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To Wok or Not?

Wok or Skillet.... That is the Question

Cook's Illustrated suggests to throw away your wok and buy an expensive 12 to 14 inch heavy non-stick skillet. Their theory is: a standard non-commercial stove top can't heat the entire inside of the wok sufficently. So, you should use a flat bottomed non-stick skillet. I love their dedication to testing ... but I've done some testing of my own.

I had a 12 inch carbon steal wok but thought cast iron would conduct heat better. So I now have a 12 inch cast iron wok with a thick, flat bottom of 5 1/2 inches across. It is rounded, not flat on the inside. I seasoned it well with wok oil which turned it brown. Then I put it to the test.
I placed it on my "gas" stove top and wiped the inside with lard and turned the heat up to the max. (you can't hurt iron with heat - thats what woodburning stoves and good fireplace inserts are made of). What I found was only the center 8 or 9 inches turned black after 45 minutes of Hi heat. This proved to me you can only count on a maximun of about 8 inchs of real hot cooking surface from a 12 inch wok like mine. If I had a larger wok, my gas range still would only provide 8 inches of hot wok surface.

So, Cook's Illustrated is right.... if you need more cooking surface than 8 inches. For just one or two people, this may be sufficient. If you must wok on your stove, get a cast iron wok with a thick, flat bottom on outside, rounded on inside and no bigger than 12 inches. Season it well. Each time you use your wok for stir-frying, wipe the entire inside surface with oil and pre-heat the wok on Hi heat for 20 minutes, add more oil and stir-fry in small batches.

I also went into the Kitchen of my favorite Chinese Restaurant and saw their "Commercial" stove top designed especially to heat the "entire" wok, (and I saw their "large" 24 inch carbon steel wok). No Way could my conventional stove top heat a wok like their stove could!

I think a good cheap compromise,(if you have a strong arm) is a 12 to 14 inch well seasoned cast iron skillet for meals for three or more.

My next recommendation is a lighter Ultrex 12 inch Chicken Fryer or even the heavier Ultrex Wide 12 inch Pressure Cooker. Ultrex is only available from your Home Shopping Network,(America's Store) on TV. Ultrex is stainless steel with the best non-stick surface, thick bottom, very good quality and at much less the price of top-of-the-line cookware.

Happy Stir-Frying !