WOK on the Wild Side

[ORChick]

Anybody here use a wok? I love mine, and think it is a great frugal kitchen tool. The shape means that you can fry or saute using much less oil than when using a flat pan. Great, of course, for fried rice or noodles, but also good for browning meat for stew, or stir frying veggies.
I made some Indonesian fried rice (nasi goreng) this evening (the steak and kidney pie has been moved over to tomorrow, so that my brother can share ). I love Indonesian food; never been to Indonesia, but to the next best place - Holland! Indonesian food is great for those who aren't sure about spicy hot things; the food itself is usually quite mild; it is the sauces and condiments that add the spice. And, if you like little dishes of things to add to whatever you are eating, this is even better (or at least as good as) Korean food!
Anyway, back to the question: Do you have a wok? Do you use it? Do you use it even when not cooking something Asian?

 

[moxies_chickennuggets]

Hi orchick! Yes, I have had my wok since 1982, bought it at the Navy Exchange in GTMO Cuba. I love it. Of course, I had to learn how to use it. Being a midwestern girl, we only ever had meat and potatoes. Never had oriental foods till I married a Navy man.

Anyway, finding the right cooking oil was trial and error. I found that corn oil has too low a flash point for the high heat a wok requires. I ended up using safflower oil for a long time. My 3 kids grew up on stir fry..and many other ethnic foods. When the kids got older, I ended up using/needing 2 woks to feed them. One for the stirefry, the other full of fried rice.

Now, I have a glass top stove. I can't use my wox on it, but I can use it on the 1 burner propane cooker outside. I still get in some wok time, but as now it is just myself and my new DH, I don't get to use it as much.

 

[~gd]

Hi orchick! Yes, I have had my wok since 1982, bought it at the Navy Exchange in GTMO Cuba. I love it. Of course, I had to learn how to use it. Being a midwestern girl, we only ever had meat and potatoes. Never had oriental foods till I married a Navy man.

Anyway, finding the right cooking oil was trial and error. I found that corn oil has too low a flash point for the high heat a wok requires. I ended up using safflower oil for a long time. My 3 kids grew up on stir fry..and many other ethnic foods. When the kids got older, I ended up using/needing 2 woks to feed them. One for the stirefry, the other full of fried rice.

Now, I have a glass top stove. I can't use my wox on it, but I can use it on the 1 burner propane cooker outside. I still get in some wok time, but as now it is just myself and my new DH, I don't get to use it as much.

Ditto on the glass top stove/wok deal I use mine on a outside burner make for a deep fryer [deep fried turkey- big fish fries] Well three when I stop to think about it. 12 inch used on one of those charcoal jobs with the removal cast iron grill which were popular a long while ago, 15-16"?, and the big Mama 21 inches across the top! you can feed a crowd off that thing! Oops I forgot the most stupid purchase I ever made, a cast iron wok. by the time you have that thing hot you could have finished eating off a steel wok. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

 

[Joel_BC]

I use mine on a outside burner make for a deep fryer [deep fried turkey- big fish fries] Well three when I stop to think about it. 12 inch used on one of those charcoal jobs with the removal cast iron grill which were popular a long while ago, 15-16"?, and the big Mama 21 inches across the top! you can feed a crowd off that thing! Oops I forgot the most stupid purchase I ever made, a cast iron wok. by the time you have that thing hot you could have finished eating off a steel wok. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

I don't cook with a wok, but I understand the problem. That cast-iron wok seems like a good candidate for re-purposing. Not sure to what purpose... but something. Got any ideas?

 

[~gd]

I have it hanging as the center of my cast iron cookware display. It could be used over a campfire of course. Since it is a rare item I am hoping to sell it under the "bigger fool rule" It looks great but is unmarked. Packaging said made in China. If someone gets excited and doesn't stop to think I may make a buck or two on the deal.

 

[ORChick]

Re: Cast iron wok - it seems like it ought to be a good idea ... but then I remember that my wrists aren't as strong as they used to be, so large pieces of cast iron are problematic. My wok is steel.

Re: Glass top stoves - I have one too (came with the house). I also have a metal ring that supports the wok over the heat source. It isn't ideal, and maybe doesn't get quite as hot as would be best, but it works. It probably also isn't recommended for glass top stoves .... but neither is cast iron, and I won't stop using that either .

 

[moxies_chickennuggets]

I use my Griswold cast iron in the oven only. It makes super cornbread. I also have one of those corn cob muffin pans.

As for the wok, DH is allergic to garlic, soy sauce and lots of other things asian. So, until I come up with alternative recipes, I just cook other things....sans wok. Mine is steel also.

I am not sure the glass top stove would even get hot enough to use the wok and cook successfully. As high heat as it needs, it might damage the stove top.

 

[ORChick]

I don't know, maybe I have a different glass stove top from the usual. Or maybe I just don't treat it as nicely . It gets hot enough for my purposes. Also, I have heard that it is hard to regulate the temperature when canning, but so far I haven't had any problem. I have a Presto canner (which is supposedly OK on such stoves), and it gets up to heat, and holds its heat quite well for me. I don't like the stove top; I'd much rather have gas. But the gas lines weren't brought out this far, and I don't really have a spot to park a propane tank. This thing is functional, and so will do for the time being, but I don't coddle it. I use my wok (with a ring), and my cast iron, and my canner. (No doubt the previous owner of the house would be horrified. The stove top was the only thing, when we were inspecting the house, that she specifically talked about, and showed me how to clean properly, etc. She was very proud of it)

 

[moxies_chickennuggets]

Seems everyone is so impressed with a glass top stove. That was the last thing I wanted. bu we needed a stove and the price was too good to pass up. It was also clean and came from the same place we got the side by side fridge. So, I'll work with it.

I am glad yours is working out ok for you orchick.

 

[Denim Deb]

I have a glass top, and they never told me I couldn't use cast iron or can on it.