a b c Grigson, Jane (January 1985), World Atlas of Food, Bookthrift Company, ISBN 978-0-671-07211-7 The wok is probably the most versatile piece of equipment in Chinese cooking. It can have a round or flat bottom. They conduct heat in a slightly different way due to the shape, but it does not make much difference for day to day cooking - a round bottom is better for high heat stir frying, a flat bottom is better for searing and shallow frying. The high, curved sides of a wok allow food to be tossed around so that all ingredients can be cooked evenly at a high heat. You can also sit a bamboo steamer on top for making bao or dumplings. We designed the bamboo handles with a slight 'groove' or indent in the middle to allow for the perfect 'wok-toss'," explains Pang. Tope, Lily Rose & Mercado, Nordilica (2002). Philippines. Cultures of the World. Marshall Cavendish. p. 127. ISBN 9780761414759.

Note that hot wok cooking requires oils with a high smoke point, so think sunflower, peanut or grapeseed, rather than olive oil. One more word of caution: while the chunky wooden handle on this wok remains perfectly cool and easy to grip, the metal itself gets perilously hot. The wok can be used in a large number of cooking methods. Before the introduction of Western cookware, it was often used for all cooking techniques including: [2] [15]

a b Symons, Michael (2003). A History of Cooks and Cooking. University of Illinois Press. p.78. ISBN 9780252071928. In Japan, the wok is called a chūkanabe ( 中華鍋, literally "Chinese pot"). In South India, the Chinese wok became a part of South Indian cooking, where it is called the cheena chatti (literally, "Chinese pot" in Malayalam and Tamil). [ citation needed] Coupled with the lower heat retention of woks, meals stir-fried on electric stoves have a tendency to stew and boil when too much food is in the wok rather than "fry" as in traditional woks, thus not producing wok hei. A wok can, however, benefit from the slow steady heating of electric stoves when used for slower cooking methods such as stewing, braising, and steaming, and immersion cooking techniques such as frying and boiling. Many Chinese cooks use Western style cast-iron pans for stir-frying on electric stoves, since they hold enough heat for the required sustained high temperatures. [2] Knipple, Paul; Knipple, Angela (2012). The World in a Skillet: A Food Lover's Tour of the New American South. University of North Carolina Press. p.178. ISBN 9780807869963. The first possible depictions of woks in China appeared in the Han dynasty (c. 202 BCE - 220 CE). But these are conjectural, since these "woks" were made of clay and were only used to dry grains. [7] Metal woks only started to appear in China in the Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), where it was first used for stir frying (an original Han Chinese innovation). [7] [4] Characteristics [ edit ] A wok (left) and karahi on a Western-style gas stove. Note that the karahi is sitting on an ordinary burner cover, while the round-bottomed wok is balanced on a wok-ring.

Reed, Pat (March 29, 2006). "Which wok? How to choose the right pan". The Santa Fe New Mexican. ProQuest 331648783. Deep frying: This is usually accomplished with larger woks to reduce splashing, but for deep frying of less food or small food items, small woks are also used. With this in mind, in my attempt to determine the very best, I reviewed a selection of woks, judging them for durability, weight, aesthetic, ease of use and maintenance, the feel of the handles when cooking, and depth of flavour (you really can tell the difference on this front). The curve also provides a larger usable cooking surface versus Western-style pots and pans, which typically have vertical edges. This allows large pieces of food seared at the bottom of the wok to be pushed up the gently sloped sides to continue cooking at a slower rate. While this occurs another ingredient for the same dish needing high heat is being cooked at the bottom. The pointed bottom also allows even small amounts of oil to pool. [2] As such, large food items can be shallow fried, while finely chopped garlic, chili peppers, scallions, and ginger can be essentially deep-fried in both cases with very small amounts of cooking oil. [15] See also [ edit ] It comes with a lifetime guarantee, it's oven safe up to 200°C, and is both PFOA and PTFE free. The rubber handle is excellent in terms of grip, but it's not a huge pan, so I'd recommend it for couples or small families.Wok is a Cantonese word; the Mandarin is Guō. The wok appears to be a rather recent acquisition as Chinese kitchen furniture goes; it has been around for only two thousand years. The first woks are little pottery models on the pottery stove models in Han Dynasty tombs. Since the same sort of pan is universal in India and Southeast Asia, where it is known as a Kuali in several languages, I strongly suspect borrowing [of the word] (probably from India via Central Asia)--kuo must have evolved from some word close to Kuali. Young, Grace; Richardson, Alan (2004). The Breath of a Wok. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 4, 14, 34, 36–40. ISBN 0743238273. A wok ( Chinese: 鑊; pinyin: huò; Cantonese wohk) is a deep round-bottomed cooking pan of Chinese origin. It is believed to be derived from the South Asian karahi. It is common in Greater China, and similar pans are found in parts of East, South and Southeast Asia, [1] as well as being popular in other parts of the world. Stewart, Randy (19 July 2009). "Choose Your Wok Wisely". Love That Kimchi.com . Retrieved 4 March 2012.