Let's Take A Wok

[jmfargo]

For our anniversary one of the things I got Maria was a very nice 16 inch wok with a few accessories. The biggest part of the gift wasn't the wok or the accessories though, it was the offer that came along with these things - I would season her wok.

No, that's not some secret way of saying anything dirty.

Basically what I have to do is slowly and carefully burn peanut oil into the surface of the wok, allowing it to blacken to a fine shimmering hue of burned. I thought, reading the instructions I've seen online and elsewhere, that this would be a relatively easy if time consuming task.

Instead I find that the oil does not want to burn into the metal as everything tells me is should. I have some, near the bottom of the wok, that has browned the metal and tarnished it in a pleasing way, but the edges and shining sides? They defy my every will and remain beautifully silver, glinting in the sun.

Does anyone know of any way to fix this and to make sure that its seasoned properly? I don't think there are many wok users who read me, so if not, that's fine, but it never hurts to ask.

Am I the only one here that's ever seasoned a wok? I'm curious to know.

Comments

[kmg-365.livejournal.com]

Our woks (and other cooking pans) have all been non-stick. We did have a Calphalon adonized pan that wasn't non-stick, but never had the patience to season it.

Good luck with this endeavor!

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

All the woks we've had up until now have been non-stick, but have also been rather cheap, and by that I don't mean inexpensive. The non-stick tends to VERY easily scratch, which leads to rusting of the metal underneath, and is very bad for foods. I've since learned that if you scrub out all the rust you can just season a non-stick wok the same way if you're having these issues and it should fix it, but Maria wanted a bigger wok anyways.

Most things, if I wanted to season them, I would just bake them in the oven, but a wok is special because of its shape and if you do it that way you tend to get a wok that's seasoned in the middle only.

This is my long-winded way of saying "thanks for the luck." :)

[kmg-365.livejournal.com]

The non-stick tends to VERY easily scratch

Sounds like someone is using metal in their pan(s). ;-)

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

I know that's what it sounds like, and it's what I would assume if someone else said what I just said, but it's not true! We use only wooden spoons to stir and serve, but admittedly when stirring the stir-fry we stir it ~hard~ when necessary. (We cook lots, so it's heavy, and we need to push all the way to the bottom.)

I have no idea why they get scratched. It could be (I'm thinking of this now) when it's stored, and maybe we put stuff in it like smaller pots, but I'm not sure we did that.

[kmg-365.livejournal.com]

We've had scratching occur from stacking pots/pans, but we're too lazy to put paper towels between them.

We have been pretty happy with our Calphalon Professional Non-Stick pans, although there is one pan that keeps pitting for some really odd reason. We've sent it back twice already. Yes, we're still cooking with it, which means we'll probably drop dead in a year or two.

[reverendfixxxer.livejournal.com]

First off, are you baking the wok upsuide down? If not, you're supposed to.

Second, what temperature are you seasoning at? Generally, I season at 350.

Third, does it have wooden handles? If so, wrap them in several layers of wet paper towels, as 350 can eventually do bad things to wood.

Fourth, just be aware that cookware doesn't always season evenly...in fact, it usually doesn't. It probably won't look very black at all once it's done...it'll probably look like a dirty brown, and an uneven coating thereof. Once you've properly seasoned, the only real way to achieve what you're looking for is to cook with it. A lot.

Fifth, peanut oil is fine for seasoning. However, the absolute best seasoning is lard. I think lard might actually help you with your current issue in that it being a solid fat, it's likely to stick to the sides of the wok much better.

Speaking of wok cooking, do you have a gas stove? I hope you do, because cooking on a wok with electric pretty much defeats the purpose of cooking with a wok to begin with. A wok is different from a "normal" pan in that the flame can run up the sides of the pan, creating a much hotter cooking area. Generally speaking, you really want to have at least a 500 degree heat when cooking on a wok, and you always want to have a real flame. I have a wok, and I use it, but I also have an electric stove. How I get around this is that when I stir fry, I use my turkey fryer. It's pretty much the same thing as a fish fryer, and it's meant for cooking outdoors (though I do most of my outdoor cooking in my garage with the door open). This is, of course, not to say that you can't use a wok on an electric stove...just that there won't be any difference between it an the average pan...and in fact, the pan might work better by virtue of having more surface area in contact with the heating coil.

Sixth, in case your internet sources didn't mention in, you should be seasoning both the inside and the outside of the wok, which will prevent rust.

Seventh, you have five days to find and return the jade monkey.

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

The wok pooling issue is actually from the experience of a few friends of mine, not personal, and so I never even thought about baking the wok upside down. That's a good idea, and like I told scathedobsidian below, I'll use it the next time I have to season one or when I reseason this one but now that I've started down this path I'm going to keep on it.

Maria and I are very well seasoned wok cookers (heh, seasoned), and we definitely know the benefits of gas over electric. Thus, we will never buy an electric stove and have a gas stove right now. Thank you for the suggestions though - for a novice woker it's VERY important to point these things out.

I didn't know about seasoning the outside, thank you.

I have the jade monkey - been using it as a paper weight for a year or so. Is this thing valuable or something?

[scathedobsidian.livejournal.com]

I actually season with olive oil, and a little trick I used was to season in an oven at 350 with oil-soaked paper towels.

Worked okay for me.

I miss that wok. Used it only once before it fell and broke. Never got around to getting another.

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

I'm using peanut oil because most of what we cook is going to be cooked in it so we don't want competing tastes. The oil-soaked paper towels is a good idea that I'll use if I have to reseason, but now that I've started it this way I'm going to have to keep doing it this way. Not because it'll ruin it or anything if I don't, but because I'm a stubborn bastard.

[reverendfixxxer.livejournal.com]

I haven't noticed any issue with compeating flavors from different oils. In fact, I haven't noticed any flavor from seasoned oil. It's there mostly for rust-proofing and stick resistance, and I imagine that after a cooking or two, it probably tastes little better than motor oil by itself. I imagine that olive oil would achieve the black color you're looking for, but given that basic olive oil's smoke point is roughly 325 degrees, it's a sure bet you'd end up smoking your entire kitchen up and setting off all your smoke detectors. Obviously, extra virgin oilive oil would work better, given that it can have a smoke point up to 400 degrees, but you'll definately notice the difference in price.

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

That's interesting to note. Everything I read said differently about flavors and woks taking on the taste of oils/things cooked in it. I prefer the experience of those I know, like yourself, over a webpage any day of course. I probably would have used Extra virgin olive oil if I'd realized - the cost isn't too horrible for the good stuff. :)

Best products make the best meals and all that, or something.