Woks are a type of cooking utensil that is used to cook food quickly. Woks are typically round in shape and deep in construction with two long handles. A wok makes it easy to cook quickly because it spreads the heat out evenly and uses the least amount of oil possible. Here is everything you need to know about using a wok, from how to season it, what types of food can be cooked in it, and how to clean it.
Does cooking in a wok make a difference?
Yes. Woks cook foods more quickly and evenly than other cooking methods because of its shape and the round bottom that distributes heat better than a flat-bottomed frying pan.
However, this is not an absolute; since most restaurants use standard frying pans with metal handles, it’s possible for cooks to get a hot handle so be careful!
How to cook with a wok at home?
1. Place a wok on the stovetop and heat it over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Add oil to coat the pan (using 2 tablespoons of vegetable or peanut/canola oil, or just enough to cover the bottom of pan).
2. Combine your ingredients in an empty bowl then mix well with chopsticks until thoroughly combined, don’t worry about chopping anything small like ginger into very fine pieces – you will be doing this when you put them into the wok.
3. Transfer all chopped vegetables to edge of your wok, spreading vegetables evenly on its surface so they are not overlapping one another.
Can you use a wok for everything?
Yes. A wok (Mandarin cooking pan) serves as an excellent choice for deep frying, boiling food on top of the stove, or stir frying. Because of its wide shape and steep sides it can both reduce the amount oil needed for stir-frying and also distribute the heat evenly among more expensive ingredients like lobster or shrimp without damaging them. A wok is therefore useful not just to Chinese cooks but to chefs of all backgrounds who want to keep more items on hand at any given time in one pot or pan.
What happens if you don’t season a wok?
It will become hot, ugly looking, and hard to clean.
Seasoning a wok has plenty of benefits, but this may sound like your most important consideration in deciding whether or not to season the wok before use. Seasoning the wok serves two purposes:
First, seasoning with oil can make it easier for food particles (such as onions) to fall out of the bottom of the pan while cooking; Second seasoned pans are thought to be healthier because they contain less harmful chemicals than unseasoned ones.
If you don’t season your pan before you cook in it then food will stick more tightly or might even burn.
Conclusion
The wok is a classic cooking apparatus that can be used to prepare many different types of food, such as stir-fries, searing meats and vegetables, and deep frying. The wok is a very versatile piece of cookware, but it can also be difficult to use if you don’t know the right techniques.
See Also: 10 Best Carbon Steel Woks
