The best wok frying pan: how to choose and what to use it for

The article provides information about what a Wok frying pan is. You will learn what you can cook in it and how it differs from a regular frying pan.

For the first time, a wok frying pan appeared in the Middle Kingdom. The poor Chinese invented such dishes. After all, using wood and coal for cooking was prohibitively expensive for them. Ordinary families used manure and straw for cooking. However, this fuel has one drawback - it burns too quickly. Therefore, it had to be used rationally. So that the food had time to cook, one of the people came up with a conical frying pan made of thick metal, which held heat for a long time. Food could be cooked in it in a short time, thanks to its shape.

How does a Wok differ from a regular frying pan: advantages, pros and cons

This cookware is significantly different from a regular frying pan. It has both its pros and cons. However, a Wok has much more advantages - housewives who have already cooked in it at least once know this.

• As already mentioned, the original shape of the bottom allows the vessel to warm up well. All the heat is concentrated at the bottom. This is why the cooking process speeds up.
• You can cook several dishes at once in a frying pan. Which is very important when you have guests or a large family on your doorstep.
• Since the pan heats up faster, less fat and oil will be spent on frying food.
• This frying pan is similar to a stewpan; you can not only fry in it, but also stew, boil, bake and deep-fry or steam. Pilaf, borscht, and steamed cutlets turn out very tasty. And they take less time to cook.
• If you stew or fry something in this container, then do not forget to stir the ingredients hour by hour so that nothing burns. Monitor the heat supply level. It is better to use slow gas for cooking.

Advantages of Wok frying pan

IMPORTANT : Woks come in different diameters and different shapes. In addition, they are made of cast iron, steel, aluminum. Handles are made of plastic, wood, iron. Depending on the quality and size of the product, its price varies.

Cooking several dishes in a frying pan
The disadvantages include the following :

1. Not all pans fit in the oven. After all, they come in pretty decent sizes.
2. Many housewives do not like that these cookware have uncomfortable handles and they get hot during cooking.
3. If you stir food in a frying pan with an iron spatula during cooking, the bottom may become unusable, especially the Teflon coating. Therefore, you need to buy special wooden spatulas.

How to choose the right one

It would seem that what is so difficult about buying a new frying pan? But when it comes to woks, you can get lost among the variety of models. They differ in shape, material, coating, and configuration. How to avoid mistakes and choose the right wok pan?

Material

When choosing your frying pan, start by studying the material. It can be cast iron, aluminum alloy. There are ceramic and steel cauldrons on the store shelves. Of course, they vary greatly in price. But this is not their only difference. The main characteristics of various woks are shown in the table.

Table - Types of woks depending on material

A cast iron wok is most often used for preparing broths, stews, stewing vegetables, and meat. Such pans provide smooth and uniform simmering and boiling. But steel woks are considered the most popular and versatile.

Bottom shape and diameter

A professional wok pan has a spherical bottom. This cookware is designed for cooking over an open fire. These cauldrons are rarely placed on gas or electric stoves. Therefore, manufacturers produce frying pans with a flat or convex bottom. To choose the right wok, consider the type of stove you have:

• electric - choose flat-bottomed utensils;
• gas - buy with any bottom;
• induction – opt for a flat-bottomed wok.

Another important parameter that you need to pay attention to is the diameter of the bottom. The wider it is, the more food you can cook. However, you should not immediately purchase the largest wok. These pans are very heavy and bulky. They will take up a lot of space in your kitchen and will not always fit in the oven. To avoid making a mistake with the correct choice of diameter, use the following table.

Table - Bottom size, depending on the number of servings

If you purchase a wok with a convex bottom, do not forget to consider purchasing special rings to ensure the stability of the pan. Otherwise, you will not only have to constantly stir the food, but also hold the container firmly.

Coating

Pay attention not only to the material, but also to the coating. It depends on him how long the “cauldron” will last. Using a non-stick wok will protect your food from burning. Therefore, when choosing a “Chinese pot”, carefully study all its properties. And don’t be afraid to ask the seller any questions you have. The main types of coatings are listed in the table below.

Table - Types of wok coatings and their characteristics

Types of handles

The classic version is equipped with two handles. They make the pan look like a saucepan. You can choose a model with one handle, which transforms the wok into a “full-fledged” frying pan. When choosing the most convenient option, consider three features.

1. Two handles. The classic version will be appreciated by those who are used to cooking for a large company. It is much easier to lift a heavy frying pan with cooked food on both sides than on one.
2. One handle. This option is suitable for those who cook in small quantities. This wok does not have an additional heated handle, therefore it protects against accidental burns and is more popular with Europeans.
3. Removable handle. This option is useful for those who like to bake dishes in the oven.

Equipment

Another important point that you should not forget about: pay attention to the equipment. You may be offered one frying pan or a set containing additional accessories.

• Cover. It will significantly expand the functionality of the frying pan. A wok, complete with a lid, can be used for boiling and stewing food.
• Lattice. You will appreciate such a device if you decide to cook cutlets or steamed dumplings. A wire rack will help drain excess oil from fried meat or fish.

What is cooked in a Wok pan, what dishes?

This vessel is ideal for boiling, frying, stewing, baking healthy, tasty, juicy, nutritious food. Although lovers of “fatty” foods will also like fried potatoes cooked in lard in the Wok.

Vegetables on the grill – Wok frying pan

In a wok you can simmer any food over low heat. Fish dishes, French meat, Uzbek pilaf, field porridge, and vegetable stews are delicious. The only thing is that you should still stir any food occasionally, especially if the frying pan is not made of cast iron. Or, as the water boils, add it a little during the cooking process.

If you want to steam something, then you no longer have to buy a steamer when you have a Wok frying pan in the house. This dish contains a mini-steamer made of bamboo or a regular wire rack on which the food is placed. To ensure they are thoroughly steamed and cooked through, pour a small amount of liquid onto the bottom. Then all you have to do is close the pan with a lid and wait for the dish to cook.

Wok frying pan with non-stick coating

Such a frying pan can become indispensable in the kitchen of a housewife who treats her family to a variety of dishes every day. The only thing that won’t hurt cooking rules in it:

• If you decide to fry something, then cut the food into equal pieces. In this case, they will fry evenly and be moderately browned.
• To mix, use a wooden spatula and stir the contents of the Wok as often as possible. The center of the pan gets very hot, but the edges do not. Therefore, frequently changing the position of the products allows them to warm up and fry evenly.
• To avoid a bad stew, don't fill the pan full of ingredients. Fry them in small portions.

Wok frying pan with non-stick bottom
In Wok, any housewife can cook:

1. Stewed meat with vegetables and spices.
2. Delicious seafood, and if you add wine sauce to it, no one will refuse this dish.
3. Tough turkey meat in a wok will cook faster and will be juicy, soft and healthy. Vegetables will give it aroma and a pleasant taste.
4. Mushrooms with sour cream sauce or just with vegetables will delight the whole family if eaten with potatoes.

IMPORTANT : You can also cook many dishes in a miracle frying pan, you just need to use your imagination.

Features of use

In order for the frying pan to serve you faithfully for a long time, provide it with decent care. If you purchased a steel or cast iron frying pan, then before using it for the first time, you must properly “open” it. Ceramic - just thoroughly wipe with hot water and soda to remove factory fuel oil.

"Opening" after purchase

The term “opening” means “applying a protective non-stick layer.” This is a mandatory procedure. As reviews of the wok pan show, in the future this “opening” will protect your food from burning and sticking to the cauldron. It is carried out only for carbon steel or cast iron. The opening algorithm involves 17 consecutive steps.

1. Use a soft sponge to thoroughly rinse the surface of the frying pan to remove transport grease and dust.
2. To completely remove all contaminants, pour water into a bowl and boil it.
3. Pour out the liquid and wipe the surface.
4. Turn on the hood or open the window as much as possible.
5. Place the cleaned frying pan on maximum heat and let it get hot. The metal should acquire a bluish tint in the hottest places.
6. Heat the pan around the entire perimeter, gradually tilting it at different angles.
7. When most of the wok turns blue, pour in sunflower oil until it completely covers the bottom, approximately 80-100 ml.
8. Rotate the pan to ensure the oil spreads evenly over the entire surface, but do not allow it to cool.
9. After two to three minutes, turn off the heat.
10. After another three minutes, bring the wok to running water, cool the outer surface first, then the inner.
11. Place the cooled frying pan back on the heat and heat until the moisture evaporates.
12. Pour in a little sunflower oil, about 40-50 ml, spread evenly over the surface.
13. Heat until smoking appears.
14. Remove from heat.
15. Using napkins or a paper towel, rub the oil into the inside sides and bottom. Do not forget that the surface is hot, so use tongs or other devices that prevent hand contact with the metal.
16. Now go over the outside surface with a cloth to protect the steel wok from corrosion.
17. Leave the pan on the stove to allow it to cool on its own.

During the "opening" process you create an oil film. It will always remain on the surface. Therefore, such pans can only be washed with hot water and a clean brush (sponge). The use of detergents is strictly prohibited.

6 rules of cooking with wok

A frying pan is most often used for cooking dishes using the “stir-fry” principle. This term implies rapid frying with constant stirring. Cooking in a frying pan is easy. To make your food tasty, crispy and aromatic, you need to remember how to use a wok correctly and follow six simple rules.

1. Preparation of components. You won't have any free time while frying. Therefore, cut all the products in advance so that you are not distracted from the stove during the cooking process.
2. Evenly cooked. Cut the products into small pieces. Remember the following rule: the harder the product, the thinner it should be cut.
3. Sunflower oil. It is not recommended to use olive oil for wok cooking. Creamy is also not suitable. Sunflower is considered the most optimal. And if possible, it is better to buy sesame and peanut ones.
4. Preparing the pan. Initially, the frying pan is heated on fire, and only then they begin to lay out the food.
5. Correct bookmark. Start the frying process by adding those products that require long-term heat treatment. For example, meat is always added initially. After frying it a little, add carrots. This is followed by chopped onions. Then you can add spices, pour in the sauce, and complete the composition with herbs.
6. Mixing technique. Food cooked in a wok must be stirred constantly. And it needs to be done correctly. The spatula is inserted in the middle and mixed towards the edges. With this technique, products that have been processed on a hot bottom “reach” on the walls. It is this stirring that allows you to preserve the maximum amount of nutrients and protects the dish from burning.

How to buy a Wok frying pan on Aliexpress: review, catalog with price

You can find any of the above Wok pans on Aliexpress. Their prices vary between 450-28,000 rubles. It all depends on the type of product and what material it is made of.

Wok pans are available in different sizes. There are even large dishes - with a diameter of 100 centimeters.

Aliexpress – Wok pan

Which is the best bottom for a cauldron - flat or round?

Which cauldron is more convenient - with a flat or round bottom? The most delicious dishes come out in hemispherical pots, since they ensure uniform heating of the food and make it easy to mix all the ingredients.

Flat and round bottoms of cauldrons The choice of the shape of the cookware is interconnected with the cooking method. Classic models with a rounded bottom are ideal for pilaf, but are more suitable for stoves and fires. In an ordinary kitchen, such pots are inconvenient. For a gas stove, use round or oval-shaped dishes with a flat bottom. For induction panels there are product lines with a special bottom.

How to use a Wok frying pan, how to cook in a Wok on a gas and electric stove: tips

Wok pans are quite easy to use. After purchasing, wash the dishes, put them on the stove and cook your favorite dish. The only thing is if you didn't buy steel utensils. This frying pan must be thoroughly rinsed before use and then ignited. Otherwise, the food will burn in it.

The Wok should be washed and prepared for use as follows:

• Pour hot boiling water into a container, add 15 g of soda there. Let the solution stand for 20-25 minutes.
• Discard the soda water. Scrub the walls and bottom well with a washcloth. This will remove any remaining oil coating.
• Rinse the pan again. Wipe thoroughly with a clean cloth.
• At the maximum heating mode of the burner, heat the container. Again, gently wipe the inside of the pan with a paper towel.
• Grease the wok (inside) with oil. And put it on low heat (for 10-15 minutes), let it saturate the walls and bottom.
• After which you can already cook. Rest assured that the food will not burn.

Tips for cooking dishes in a frying pan
Thanks to this preparation, the Wok does not need to be washed particularly after cooking; just remove any remaining food and wipe with a damp towel. Then you will not need to pierce the vessel again.

It is easy to cook, stew, fry, steam in this cookware. For frying, you should use oil that is odorless so that there is no excessive “aroma” when cooking at high temperatures.

Try not to put fish or vegetables into cold (unheated) dishes. meat, etc. After this, the dish will not please you with its ideal appearance and taste.

Experienced cooks use such pans using the stir-fry method . The products are placed in a certain sequence and constantly stirred and tossed up so that they are evenly heated and fried. First, put the meat on the frying pan - it takes a long time to cook, then the vegetables. And at the end of cooking, add a little water and pour in the noodles. It turns out to be a tasty, satisfying dish.

Chicken with vegetables - Wok pan

If you decide to treat yourself to deep- , then Wok will help you out here too. To do this, you should use vegetable oil, which does not tend to burn. True, you need to pour a lot of it into the frying pan, almost 2/3 of the container.

The resulting product will have a tasty crust and a minimal amount of oil. The main thing is to thoroughly heat the frying pan and the oil in it before doing this.

Cast iron wok pan

simmering for a long time to get a tasty soft base, a Wok frying pan is suitable. It is especially good to cook such dishes in cast iron cookware.

Cooking with gas - Wok pan

steamed dishes will turn out tender, light and of course healthy. Lovers of proper nutrition highly appreciate Wok for cooking meat and steamed vegetables. Moreover, no special preparation is needed for this process. Just put a wire rack and pour water into the frying pan. First place lettuce leaves or permanent paper on the grill, then arrange the food, cover with a glass lid and turn on the stove.

Make sure that the water in the dish does not run out; add more if necessary. Cooking dishes should take about 45 minutes, if these are meat products, then two hours, or maybe more.

When the food is ready to eat. Rinse the Wok, and wipe dry with a paper towel.

Equipment

A casserole wok with a lid is a practical model that combines the functionality of a frying pan, wok, saucepan and pressure cooker. Most manufacturers produce cookware from different materials and with different coatings, but the principle of operation is the same for all. On sale there are wok cauldrons made of lightweight cast iron and steel with two handles (long and short) and a lid made of stainless steel or heat-resistant glass.

The “Power of Granite” cauldron is made of high-quality stainless steel and has a multi-layer structure with an external and internal layer of non-stick coating, as well as a special design of a thickened induction bottom with an air duct system. The heat distribution in this design is in a spiral, due to which the walls heat up quickly and the food is evenly cooked on all sides.

Lid with steam valve

Unlike the classic wok, the “Power of Granite” casserole wok is equipped with a transparent heat-resistant glass lid with a handle. Its distinctive feature is the presence of a steam valve, a silicone heat-resistant rim and a unique locking system that ensures that the lid is tightly suctioned to the sides of the pan.

The steam valve is an indicator that the lid is closed and at the same time serves to remove excess steam. Using a valve and a silicone rim, a vacuum is created in the container, the pressure increases, and the boiling point increases. Due to this, the speed of cooking increases, and when the heating temperature is set to minimum, the food simply simmers.

The steam valve is an indicator that the lid is closed and at the same time serves to remove excess steam.

The glass lid creates the required temperature without losing heat and preserves the aroma of the dish. It is convenient to observe the cooking process through the transparent glass.

The lid is equipped with a comfortable bakelite-coated handle, the design of which ensures a stable vertical position when removed.

Due to the tightness of the lid, food retains its fresh appearance and taste longer.

Wok frying pan: reviews

Not everyone uses a Wok frying pan after purchasing it, since not everyone has the habit of cooking large quantities of food. And those who use it cannot get enough of the functionality of this cookware.

Olga, 34 years old:

The frying pan is a large container, somewhat similar to a cauldron. The food in it heats up more, especially in the central part. Thanks to Wok, dishes turn out tasty, juicy and lower in calories. She replaced three pans. It is in this dish that I now fry potatoes, cook pilaf and stew zrazy. The only negative is that it is large and requires a lot of storage space.

Lyudmila, 54 years old:

I bought Wok Rondell five months ago. It has a thickened bottom and is made of aluminum. This frying pan has many advantages: it has a beautiful appearance, it produces delicious food and there is a lot of it, which is why Wok has not taken root in the kitchen. Gave it to my sister. She can’t get enough of it; she has a large family, so she often experiments with new recipes and prepares “delicacies” for her loved ones. The downside is that it is large and you need to allocate a special place for storing it. And the handles are attached with ordinary aluminum rivets, which over time acquire an unsightly appearance, spoiling the outer shell of the frying pan.

Oleg, 45 years old:

We took a steel frying pan and prepared it for cooking according to the instructions. First, they poured boiling water with soda, then calcined it on the stove. Cooking in such a cookware is a pleasure. Stew with cabbage, meat, Chinese dishes, seafood, pilaf, hominy, pumpkin porridge, omelette with bacon, etc. are very tasty. After cooking, there is no need to leave anything in the frying pan; it should be washed and wiped dry immediately.

Reviews - Wok frying pan
Now, when choosing a Wok frying pan for your “arsenal”, it will not be difficult for you to choose the right one. After all, you know what your nutritional preferences are and what you will cook first. Thanks to the Wok, you can feel like an experienced chef in a fashionable restaurant.

Characteristics

Cooking food in a wok casserole speeds up significantly, and you don’t have to worry about the dish burning. The non-stick coating is responsible for this. In the “Power of Granite” cauldron model, this is a Granitex ceramic coating with granite chips and diamond coating, which ensure strength and non-stick properties of the inside. The secret of high-speed cooking in this pan lies in a unique vacuum lid, the mechanism of which allows it to fit tightly to the surface of the pan, increasing the pressure inside.

Granitex ceramic coating with granite chips and diamond coating ensures strength and non-stick properties on the inside.

A cauldron-wok is a modern universal frying pan that easily replaces saucepans, frying pans, a marinator and even a pressure cooker. The design features of this cookware allow you to realize a wide variety of culinary ideas, and the presence of a convenient vacuum lid significantly reduces cooking time. In addition, it is suitable for all types of stoves and is easy to clean both by hand and in the dishwasher.

A cauldron-wok can replace several types of frying pans and pots in the kitchen.

A cauldron-wok can replace several types of frying pans and pots in the kitchen, and the speed of preparation and taste of dishes cooked in it can make it the favorite kitchen utensil of any modern housewife!

Wall Density

This indicator affects the degree of simmering of products. When the walls are thick, then languishing occurs in the right way. It is better not to buy products with thin walls of suspicious quality: firstly, it will be difficult to achieve the desired taste, and secondly, the use of such utensils is unsafe.

Standard wall thickness is 4–5 mm. This indicator shows how well the cookware maintains temperature. Sometimes there are models with thicker walls, but it’s better not to take anything smaller.

Food in thick-walled dishes heats up more evenly and stays warm longer.

When purchasing cookware, make sure that there are no chips or any irregularities on the inner surface of the walls.

Proper care and storage of the cauldron

Don't look at the fact that these utensils look solid and rough. Although this is a bulky dish, it needs to be treated with care and maintenance. If you properly care for the pot, it will serve for a long time and delight you with delicious dishes, because over time the taste of food only gets better.

After cooking, a lot of fat remains inside. It is better to get rid of it without the help of dishwashing detergents. Detergents remove the protective lash that serves as the non-stick coating. If food is stuck or burnt, soak the container for a while. Then scrub with a brush, rinse with water and dry with a towel.