Posted: 8/28/2011 10:22:00 AM EDT
| Electric or stovetop?I have an electric stove with coils |
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Cast Iron is the best but you can't use it on the glass type surfaces of some new stoves. You also don't have the ability to quickly change temp with electric.
Best thing I found was gas grill with side burner. Did 99% of my cooking on grill and wok when I lived in a small apt. Damp wood chips for smoke on the grill MMMMMMMMMMM |
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Electric Woks suck. That pretty much sums it up. Get a real wok, and struggle with the electric burner. It works, sorta, if you turn the ring upside down and let it heat a LONG time before you start. Keep your stove top clean so you can crank the coil all the way up. Don't cook too much food at once. If you cook for two or more people, do the meat first, then the veggies, and then re-warm them together. It still won't be good as gas, but it will work. Electric woks are glorified, mis-shaped, and only good for well... nothing. They do NOTHING well.
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| Carbon steel. I got one brand new at a garage sale, with a little cleaning it was ready to start seasoning. I even use it on a flat top electric range and can get some pretty darn good results. Did I mention Carbon steel? If you know how to work cast iron this should be just another walk in the park. Sort of. |
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Neither. Woks don't work on American stovetops, so you might as well not even bother. America's Test Kitchen did a test with a wok and a skillet on a stovetop, and the skillet got MUCH hotter than the wok. Since high heat is what you need, the skillet works best. I tossed my wok and never looked back. My stir fry turns out better, because the skillet can cook the food at a higher temp and sears better. With a wok, they'll cook more slowly and steam. In order to properly cook with a wok, you need a special burner:  |
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Quoted:
Neither. Woks don't work on American stovetops, so you might as well not even bother. America's Test Kitchen did a test with a wok and a skillet on a stovetop, and the skillet got MUCH hotter than the wok. Since high heat is what you need, the skillet works best. I tossed my wok and never looked back. My stir fry turns out better, because the skillet can cook the food at a higher temp and sears better. With a wok, they'll cook more slowly and steam. In order to properly cook with a wok, you need a special burner: http://www.dtec-catering.co.uk/pixels/pages/wok-cookers/wok-cooker-on-own.jpg Wok station FTMFW 
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Quoted: i have to call bs here. 15-18k burner and you're good to go. i use an 18" wok on my thermadore stove and have no trouble getting to temp and keeping it there. if you have a regular normal house stove w/ 8 k burners, yeah, you may have issues. I don't think most people have a Thermador stove in their kitchen.  |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
i have to call bs here. 15-18k burner and you're good to go. i use an 18" wok on my thermadore stove and have no trouble getting to temp and keeping it there. if you have a regular normal house stove w/ 8 k burners, yeah, you may have issues. I don't think most people have a Thermador stove in their kitchen.
Most newer gas stoves have a "power burner" that's pretty large. I use a 10" Calphalon flat bottom on that burner, and as long as I don't overload it works great. |
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Quoted: Most newer gas stoves have a "power burner" that's pretty large. I use a 10" Calphalon flat bottom on that burner, and as long as I don't overload it works great. I have a power burner as well, and the results out of a skillet are superior to the flat-bottom wok I used. Besides - if you've got a flat bottom, you're basically using a skillet anyway. Again - I consider America's Test Kitchen to be the best source of info since they really research the topic before recommending anything. http://www.cooksillustrated.com/equipment/overview.asp?docid=10345 Though we did finally decide to award our "recommended with reservation" title to one wok, we’d still reach first for a 12-inch nonstick skillet when stir-frying. If you were using a bamboo steamer, for which you need a wok, or cooking a large batch of fried rice, this wok might come in handy. But if you’re sticking to stir-fry, stick to your skillet. Its large, flat bottom is better suited for flat Western stovetops. The reason is simple: The small flat bottom of these kinds of woks are too small, and the sides of the wok won't get hot enough. With a 12" skillet, you can get the whole pan screaming hot. I concurred the very first time I used a skillet instead, and gladly chucked my wok out afterwards. |
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Quoted: Neither. Woks don't work on American stovetops, so you might as well not even bother. America's Test Kitchen did a test with a wok and a skillet on a stovetop, and the skillet got MUCH hotter than the wok. Since high heat is what you need, the skillet works best. I tossed my wok and never looked back. My stir fry turns out better, because the skillet can cook the food at a higher temp and sears better. With a wok, they'll cook more slowly and steam. In order to properly cook with a wok, you need a special burner: http://www.dtec-catering.co.uk/pixels/pages/wok-cookers/wok-cooker-on-own.jpg Charcoal grills can emit the BTUs needed for a wok to work right. You need to buy a wok ring (heheheh) to set on the grill though http://www.amazon.com/MV-TRADING-CO-Wok-Ring/dp/B00012F3X6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315187230&sr=8-1 |