Wok Set

This pan and set of tools and accessories is pretty much essential for any approach to any of the many Chinese cuisines. Woks are fine for other cuisines as well, especially Korean, Japanese, and Southeast Asian. Also anywhere a whole pile of greens are added and stirred in to wilt down, or if cooking with the minimum amount of oil is desired.

Included in the Wok Set are:
¤ The Wok itself. This one is a 13 inches (33 cm), which is about the smallest that is truly effective. The most common size is 14 inches (35.6 cm).
¤ The Wok Lid. Essential for steaming and keeping things warm.
¤ The Wok Ring. Western stoves are not fitted for woks, so a Wok Ring (top right) is needed for round bottomed woks. The one shown is of wire, with cuts to make if fit tightly on the stove grid.
¤ The Wok Shovel. This is the main tool for stir frying and otherwise manipulating foods in the Wok.
¤ A Spider Skimmer. This will lift things out of oil taking the minimum amount of oil with it. It can also lift things out of water.
¤ Draining Rack. This, clinging to the upper right rim of the Wok, is for receiving deep fried foods and letting them drain back into the Wok.
¤ The Steamer Rack is seen in the bottom of the Wok. It can support plates or other containers for steaming foods too wide to fit in a regular steamer.

The Wok

Chinese Wok:

This is the wok geometry we are familiar with. it is a relatively shallow bowl shape which allows pushing things a ways up the sides to clear the center.

Japanese Wok:

This wok has more the geometry of an indian Kadhai, with high sides, and often an even tighter radius. This wok can handle a lot of ingredients, and is good for stews and the like, but less suitable for general stir frying.

Size, Shape:

The standard wok size in North America is 14 inches (35.6 cm); For my use, cooking for 1 to 3 persons, I find a 13 inch (33 cm) is adequate, but anything smaller would be quite limited. For Western stoves it is best to have a flat bottomed wok, but the flat should not be more than 5 inches (13 cm), or the wok will not work properly. I'm fine with a round bottom wok because I have a wire ring cut so the wok is barely above the gas flame, but a round bottom won't work on an electric stove or at all on an induction stove.

Temperatures:

Wok cooking is by nature high temperature, at least for parts of the cooking. Many cookbooks give descriptions of steps without realizing they won't work quite that way in our homes - their recipes are developed on restaurant stoves, which are about 20 times as hot.

The famous Wok Hei flavor, characteristic of Cantonese restaurant cooking, uses extreme heat and high flames combined with special techniques by highly trained cooks - totally impossible on a home stove. J. Kenji López-Alt, has developed a method for getting the aroma and flavor in a home kitchen. See our article Wok Hei for the details.

Material:

Woks are made of various metals, some more suitable than others.

Sheet Steel:
This is the go-to wok for serious wok enthusiasts and is the standard in Guangzhou (Canton) where the folks are extreme wok fanatics. These are light weight for easy manipulation, respond very quickly to temperature changes, withstand the fiercest flames, and are nearly indestructible. In the home, they do take attention for seasoning, cleaning and preventing rust.
Sheet steel woks may be formed by pressing, and will be completely smooth, or by spinning, which will usually leave a light, closely spaced ring pattern on the surface of the steel. These are considered superior because the texture helps hold ingredients that are pushed up the side to clear the center, and tend to be thicker gage steel than pressed woks. My 14 inch spun steel wok by Atlas Metal Spinning is top quality, but no longer made.
Cast Iron:
I have a Japanese cast iron wok, but never use it. It is much less responsive to heat changes than even my Calphalon tri-ply wok, and takes a long time to heat up. Cast iron woks are a prestige item in Guangzhou (Canton), but theirs are practically egg shell thin, and very fragile, so a backup is needed in case they get hit and shatter.
Tri-ply Stainless:
I admit - the wok I routinely use is a 13 inch Calphalon tri-ply (in photo above). I am not a wok fanatic, so I get along fine with this for most uses. It is sufficiently responsive to temperature changes, is very easy to clean, and requires minimum care. It is particularly good for long braises as it is non corrosive. It is possible it can come unlaminated at Guangzhou temperatures, but my home stove can't get anywhere near that hot. Most of these (if they have a flat bottom) will work on an induction range because, the outside layer will be a magnetic alloy.
Caution: don't use a stainless wok for deep frying. It will be quickly coated with varnish that is very difficult to remove, and will look ugly. Use a sheet steel wok which is supposed to be covered with varnish. I actually use an Indian sheet steel Kadhai for deep frying. It looks a lot like a wok, but it's geometry is optimized for deep frying.
Non-stick Woks:
These are to be avoided, because proper wok usage involves temperatures that will destroy most non-stick coatings, releasing toxic fumes.

Accessories

Wok Lid:

Some woks come with a lid. For others, they are available from a well stocked Asian market, or on-line. The one I use with my 13 inch wok is 12-1/4 inches diameter (31 cm - probably sold as 30 cm) stainless steel. For a 14 inch wok they are about 13.6 inches (35 cm) diameter.

Wok Ring:

Woks like the Calphalon in the photo at top have a small flat at the center, so doesn't need a Wok Ring, but round bottomed woks and Kadhais do. I prefer a wire type as it allows better heat flow, and can be cut to fit the burner tightly. I also have a regular aluminum one I set out of the way on the kitchen floor so I can get a hot wok or kadhai off the stove when needed.

Wok Shovel:

Use wooden shovels for tri-ply or nonstick woks. For sheet steel and cast iron woks, a metal shovel is standard, but a wooden one can still be used. The shovel is an essential item for stir frying.

Spider Skimmer:

This device is used when deep frying in a wok or kadhai. It will take far less oil with it than a slotted spatula or spoon. The traditional Chinese spider skimmer has a woven, lace-like mesh, but this is much harder to clean than simple wire circles.

Draining Rack:

These must be exactly the right size for your wok. I actually don't use this item, because if I've gone to the trouble to do deep frying, I'm usually doing a lot, so I use a larger external wire basket lined with paper towels.

Steamer Rack:

This device is used to support plates or other containers for steaming, especially an oval plate for steaming whole fish. For an example, see our recipe Steamed Fish - Chinese Style.

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