School of Wok - Wok Lid to Sit Inside 12"/30cm Wok, Poach or Steam

Product Information

We love the slightly-wider-than-normal bottom that allows you to cook more food in less time. We also like the design, from the curvy, yet comfortable, handles to the inlaid glass window in the cover. That allows you to see what's happening inside whether you're making fried rice or popcorn. And while this is a big pot, it's nice enough that you'll want to keep it out and large enough to be constantly useful. It is dishwasher-safe, though you might end up hand-washing since it will take up a good amount of room.

However, raw carbon steel requires a lot of seasoning, and all carbon steel is higher maintenance than other materials, as it must be hand-washed, kept dry, and oiled frequently. In a home kitchen, the metallic odor will take some time and use before fading. Additionally, rounded-bottom woks are only suitable for gas stoves with a wok ring.

Getting the most from your Professional Granite Cookware

Traditional woks are constructed out of carbon steel, an alloy made of iron and carbon. It has many similar properties to cast iron: it holds heat well, can be used on any sort of cooktop (including open flame and induction), and is extremely durable. Carbon steel is lighter and less brittle than cast iron and is also more responsive to changes in heat. The malleability of carbon steel also lends itself well to shaping and pressing, so the surface of a carbon steel pan will be smooth in comparison to the rougher surface of a cast iron pan. The best woks can do it all, but only a wok can turn out stir-fry as it's meant to be: with vegetables that are vibrant, blissfully blistered, yet tender-crisp; meat that captures a little browning without drying out; and dishes with little oil but a lot of naturally extruded flavor. Not only does a wok allow you to cook high-volume ingredients—like the vegetable-heavy dishes Asian cuisine is known for—by virtue of its tall sides, but its sloping sides also catch heat in a blooming pattern, creating different zones. Where the flames hug the bowl is where you sear; up toward the edge is where you keep warm and dry.

Design: The best woks have a classic sloped sides, enough cooking space for a 4-person household, useful handles, and look great when left out on the stove. We rated woks higher when those handles stayed exceptionally cool when over high heat. Gas burners have a dead zone in the middle, which means that although the sides of your wok will get hellaciously hot, the base will have several inches of indirect heat right in the spot you want to sear. We recommend this for small to moderately-sized households, as it has enough capacity to cook a fair amount of food at once. At this medium-range price point, we think that this wok delivers in all areas and is worth it for anyone doing a fair amount of woking at home. We like the generous 14-inch diameter of this wok, which allows you to cook several portions at once. There's more than enough room to feed four people, to make enough food for a dinner party, or to even do a little meal-prep for your workday lunches. A long handle and stay-cool silicone helper loop provide yet another failsafe, and a flat base means anyone with a gas or electric stove can get cooking. We tested 18 woks side-by-side in our Birmingham, Alabama, testing labto find out which were easiest to use and produced accurate readings. Additionally, our expert testers use certain models in their home kitchens, and regularly supply us with home-cooking insights and updates on long-term wear and tear.The common and poetic definition for wok hei is "breath of the wok." You’ve seen it in action if you’ve ever watched traditional wok cooking, the moment clearly identifiable as small flare-ups burst in and around the dish. Most importantly, it’s the vital, critical difference between limply sautéed and briskly wok-fried—an immeasurable quality that adds unplaceable depth and gorgeous warmth to stir-fried dishes.

Cast iron is another heavy-duty material perfect for high-heat cooking because of its ability to maintain heat—this makes it the perfect choice for searing and deep-frying, and also for keeping foods warm for a long time. While cast iron requires a little bit of special care to maintain its seasoning, cookware made from this material has a very long lifespan and can be used on virtually any cooktop. This material is great for big-batch stir-fries; however, hot handles and heavy weight make it unsuitable for tossing if that’s your wok style. Ease of Use: Woks are meant to be moved around during cooking. We assessed how easy a wok was to maneuver on the stove, especially when we were tossing food around while making stir-fry or fried rice. After cooking, we were able to wash away everything easily with a gentle scrub and rinse, and re-seasoning with oil and a paper towel helped pull away anything that was left behind. The only thing we could really complain about were how hot the metal parts of the handles get, but that's easily solved by keeping an oven mitt or dish towel nearby to protect the hands when needed. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ More than 2,000 years ago, during China’s Han Dynasty, cast iron was smelt into a unique form, one where a curved bottom flared out into an expansive width ending in high walls designed to retain both heat and ingredients. The name it was given was simple: wok. In the Cantonese spoken in its region of origin, wok literally means “cooking pot.” Not particularly specific, perhaps, but neither are its uses. As time has shown, the wok's design is that of a workhorse—a multi-cooking wonder with infinite capabilities. We cleaned this wok with soap and water, but according to Chen, the process of scrubbing, rinsing, and heating your carbon steel wok really is the best way to keep it clean—no soap is necessary. It does require stovetop drying and oil rubbing after every use, but this meticulous care ensures it continues to get better with use. Typically, a wok ring is a piece of metal that cradles the base of a round wok, keeping it in place above your gas burner and concentrating the heat around the curve of it. It’s not recommended for electric stoves and serves no purpose for induction ranges since it can’t channel emitted heat the way it can flames, and may also scratch your cooktop. It is also called a wok stand and can be used to place your round-bottomed wok on a counter or table for serving. A wok's price tag is just that, a price tag: We tested a few woks more expensive than any on this list. We found that there wasn't anything extraordinary about their performance or design, and a couple were even harder to use. Traditional, round-bottomed woks are meant to be used with a special stove featuring a burner that is fitted to cradle a wok. This setup creates a hotspot at the bottom while sending heat up the sides of the wok, and also allows for a smooth scooping motion to stir ingredients around. Flat bottoms are an evolutionary allowance for flat cooktops. These center the hot point on the surface that touches the burner, taking a longer time for the sides to capture and keep higher temperatures.