Stainless Steel Wok?

[Feral Cement]

The Commodore desires a SS wok with a flat bottom to do double duty as a frying pan. I have not seen one in SS that fits the bill. Any suggestions? Thanks!

John

[Jim Cate]

One of the things about a traditional thin steel wok is that they have rapid response to changes in the flame size, and Chinese cooking takes advantage of that property.

Stainless, while nice looking, has very poor thermal conductivity, and this renders it a poor choice for making a wok IMO. This fact may be why you are having a hard time finding one.

Cheers,

Jim

[arisatx]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

One of the things about a traditional thin steel wok is that they have rapid response to changes in the flame size, and Chinese cooking takes advantage of that property.

Stainless, while nice looking, has very poor thermal conductivity, and this renders it a poor choice for making a wok IMO. This fact may be why you are having a hard time finding one.

Cheers,

Jim

I agree with Jim. You want the steel wok to blacken to get its non-stick properties.

[Feral Cement]

I agree with your comments on why real Chinese woks are carbon steel. We have one that is well-worn but too big for the boat AND I suspect it will rust away in the salt air - everything else does (except stainless).

[ohdrinkboy]

I have one that I got as a "gift" from my grocery chain. Looks pretty, but doesn't cook well.

[zeehag]

i have a nice biiiig one didnt fit on my 3 burner stove, does fit on my 2 burner stove--go figger--and veggies and rice here are cheap .. pan is only a little rusty.

[Slowpoke13]

Look up "The Wok Shop" in SF. I picked up my 10" wok there, used a friend's oven to properly season it (Crisco works wonderfully). As long as it stays properly seasoned and cleaned/dried - you won't get rust. Mine has been on the boat for about 6 weeks and was heavily used in a beach house with no rusting issues.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Feral Cement

The Commodore desires a SS wok with a flat bottom to do double duty as a frying pan. I have not seen one in SS that fits the bill. Any suggestions? Thanks!

John

Don't bother. I have a large stainless wok, everything sticks to it, doesn't cook well and is a PITA to clean. My steel wok gets a good workout and is great to cook with and clean. If you were in Sydney I would give you the ss one.

[Hud3]

Ditto on the carbon steel wok. I seasoned mine with peanut oil. After using it, just rinse in hot water, scrubbing with a 3M pad, dry and wipe with peanut oil on a wadded up paper towel. No sticking, no rust.

[tamicatana]

re: sticking to stainless… you have to season stainless in similar fashion to mild steel. But since you're doing that seasoning anyway, might as well go mild.

[ChamJam]

I have a cast iron wok. Its a little heavy, but once it warms up it cooks fast and is easy to clean. Can use on beach fire, just use some sand to clean up and rinse with water.

[zeehag]

i do not use stainless steel as it is not adequate fro uniform heating. it only spot heats. i will use steel, as it heats a bit better. cast iron rocks, so does heavy aluminum with GOOD nonstick coating . cheap ones are replaceable annually or every two years max.