Woks for cooking Asian dishes can be made of cast iron, carbon steel, or non-stick coatings, and come in different sizes and shapes. Traditional woks have a round bottom, but flat-bottomed woks are available for electric stoves.
A professional wok can be made from many different types of metal, including cast iron and carbon steel, which are usually considered the best. Some of these types of pans may already have nonstick coatings, but others may need to be seasoned periodically. If you’ll have a large crowd to feed, such as in a restaurant, you should also consider purchasing a large commercial wok. Finally, you should consider whether you need a flat bottomed or round bottomed wok. Unless you have the right type of stove or a wok ring, you may need to choose a flat-bottomed wok.
Woks are special pans used mainly for cooking Asian dishes. Traditional Chinese dishes, such as stir-fry and fried rice, are often cooked in woks. This type of cookware is usually bowl-shaped, with high sides and a round bottom. The tall, sloping sides of a professional wok help keep the food inside the pan as it is stirred and tossed.
Traditional woks are usually made from cast iron. This type of metal can withstand the high heat needed when using a professional wok, but it’s also very heavy and needs to be seasoned to keep the food from sticking. Another excellent wok material is carbon steel, which is much lighter than cast iron. Like a cast iron wok, however, a carbon steel wok also needs to be seasoned periodically.
Non-stick coated woks are also available. A professional wok with a non-stick coating will usually allow you to cook Asian dishes with little or no oil or fat, which is generally much healthier. Pans with nonstick coatings, however, usually aren’t able to withstand the high heat required by most wok dishes. In fact, many experts agree that nonstick coatings can even give off toxic fumes when subjected to high heat.
If you’ll be using your wok to feed an average sized family, you’ll most likely only need one as big as a regular cooking pan. On the other hand, you may need a much larger professional wok if you will be using it to feed large groups of people. Restaurants, for example, usually have very large woks.
Most woks generally have rounded bottoms making it difficult to place them on an electric burner. If you will be using an electric stove with your professional wok, you will most likely need to use a wok stand or wok ring. This metal ring allows the user to place the wok on top of the ring above a stove burner or other heat source. However, flat-bottomed woks are also available, which usually do not require the use of special wok accessories.
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