Monday, January 16, 2012

16 inch Traditional Cast Iron Wok (incl. ring) Reviews

16 inch Traditional Cast Iron Wok (incl. ring) Review





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16 inch Traditional Cast Iron Wok (incl. ring) Review


16 inch Traditional Cast Iron Wok (incl. ring) Review by S. Judd

Wow is all I can say. I received this over the weekend well packaged with some nice bonuses (perfect instructions on seasoning, a nice recipe book, a wooden spoon and a back scratcher...works good!)direct from The Wok Shop from whom I ordered from. The seasoning could not have been easier. I scrubbed the heck out of it with some super grease cutting foaming Dawn along with a little shake of some Bar Keeper's Friend probably about 4 times on each side and on the handles with a non scratch sponge...it was clean (although REALLY gray soap still coming off) and my arms getting a bit tired. If you are going to jump into the seasoning, be sure you have time to do it all at once because mine started rusting on the underside as I scrubbed the opposite side...it happens fast! I had the oven preheating while scrubbing so it was ready set in the oven to dry well before oiling it when I was done scrubbing. I then oiled it up with a dry cloth with vegetable shorting (Alton says that's the best and works well on my other cast iron...all it's really good for) and set it in the oven as instructed. I then took it out, washed it with soap lightly again, dried in oven, re-oiled and baked again. I repeated this process probably 4 or 5 times total since I was home and had the time. It just kept coming out of the oven more and more beautiful. It turns a deep, deep kind of chocolaty, mahogany, coppery brown bordering black and the brush strokes and crackle lines originally there are still visible as another reviewer noted. This is just a beautiful piece. I'd like to find a place to display it when not in use as it seems a shame to tuck it away in a cabinet. I have done one stir fry and it is the perfect non stick surface already. I also did a soup and pouring the stock in the hot wok, I was worried it may 'deglaze' my new seasoning and it didn't...it is there to stay and as long as no one drops it, I think this will be a family heirloom! Love it...thanks Wok Shop and Amazon! PS...highly recommend the hoak and chuan (spatula and spoon) to go with this. They are the perfect length and contour for the wok and are of great quality as well (once you gorilla glue the handles in place!)...you'll also find a cover useful. Just being in view, there will be a lot more wokking happening around here...got myself a high powered outdoor burner as well...can't wait to get that fired up with this...a match made in heaven!


16 inch Traditional Cast Iron Wok (incl. ring) Review by CoolieOx "ghettocoolie" (Bay Area, CA)

For the last 6-7 years I have been using a flat bottom carbon steel (?) wok I purchased from Target. I seasoned it in the oven as suggested by various sources found online and it was certainly non-stick enough when stir-frying. What I couldn't coax out of this wok was wok-hay. No matter how hot the wok got I could not get that penultimate wok-hay taste.

After trudging through the Chinese New Year street festival yesterday morning, I made my third visit to the Wok Shop. I've been there previously and have been given great sound Wok advice in all visits but I never purchased the wok until yesterday. The shop owner suggested the cast iron and the hand hammered carbon steel. He said that both retained heat equally well but having read online that some people believe cast iron retains heat better on home gas stoves, I decided to go with the cast iron. He did also suggest we move up to the 16 inch version rather than the 14 inch I had initially set my mind on. I usually cook for two but he mentioned the 16 inch would provide more cooking surface and I have to agree.

After a few (4-5) vigorous washes with just some Dawn dish detergent and a regular sponge I figured I was done with the washing they suggested. I didn't use a scouring pad or steel wool on the cast iron as it wasn't spelled out that this was necessary in the instructions they provided us. After washing and wiping with paper towels, there was still lots of visible gray material (dust?) left on the towel. The instructions suggested that this was not an issue after seasoning.

So after two 20 minute bakes in the oven with peanut oil, the wok did have a golden sheen to it. It was still missing the black shiny patina I've seen on other woks but this is where I believe the seasoning with the chives come in. After the first seasoning with chives and some chopped onions the black patina appeared just on the lower quarter of the wok. After a quick rinse with hot water I decided to go at it again with the rest of the chives (dry up the chives otherwise you'll have to deal with grease splatter like I did the first time). This second time did leave me with the black coating I was expecting and I got the black patina in the lower third of the wok which was good enough for me.

After another hot water rinse and scrub, I noticed that the areas of the wok without the black patina still left the paper towel with the gray matter on it. One or two reviewers suggest this is not a problem but I wonder now if I should have scrubbed the wok initially more vigorously with steel wool or bar keeper as someone suggested.

Nevertheless, I proceeded to cook my first meal on this. A simple fried rice with beef. Not sure if it was the excitement of a new cooking toy or if I actually achieved wok-hay but I certainly felt like this was the best fried rice I had cooked at home and with the wok hay flavor I have been looking for the last 7 years. I still need to season it some more as the eggs did stick to the wok during cooking but it also washed out really quick during clean up.

Finally, I did end up using the wok ring. It's still more wobbly than my flat bottom wok and requires the use of a oven mitt or kitchen towel to hold the wok since it is missing the long handle. However, it is a minor change in my cooking habit if I can continue to achieve wok-hay.


16 inch Traditional Cast Iron Wok (incl. ring) Review by Lee S. Mairs (Romney, WV United States)

This is a great wok that comes with detailed instructions for breaking it in and cautions against using soap in later cleanings to avoid losing the patina.

I've cooked several meals using the wok and the ring on my electric stove and found that it works great. My only warning is that it noes not come with a matching top. I had to buy an aluminum cover that spoils the elegance of the cook's view.

So maybe traditional Chinese do not use a cover? I don't know.

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16 inch Traditional Cast Iron Wok (incl. ring):: Features


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