best wok for your kitchen setup. However, if you’re short on time, jump to the FAQ section of this post for condensed answers.

The wok is the most important of the Chinese cooking tools–the charismatic front man of the band, if you will. So it only makes sense that we show to how to select a wok and buy the right one for you.

A wok is a wide and somewhat shallow domed pot that gets wickedly hot when you have a good flame going. Our woks reach temperatures that we’re pretty sure Smoky the Bear wouldn’t approve of. (Don’t start a fire, but don’t be afraid to heat that thing up, either! You’ll see many of our recipes direct you to heat your carbon steel wok until it is “just smoking.”)

It’s this high heat searing that gives Chinese food that indescribable, flavorful edge known as wok hei or wok hay—the “breath of the wok.”

I would say that wok hei is the main reason, aside from the odd dash of MSG, that people say restaurant food tastes so much better than home cooking. That said, we can work to achieve those flavors at home too with the right tools!

What many people also don’t realize is how versatile a wok can be. Aside from stir-frying, your wok is a great tool for any type of deep-frying, steaming, or boiling. Woks heat up fast, which means boiling noodles or heck, even pasta, is very quick. There’s also a lot of surface area, which makes pre-searing meats a snap.

When in doubt, whip out your wok! It’s probably one of the most the most versatile tools in your kitchen, and the only way to reach that wok hei nirvana you want in your Chinese dishes. You’ll never have to worry about a wok being a bad investment.

We use a large, carbon steel, restaurant-style wok for most of our blog cooking and photos, but we own over several woks of different types and sizes!

Pictured below is our oldest wok from my mother’s collection. I think my mother’s oldest and most coveted wok is the same style—perfectly seasoned (read our guide on How to Season a Wok), guarded, and still used in my sister’s kitchen to this day!

Chinese restaurant chefs exclusively use carbon steel woks and swear by them. Different styles and sizes may be used depending upon the task at hand.

Cooking large portions or steaming large plates of fish requires a large wok (20+ inches) and cooking stir-fried dishes to order calls for smaller ones similar to the size you would use at home.

Whether it’s for cooking in a restaurant or at home, though, if you asked a Chinese chef: “what is the best wok to buy?” his answer would always be: carbon steel.

In the world of carbon steel woks, though, there is further variation! Buying a wok has a lot to do with personal preference and takes some trial and error, but it should take into account the stove you have, how much care and maintenance you want to do, and how many people you’re cooking for.

We’ll break down all of these factors and review different types of woks so you can decide which wok is best for you!

Here are some quick tips for selecting a wok for your kitchen:

While I’ve already said that carbon steel is the best wok material, there are a wide variety of metals and materials, with advantages and disadvantages to each. We compiled short summaries, facts, and our personal opinions about the most common types below.

Teflon coated or non-stick woks are very common and found in just about every big box store there is, so there are plenty of brands and sizes to choose from. The attraction is the non-stick cooking surface, easy cleanup, and the fact that no wok seasoning is required.

However, the problem with teflon woks is that they are not made for high heat cooking. Even with the best non-stick wok brands, 500°F/260°C is pushing the limit.

Stir-frying at high temperatures with teflon-coated woks is NOT recommended. Many of our recipes give the instruction to “heat your wok until just smoking.” You should not follow these directions for a teflon-coated wok.

Heating to just smoking creates wok hei but it will also overheat a non-stick cooking surface and damage the teflon coating over time.

We also also don’t recommend deep frying in a non-stick wok, because oil residue may cling on the non-stick surface through repeated usage, and we all know that scrubbing is a big no-no for nonstick surfaces.

You may be curious about the newer ceramic non-stick woks. We have tried them and like them more than the standard teflon coating, but like teflon, they also get scratched and will lose their non-stick properties over time due to wear and tear. We retired our ceramic frying pan after 2 years of pretty light use.

Stainless steel woks have their advantages. They’re non-reactive, which means they’re good for making vinegary or acidic foods like our Sweet and Pungent Pork, Orange Chicken (one of Judy’s favorites), or even Chinese Braised Fish.

I also like using stainless steel woks for steaming, since they usually come with a nice glass cover and won’t rust from prolonged steaming. (Carbon steel woks have to be washed and oiled right after steaming.)

All you need is a shallow steamer rack at the bottom of the wok to place your heat-proof plate or you can use a bamboo steamer, depending upon what you’re cooking. See more ideas for steaming in our post on How to Set Up Steamers.

Stainless steel woks are lighter than cast iron woks (although some of the tri-ply woks can be quite heavy) and don’t rust. After washing your wok, you don’t have to heat it up to dry it and apply a thin coat of oil like you would for a cast iron or carbon steel wok. Just wash it after each use and wipe it dry.

If the wok has a metal handle, it can also be used in the oven to keep food warm.

The Cuisinart Stainless steel wok is one brand we have tried. A glass top is included.

The downsides? You do have to be careful about scorching foods, since these woks transmit heat very quickly. These hot spots can also create blackening in your pan, which you’ll have to work to scrub off. Stainless steel woks also won’t have that seasoned non-stick surface, so food is prone to sticking to them.

Below is a picture of our Cuisinart stainless steel wok today. Notice that after use, there is some oil residue, as well as charred spots. This residue can be tough to scrub off. You can also scratch the pan if using a heavy duty scouring pad.

So if you have visions of keeping your stainless steel wok nice and shiny, it’s not gonna happen. This is probably one of the least used cooking vessels in our kitchen (we have many).

In short, stainless steel is not ideal for stir-frying, but if you have one, don’t throw it away! You can use it for steaming, stewing, and braising, especially when cooking acidic foods.

Later in this post, we have a picture of a much older stainless steel wok with a similar look. Perhaps some of the more pricey tri-ply stainless steel woks don’t stain, but I don’t have any experience with them. Please share in the comments if you own one!

If you decide to go this route, there are plenty of choices of stainless steel woks on Amazon.

Some of the oldest cookware is made from cast iron, and Chinese woks are no exception. Traditionally designed with two small metal handles, cast iron woks were used across China for years in every household.

My mother told us stories about using cast iron woks and gathering kindling to make a cooking fire. While this might be an okay choice today, back then I suspect it was pretty much the only option!

Cast iron is heavy and requires seasoning and extra care after every use. Another disadvantage is that these woks are generally on the thicker side and take longer to heat up. While they maintain heat relatively well, they can be cooled quickly with the addition of large volumes of liquid or vegetables. At that point, it will be a while before the wok heats back up—not great for stir-fries, which cook in a matter of minutes.

However, it’s easier to maintain than a lot of people think, and we generally love cast iron cookware! We have large and small American-made cast iron skillets, Dutch Ovens, grill pans, and a large reversible cast iron grill pan/griddle.

When it comes to caring for a cast iron wok, it must be seasoned first. Clean with soapy water and thoroughly rinse before your first use, and then coat the entire wok in vegetable oil before reheating it over a flame or in the oven.

If you’re concerned about the weight of this option, lighter cast iron woks are available to make cooking and care more manageable these days. We used light cast iron woks in China, also know as zhu tie (铸铁) or sometimes called “pig iron.”

You can see these light cast iron woks in some of our recipe posts like Singapore Mei Fun and Beef Lo Mein, which were whipped up in our apartment in Beijing.

These light cast iron woks are less expensive, usually less than 10 USD without a cover. But again, all cast iron cookware will rust if not cared for properly. If you’re up to the task, there are lots of cast iron woks on Amazon to choose from.

Carbon steel woks are by far the most popular option, and for good reason. Chinese restaurants prefer them, and we prefer using them at home as well.

Whether it is a “pow wok” with a single handle or a large wok with two metal handles, carbon steel is our top choice. Fairly inexpensive and lighter than cast iron, carbon steel woks season nicely over time to create a non-stick surface.

It takes some time to create a shiny patina, and continued care is needed to maintain that non-stick characteristic, but we think you’ll find it’s well worth the extra TLC. Below is a picture of a brand new American-made carbon steel wok with wooden handles.

(This is the wok we seasoned in our post on How to Season a Wok & Daily Wok Care, and it’s now the wok that Sarah uses in her apartment kitchen. You a catch a sneak peak of it in some of the recipes she’s photographed at home, like her chicken with Chinese broccoli and mushrooms!).

If you decide to buy a carbon steel wok, check out our guide on How to Season a Wok. We show you how to prepare it for cooking, build a nice non-stick patina, and maintain it!

What does a good wok patina look like, you ask? Our wok pictured below is a large 20-inch wok that is about 6 years old, and we regularly hand scrub and wash it after every use, frequently (but not always) using a very small amount of dish soap.

We use dish soap to cut the grease when it’s extra heavy, especially after cooking a meat dish. But after cooking a leafy green Chinese vegetable like Stir Fried Pea Tips, a light scrub and quick rinse with water is all you need!

After a carbon steel wok is washed, it must be reheated and be given a light coating of vegetable oil to avoid rusting.

If it isn’t already obvious, we prefer woks made of carbon steel. They are generally made of a 14 gauge steel (about 1.6 mm thick) so they are sturdy yet not too heavy. Carbon steel woks heat up quickly and evenly, are very durable and also relatively inexpensive.

These are all reasons why Chinese restaurants use carbon steel woks of different shapes and sizes. If you like that “restaurant flavor” and want to reproduce it at home, the best thing you can do is to start with the same equipment.

Generally, carbon steel woks with lids can run anywhere from 30 to 80 USD.

The majority of Chinese woks are 13-14 inches, and fit perfectly on a range top. Most modern Chinese kitchens are equipped with range tops, the all-too-important kitchen hood, and a door to the kitchen so the cooking smells don’t escape into the main living area.

You can see our stovetop setup we used in Beijing with our trusty lightweight cast iron wok and metal steamer.

Here in the US, wok sizes vary from 10 inches to 20 inches. Make a choice depending upon the size of your range and how much you want to cook at one time, but generally speaking, we recommend a 14-inch wok if you’re cooking for 2-5 people.

We wouldn’t recommend going smaller than that, unless you’re cooking for 1-2 people on a consistent basis.

Woks traditionally have round bottoms (rather than flat, though these are relatively common). Chinese restaurants have special wok stoves with a round opening which cradles a round-bottomed wok perfectly.

Round-bottomed woks create a nice hot spot at the bottom while allowing even heat around the sides of the entire wok—perfect for smaller portions and using the superheated wok sides to create wok hay.

The cooking surface is round and smooth, uninterrupted by any change from a flat surface to sloping sides, allowing you to swirl food around quickly to generate wok hei.

We love our dedicated wok burner and can get restaurant quality results. That said, most homes do not have a dedicated wok burner! To solve this problem, you’ll need a wok ring if using a round-bottomed wok—just be sure to keep it stable and balanced while cooking.

If you’d rather not use a wok ring, you can opt for a flat-bottomed wok, which may get the cooking surface closer to the heat source. Both are great solutions.

For those of you who have a smooth electric range or electric range with round heating coils, a flat bottom wok is the only choice.

Gas flames can touch and heat your wok directly. With an electric stove, it is best to have your flat bottom wok sit on the electric range to give it direct heat. Electric ranges are very hot, and it can be tricky to control, so if your wok looks like it’s overheating, the surest thing to do is remove it from the burner.

Traditionally, woks had two small metal handles at opposite ends, since they were large, heavy, and typically sat stationary over a flame.

Today, woks with a single handle are often found in restaurant stir-fry stations, and larger woks with two metal handles are used for steaming or to cook larger quantities of food.

Single handles are a key design of the “pow wok” for tossing food in the wok while creating wok hei. You can see what I mean by checking out our Beef Chow Fun Rice Noodles post and the short video within.

Believe it or not, many woks do not come with lids, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need one! When I first saw my father cooking in the restaurant, he used an older technique used for Cantonese cooking that used two burners and woks side-by-side with the lids. It was like poetry in motion when I first saw him cook dishes nonstop during a busy night with both wok burners on max heat.

My job was to place the dish with all the raw ingredients on it next to the stove in a designated spot and move the finished dish to the counter when he finished.

It was a fast-moving pace, and I would have to keep up or get that “you’re holding things up!” glare. I was responsible for ensuring we cooked all of the dishes for a given table AND that the faster cooking dishes were given the right order of priority.

He started with heating the righthand wok and tossing in the ingredients with oil, garlic, and wine and covering it with a wok lid (elapsed time was about 30 seconds). Next, he would do the same with the left wok and as soon as he covered the left wok, the wok lid would come off the right wok, the seasonings would go in, and then the cornstarch slurry and a little more oil to give the food that restaurant sheen.

While I moved the finished dish to the waiter station and placed the next dish, he would wash the wok. This is why you put the faster cooking dish on the right side, because the left wok would have a little more cooking time.

He would then immediately tend to the left wok and finish that dish while the right wok got screaming hot. He would repeat this constant cooking in waves, since the restaurant had 26 tables and sat 130 people.

Not to mention the fact that one of us would have to manage the fryer for Fried Egg Rolls or Shrimp Toast and the broiler for classic Chinese Spareribs. What a madhouse it was, but when we worked in rhythm, it was beautiful!

TLDR: The point is, a wok lid is an essential part of wok cooking, especially when it comes to superheating the sides to create wok hei. You’ll need it for for steaming, stewing, and braising, too! So spring for the lid.

A glass top is a nice feature for seeing what’s going on inside the wok, but metal lids tend to be the default, and usually more domed (giving you a bit more height for steaming). You can also use other wide pot and pan lids that might fit in a pinch.

For any gourmet kitchen, a powerful kitchen hood vented to the outside is always preferred, and it’s almost crucial if you’re doing a lot of wok cooking.

When we did our kitchen makeover, we invested in a Viking stove with a special wok burner and a Viking hood vented through the roof (Note: this is not a sponsored post!) Both are a joy to cook with, and the vent keeps the house free of smoke and weird smells.

The vent hood blower motor is variable speed and is very powerful, so there are no traces of grease in the kitchen other than where they’re supposed to be––in the grease traps.

The grease traps have to be cleaned periodically depending on how much cooking you’re doing.

When installing a vent hood for your kitchen, try to keep the duct lengths short and minimize the turns to get the maximum draw. Non-ducted vents are better than no vents, since they have filters to catch the grease, but ultimately, the kitchen odors and smells will linger unless you have external ducting.

I also want to comment on microwaves with vent motors installed over the stove, since they are so common. In general, the fans that come with microwave ovens are usually 300 cfms and not very powerful.

Unless you have the unit vented out with a very short straight run outside, this is not very effective, so keep that in mind when making your selection.

For us, a dedicated wok burner for our kitchen was a requirement, but for most, it’s probably a luxury you might not be looking for.

If you are thinking about a dedicated wok burner, just look at this 20 inch wok and the beautiful nonstick patina you can achieve over time.

We love to entertain, so cooking with a large wok is essential for dinner parties, and having the extra space to maneuver the food is pretty fantastic. That said, you can achieve the same nonstick patina with a smaller carbon steel wok.

An electric range or glass-top range is less ideal, but works fine as long as you have a flat-bottomed wok.

Tadashi Woolf · Answer

Remember, a wok can be used for so much more than just a stir-fry; use it for searing and sautéing ingredients over a high heat before long, slow bakes, or choose a wok that comes with a lid so you can simmer and steam your way to perfect dishes.

Round or flat?

If your hob is gas, a traditional round-bottomed wok is a great option, but bear in mind you will need a wok ring to keep it steady. For electric, flat is best as round woks can reflect heat back on the element, damaging it. Similarly, for induction hobs you'll need a broad, flat base for decent contact between hob and wok.

Material

Traditional carbon steel woks are durable, lightweight and inexpensive. They provide rapid heat conduction to quickly sear food, which is essential for stir-frying. However, they do require more maintenance, as without regular seasoning (coating with oil) they will rust.

Similar to carbon steel, cast iron needs to be seasoned. It takes longer to reach a high heat, but will maintain temperature well. Cast iron is very heavy, so not the best option if you like to toss your stir-fries.

Non-stick coatings have developed over the years to withstand the higher temperatures needed for stir-frying. They still don’t sear the food in quite the same way as carbon steel, but they do a good job and are certainly easier to clean and maintain.

Best hybrid wok

Pros:

Cons:

Star rating: 4.5/5

We’ve tested the HexClad frying pan and we’re thoroughly impressed. But we had one major question before testing the HexClad wok: wok cooking is all about cooking quickly and at very high temperatures, so how would the HexClad wok perform considering the brand advises cooking on a medium heat?

To put this to the test, we made a pad Thai. Despite seasoning the wok beforehand, we noticed some sticking around the edges when scrambling egg. Other than this slight sticking, everything else cooked well, though we’d be hard pushed to call what we did wok-cooking. With each ingredient added there was a notable absence of wok-sizzle. Although HexClad claims that cooking at a medium temperature in their cookware is equivalent to cooking at medium-high with other cookware, we disagree. What we ended up doing was sautéing. As a result our pad Thai took around 10 minutes to cook - considerably longer than expected.

On the plus side, the finished dish was delicious, and many of the construction elements of this wok scored full marks. We loved the size: it’s 30cm, so great if you’ve got lots of mouths to feed, it is a lovely shape to toss food in, and the handles are not only comfortable but remained cool too.

If you’re slightly intimidated by the ferocious temperatures required for wok cooking, this HexClad wok is a great introductory model. But if you’re well-versed, carbon steel is a better choice.

Available from:

Best for taking to the table

Absolute quality is achieved by Le Creuset, who use a toughened non-stick coating on this forged aluminium wok. The two riveted handles are unlikely to come loose or wobble, even after years of use. This wok reaches a searing heat without a problem, retaining the temperature as ingredients cook and even after the dish is finished and taken to the table for guests to help themselves. The pan isn’t too heavy at all, although obviously in a good grade of metal. A useful pan we’ll use for so much more than stir-fries.

Best for lightweight quality

Netherton Foundry is a popular choice with serious cooks because it combines everything you’d want in a pan, but make it light, easy to use and lovely to look at. We love the branded oak overlaid handle on this wok, which, like other varieties in the range, is constructed from spun iron. Not only does it have superior heat-conducting qualities, there’s none of the extreme heft of some of the big cast iron models in the test, making it easier to use. Although you can use this wok straight from the box, it’s best to give it a seasoning first. It’ll be the start of a long cooking adventure – this one is made to last.

Available from:Netherton Foundry, £79.35

Best for heavy-duty heat retention

This is an absolute whopper of a enamelled cast iron wok from this Brazilian brand. Don’t limit it to frying – there’s a lot more it can handle. For starters, it’s far and away the heaviest model on test, so you’ll need muscles to move it around. Because of its sturdiness, this is a great choice for those times when stability is key – for tempura frying in hot oil, for example. It’s also going to keep heat in your dish with its stainless-steel handled lid, and looks great as a rustic table centrepiece. A no-frills classic, this is a pan that will only get better over time, adding flavour to dishes if you allow it to build up a patina and keep it oiled every month or so.

Best gift wok for a real foodie

This top-quality British-made wok comes in a hessian presentation bag. When cooking, the riveted long handle and grab bar opposite feel great and secure. Because these are also in tri-ply steel, this wok can be placed in the oven and under grills, too. Admittedly, this doesn’t crop up in Chinese, east, south or southeast Asian cooking very often, but it adds to the versatility of such a quality pan, which is a bonus considering the higher cost. You can also brown steak mince in this for ragu, which adds a nice char and colour to the meat. Samuel Groves pans are always a delight to use and this wok was no exception.

Best for students

We like the chunkiness of the faux wood handles on this budget-friendly option, which is perfect for young cooks. The handles are made of plastic, however, so you'll have to keep a close eye on the gas flame to ensure it doesn’t creep round its base for unexpected meltdown. That said, this is a good-quality grade of wok for the money, and with a grab handle on the opposite side to the handle, it's easy to move a full pan around. What's more, a new green initiative from Progress means they'll plant a tree for every wok bought. There’s a snug-fitting lid with this one, too, so it’s great value.

Best for tempura making

Part of a range of kitchen equipment for international dishes, the dual bamboo handles make this good-looking wok a suitable hob-to-table model. Of course, they mean it’s not an authentic choice for those who prefer to pick the pan up to really throw ingredients around as they cook – a single long handle is best for that. This wok is made from coated non-stick carbon steel and it heats quickly and evenly, searing beef for teriyaki without losing heat as ingredients are added. The hook-on tempura rack is a bonus for letting deep-fried ingredients drain while staying hot.

Best for style and substance

Smeg’s expanded range of cookware continues to use the high-quality materials you expect from the brand. There’s a logo imprint and sleep stripes on the long handle that mirror any other Smeg kitchen equipment you might have, and there’s a choice of cream, black or red outer casing. This is a very generous, deep wok that can easily handle frying for more than four people. The inner, slightly roughcast non-stick coating doesn’t catch when cooking at high heat and has lots of space to move ingredients around for even charring.

Best for easy stir-frying

This non-stick wok is specially designed to be used on induction hobs and has a smooth, polished base that's easy to clean and stays in great shape even after enthusiastic stir-frying. The pan has an anti-scratch coating and three-layer titanium coating for extra durability. We like the feel of this pan, which has a smoother inner than most – ingredients slide effortlessly around over the surface, making it easy to cook everything evenly with a bare minimum of oil.

Available from:Kuhn Rikon, £74.95

Best non-stick wok

A classic, non-stick choice, this wok is for those non-purists who like to stick a wok in the dishwasher – great for family cooking, and at a solid mid-price point. It’s suitable for all hobs, too. There's a good weight to this model and the heat is very evenly distributed, cooking a stir-fry for four quickly and evenly. With the darkening of its Thermo-Signal red dot, there’s a visual cue that your wok has reached an ideal temperature for cooking, but when flash and stir-frying we’d always give it a minute or two extra to get things really smoking hot.

From the School of Wok cookery school in London’s Covent Garden, this was the best traditional-style wok we tested. Round bottomed and made of carbon steel, this wok requires a gas hob and does need a bit of prep before use.

First, the protective layer of lacquer (that stops the wok rusting in the shop) needs to be scoured off and then the metal needs to be seasoned with two ‘burns’ over a hot hob or with a blow torch. Seasoning keeps the metal in good condition and prevents sticking. There are helpful instructions on how to do this and online videos if you get stuck.

Though a little time consuming, the prep is worth it for the searing and flavour produced by a traditional carbonised wok. Reasonably priced, this wok has a comfortable bamboo handle, heats fast, is light and well-balanced.

This large capacity wok is ideal for feeding large families or a crowd of friends. Its large flat base keeps good contact with an induction hob and works equally well on gas and electric. It does require some storage space but thankfully has two cast stainless steel handles rather than a long stick.

The handles do get hot so keep your oven gloves close to hand. The wok heats evenly and fast. Circulon’s signature ridged surface together with a hard-wearing non-stick coating means stir-fry glides around the pan. Impressively, the non-stick is proof to 260C and it comes with a large domed lid making it a versatile pan for steaming and poaching. A solid, durable wok that’s easy to clean too.

Available from:Circulon, £165

In the test we concentrated on stir-frying. We tossed, stirred, tilted and shimmied to see how much food might escape from the pan. A variety of utensils were used to test convenience of shape and durability of surface.

Balance and weight: We looked for wok’s that could be lifted easily by the handle without drastic tilting. Some long-handled woks have a small second handle to help with balance.

Handles: We looked for handles that were comfortable and safe to hold. Long-stick handles are better suited to tossing stir-fries and keeping your hand away from the heat. Short handles either side of the wok are more convenient for storage and can also be used for tossing – just remember to use your oven gloves.

Shape: Woks with deep curved sides that kept food in the pan were preferred.

Temperature: We considered how fast and evenly the wok heated and how well the food seared. We rejected those that stewed rather than browned the veg, and those with uneven hotspots that resulted in burnt food.

Sticking: Whether seasoned carbon steel or non-stick coated, we looked for ease of movement in the wok. Woks are subject to vigorous activity so non-stick coatings need to be hard wearing and scratch-resistant.

Sustainability: Woks that come with plastic packaging and short warranties score poorly. We want to see sustainably sourced materials both for the wok itself and it's packaging.

Give woks a coating of oil with kitchen paper to keep them in top condition and never use harsh or abrasive cleaners on them. Always try to use wooden chopsticks or spatulas rather than metal implements, to protect the surface from scores.

Plunging your pan in the washing up bowl from the hob is another no-no, as you don’t want it to warp or crack. Leave it to cool fully before cleaning and for maximum care, hand-wash rather than put in the dishwasher to protect the coating.

For more, visit our reviews section and find over 400 practical buyer's guides offering unbiased advice on what equipment is worth investing in, including reviews of non-stick frying pans, cast iron skillets and saucepans.

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Aindrita Vakharia · Answer

A good wok is one of the most versatile pans in the kitchen. Beyond being the best choice for making a stir-fry, it's also the ideal vessel for deep-frying, steaming, and indoor smoking. It is the most commonly used pan in my kitchen.

But, as with most things, not all woks are created equal. They come in a dizzying array of sizes, shapes, metals, and handle arrangements. Here's what you need to know.

Woks are made in three ways. Traditional hand-hammered woks (like the ones they used to sell in those '80s infomercials) are an excellent choice. The slight indentations left by the hammering pattern allow you to push cooked food to the sides of the pan, while adding ingredients to the center without them slipping. The only problem is that it can be difficult (dare I say impossible?) to find a hand-hammered wok with a flat bottom and a handle (more on those elements later).

Stamped woks are made by cutting out a circular piece of thin carbon steel and machine-pressing it into a mold. They are extremely cheap but completely smooth, which makes it difficult to stir-fry in them properly. They are, without fail, made from low-gauge steel and prone to developing hot and cold spots as well as feeling flimsy.

Spun woks are produced on a lathe, giving them a distinct pattern of concentric circles. This pattern offers the same advantages as a hand-hammered wok, allowing you to easily keep your food in place against the side of the pan. Spun woks can be found in heavy gauges, with flat bottoms and with flip-friendly handles. Fortunately, both spun woks and hand-hammered woks are inexpensive.

Traditional woks have a deep bowl shape designed to fit into a circular opening directly over the hearth. Unless you have a custom wok insert in your range (if you do, you probably aren't reading this article anyway), you want to avoid round-bottomed woks. They won't work, period, on an electric range, and are tough to use on a gas range—even with one of those wok rings. On the other hand, woks with bottoms that are too flat defeat the purpose of a wok, making it tough to flip properly and to move food in and out of the high-heat zone.

Your best bet is a wok with a four- to five-inch flattened area at the bottom, with gently sloping sides that flare out to between 12 and 14 inches. This will give you plenty of high-heat space for searing meats and vegetables at the bottom, while still providing ample volume and room to maneuver when flipping.

As for handles, you have two choices. Cantonese-style woks have a small handle on either side, while Northern-style woks have a single long handle, and usually a smaller helper handle on the opposite side. The latter is the type of wok you want. The large handle facilitates flipping and stir-frying, while the short helper handle makes it easy to lift.

Wok hei is a flavor. It’s often described as smoky, singed, at times just short of burnt.

To paraphrase Kenji, wok hei comes "from a combination of polymers and oil breaking down within the skillet, and from microscopic droplets of fat vaporizing as you toss food up and over the edge of a wok into the hot column of air created by the intense burner below”. In his book The Wok, Kenji elaborates that wok hei also includes the searing of soy sauce or other liquids around the lip of the wok, which caramelize and impart additional smoky flavor.

Just like with a good cast iron pan, a carbon steel wok's performance will improve the more you use it. Most come with a protective film of oil to prevent them from rusting or tarnishing in the store, but it's important to remove this layer before using it the first time. Scrub the wok out with hot, soapy water and dry it carefully; then place it over a burner on the highest heat possible until it starts to smoke. Carefully rotate the pan, so that every area of it is exposed to this super-high heat. Rub it down with oil using a paper towel held in a pair of tongs, and you're ready to go.

After use, avoid scrubbing the wok unless absolutely necessary. Usually, a rinse and a rubdown with a soft sponge are all that's needed. Purists may tell you not to use soap; I do, and my wok is still well seasoned and completely nonstick. Once it's rinsed, dry the wok with a kitchen towel or paper towels, and rub some vegetable oil into the surface to give it a vapor-proof coating that will prevent it from rusting.

With repetitive use, the oil you heat in your wok breaks down into polymers that fill the microscopic pores in the metal's surface, rendering the material completely nonstick. As you break in your wok, the material will gradually change from silver to brownish and finally to a deep black. This is what you are looking for.

Any kind of cooking (stir-frying, braising, or even steaming) naturally introduces imperfections on the surface of a seasoned wok. Lightly scrubbing and washing your wok evens out any glaring imperfections and maintains a relatively smooth surface as that seasoning of polymerized oil builds. And please, for the love of all woks, don’t put your wok in the dishwasher.

Contrary to what my grandmother (and probably everyone else’s Cantonese grandma) used to say, dish soap is perfectly fine to use on a wok. Perhaps in bygone times, when soaps were manufactured with caustic lye, such advice was warranted. But these days, soaps like Dawn don’t contain lye. In fact, dish soap is a useful surfactant that can strip away unwanted flavors, grease, and residues after cooking. Of course, the key is to make sure that you wash all of that soap off.

Water is the enemy of carbon steel and cast iron, and the worst enemy of all for a wok. Why? If left to rest on the surface, water corrodes the wok and leads to rust, which degrades that non-stick seasoning that you’ve worked so hard for. So after washing, make sure to dry your wok with towels or heat the wok up on the stove to evaporate all moisture.

If you’re cooking particularly pungent foods, the fats in those foods tend to linger on the surface of the wok, which can flavor subsequent dishes. If you’re going to cook something delicate after making a fish curry, for example, it’s helpful to heat your wok up after washing it out to eliminate those unwanted flavors.

Once you have a dry wok, it’s important to wipe the inside surface with a thin layer of neutral, high-heat oil (vegetable, canola, corn, soybean, peanut, and flaxseed oils are all acceptable options). Simply add a teaspoon or two of oil, then wipe that oil out with a paper towel until the entire surface is coated but not saturated (i.e. shiny). The oil protects the surface from moisture, and over time polymerizes (hardens) at room temperature, further seasoning the wok.*

*Heating oil speeds up polymerization, to be sure. But for polyunsaturated fats like vegetable, canola, and soybean oil, polymerization can happen at room temperature (just way more slowly).

Again, water is the enemy!

Acid (in the form of vinegar, or even citrus juices) can corrode the surface of the wok if left in contact for extended periods of time. It’s best to avoid making long-cooking acidic braises or soups. If you do cook with very acidic ingredients, wash your wok out right away to limit that corrosive effect.

The seasoning on your wok is always changing. In practice, seasoning is an imperfect process—highly dependent on what you cook, how often you cook, the way you stir, even the hot spots on your stove. You may notice that one part of your wok’s seasoning may build up more quickly than others, or that there are parts looking a bit bare or stripped down. In these cases, it’s not a bad idea to re-season your wok following the more systematic steps above.

Price at time of publish: $60 .

After testing, our favorite wok is a pre-seasoned pick that transfers heat quickly, is reasonably priced, has a helper handle, and is available on Amazon. It comes covered in a protective film that needs to be scrubbed off prior to cooking, but is, for the most part, a really solid pick. (Note: We used to recommend this Joyce Chen wok, but it has continuous stock issues.)

For an electric stovetop, you'll want to get a flat-bottomed wok. We recommend a 14-inch size and you can read our full review of flat-bottomed woks here.

We recommend buying a carbon steel wok. It heats quickly and evenly, is responsive to heat changes, is pretty affordable, and is easy enough to season and maintain. We do not recommend buying a nonstick, cast iron, or stainless steel wok.

Yes! There are many times where you might want to simmer or braise a dish covered. In fact, dishes like whole steamed fish or steamed lobster practically demand a lid. And in the (hopefully rare) event of a grease fire or similar mishap, you’d be wise to keep a lid handy to snuff out those flames.

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To help you find the right wok for your kitchen, we asked Test Kitchen Product Tester Marianne Williams to test the top options on the market. She considered their feel, durability, ability, and overall value. With these features in mind, she named The Wok Shop Carbon Steel Wok With Metal Side Handle as one of her favorite picks. Keep reading to discover the best woks, according to our testing.

We chose to focus on carbon steel woks for their durability, heat adaptability, and natural non-stick that comes from seasoning. To put these woks to the test, Marianne looked at the ease of the seasoning process, weight and feel of each wok, and comfortability when stir-frying with each wok.

Here are a few important characteristics that Marianne looked for:

Marianne's testing is finished, and we've reached a consensus on the best woks to buy in 2022. Read on for our picks. See one you like? Click the link below each image to get your very own.

Aren't all woks the same? Well, no. Turns out woks can vary on everything from size, shape, and even material. For the sake of our testing, we chose to focus on carbon steel woks, as this is the material that is traditionally used to make woks. But in order to find the right wok for you, it's important to get acquainted with all the varieties on the market.

Carbon Steel: This is the most traditional material used for making woks, and it also tends to be the most recommended by wok enthusiasts. It's inexpensive, lightweight, durable, and most importantly, it heats up quickly and evenly. For these reasons, we decided to focus our testing on carbon steel woks. It does require seasoning and careful cleaning — more on that below.

Cast Iron: No surprise to anyone, cast iron woks are heavy. But they do retain heat very well and can withstand extremely high temperatures. A major downside of cast iron is it doesn't adapt to changes in heat very quickly. And like carbon steel, it requires seasoning.

Cast iron woks are the best option for outdoor use. Although our testing focused on carbon steel, Marianne did find this Lodge Cast Iron Wok to perform well, but a wok spatula is a must when using cast iron because it's too heavy to toss around.

Stainless Steel: Stainless steel woks are gaining traction for their even heat distribution and retention. And they require no seasoning, which is a serious upside, especially to those new to woks. However, because you cannot create a nonstick surface by seasoning, some foods may stick to the surface of a stainless steel wok. If you're in the market for a stainless steel wok, Marianne found this Cooks Standard model performed well and maintained a high temperature throughout the cooking process.

Nonstick: For the beginner cook, nonstick is a great option because it's easy to clean and doesn't require seasoning. However, you're not going to get the same sear on meats and veggies as you would with other woks, because the nonstick coatings cannot be heated as high. For these reasons, we didn't include any nonstick woks in our testing.

Traditionally, woks are made with a round bottom, allowing them to get closer to the flame. Most of today's stoves don't accommodate the shape of a traditional round bottom wok, and require the use of a wok ring or a stove equipped with a wok top.

Many home cooks prefer to use flat bottom woks, as they don't require any additional accessories. However, wok traditionalists argue that flat bottom woks limit the surface area and don't allow you to toss food as you would in a round bottom wok.

We know it all comes down to preference. Whether you're looking for the traditional feel of a round bottom wok or the convenience of a flat bottom wok, we've got picks for all of the above.

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