Wok recommendation

what type of burner do you use?

If you have a gas burner that can accommodate it, I'd go for a round bottom style. No need to get fancy - I got my two at Cash n Carry (or whatever it's called now) and they've served me very well for years.
 
I have a large cast iron wok and I wouldn't really recommend it. It's way too heavy! Someday I'll replace it with a carbon steel wok with a handle.
 
Zak said:
I have a large cast iron wok and I wouldn't really recommend it. It's way too heavy! Someday I'll replace it with a carbon steel wok with a handle.
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I love cast iron, and I love woks. Never did consider combining the two, though.
 
Round bottom woks are best IMHO.
No need for spending a lot, just get one with a good long handle, carbon steel, and may as well get a big one...
The high heat you cook with in a wok means you often need to keep things moving, having the bigger size means less clean up on the stove top.
Of this I am sure...
:)
 
After 10 years of trying to develop a "savory protective seasoning" on a carbon steel wok I finally quit using it altogether because it was never non stick despite my seasoning attempts. But I still like making fried rice in a wok so I went non traditional and bought a non stick wok. What a joy it has been to cook with after the horrors of the carbon steel. I use it exclusively on a Iwatani butane burner which gets very hot and cooks quickly. Cook, wipe it out and put it away, no more scraping a crust off of the bottom.

Yes, I know carbon steel can made non-stick but no amount of instruction or YouTube videos has ever worked for me so the Goodwill will be the next stop for it.
 
So, married to a wok expert (she's Chinese). A few things, no surprises:

HIGH heat is what a wok is about.
Food shouldn't be sitting at the bottom for more than a couple seconds.
Put the oil in when the wok is fully heated, so that it dances in the wok.
Constant movement is the key. Veggies should be cooked in less than a minute, or you're doing it wrong. Fried rice just a tiny bit longer, if you want the rice to stay moist (I disliked fried rice until I moved to China and discovered what fried rice REALLY tastes like). Basically, oil in the wok, veggies in for a half minute or less, rice in long enough to get it hot, then onto the plate. Traditionally, fried rice is a "leftovers" meal, so usually any meat added is usually cooked and leftover from the night before, as with some veggies.
A bit of seasoning does build up on the woks my wife and my mother-in-law use, but not nearly to the extent of a cast iron skillet. Food is on and off the wok too soon to build up a good base. So if you're trying to build up seasoning on a wok, you may not want to.
 
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