Woks have in recent years become an essential piece of equipment in many people’s kitchens, especially for those households that are keen on Chinese food. It is probably quite well recognised that the best quality results will be achieved when you buy a wok which is in the higher price range. These woks are generally made of better quality materials than cheaper models so cook food quickly and evenly. What many people may not realise, however, is that to get the best results from any new wok that is made of untreated metal, you need to do something to it which is called ’seasoning the metal’.
Seasoning the metal of untreated woks will give you better results as it does two things.
The first is that it stops food from sticking. The second is that it will stop your wok from rusting, which can be disastrous for the taste of any food you use it to prepare. When you buy a wok there is a chance that it may contain instructions on how to season the metal if it is one for which seasoning is required. If not, then just follow these simple steps to season your new wok and really get the best out of it.
1. The first thing that you need to do is to check that your wok is actually one which needs to be seasoned, as this is only the case for woks which are not treated. If your wok is one which has some kind of non-stick coating, for example Teflon, then you shouldn’t try to season it, as you will ruin the metal.
2. With cooking oil, lightly coat the inside of the wok, making sure that you coat the entire surface. For this, you can use any type of oil; the quality will not make any difference to the results.
3. Once the inside of the wok is completely coated in oil, scoop a large tablespoon of normal table salt into the bottom of the wok. Using your hands, work this salt all the way around the inside of the wok so that everywhere that was coated in oil is now also coated in salt.
4. The final step in seasoning the wok is to heat it on the stove. To do this, the best results will be achieved if you use a wok stand, also known as a trivet. This keeps the wok stable on the stove and makes sure that the pan is heated evenly and all the salt gets hot. The wok should be heated on high and left for around 15 minutes, possibly a little less depending on the size of the wok.
5. Remove the wok from the heat and let the salt cool down. This can then be thrown away. If you now look inside the wok you will see that it has a blackened appearance. This shows that the process of seasoning the wok has been successful. Now all you need to do is to take a soft cloth or a wok brush and rub around the inside of the wok to remove the oily residue. When it is completely cool the pan should then be stored, without being washed.
6. Each time you use your wok, instead of putting it in the sink, use only a small amount of soapy water to clean it. Then heat the wok again and coat it with a small amount of oil. The wok should then be stored like this, then a soft cloth or wok brush should be used to remove the oil just before the wok is used.
