Wok this Way! (Part 3 of 5) Seasoning Your New Wok

Seasoning is the most important thing you can do to your wok. Only carbon steel and iron woks need to be seasoned. The purpose of seasoning is to remove the manufacturer's protective coating and coat it with a thin layer of oil. This creates a smooth cooking surface which enables food to shift and glide easily, thus preventing your food from sticking, discoloring, and picking up a metallic taste.

The initial step is to scrub it thoroughly. Take a steel wool scouring pad and scrub both the inside and outside of the wok with soap. This will remove the anti-rust coating that comes with most woks. If your new wok comes with some rust spots, don't worry. It is completely normal for unseasoned woks to develop some minor rust. Just make sure that you scrub out the rust before you move on. Rinse it thoroughly with hot water. Then, to make sure that you remove all the coating, set the wok on the stove, fill it with water, and boil it for 5 to 10 minutes to dissolve the remaining coating. Pour out the water and scrub the surface again with steel wool scouring pad and soap. New woks may cause a slight metallic taste to the first two or three dishes that are cooked in it, but after that, the metallic taste will disappear.

Reminder: the steel wool scouring pad is only to be used in this initial step prior to seasoning your new wok. Do NOT use a steel wool scouring pad on a seasoned wok, EVER! It will waste all the effort you put forth in seasoning your wok, and will require you to re-season it again.

Next, place the wok on the stove over high heat. You're ready for the next step when you sprinkle a few drops of water into the wok and they start to dance around the bottom. Then, roll up a few sheets of paper towel, or use a piece of cloth, and dip it in cooking oil. Peanut oil or corn oil are preferred because of their high smoking point, thus minimizing smoke fumes when you are seasoning the wok.. Naturally, turning on your stove top vent will help reduce the fumes, too. Using a pair of long wooden chopsticks, or tongs, wipe the soaked paper towel over the entire inner surface of the wok. Reduce the heat down to low, and let the wok sit for 15 minutes. This allows the wok to absorb the oil. If the surface begins to dry off, then wipe the wok again with the soaked paper towel. You want the wok to obtain a thin film of oil when it's seasoned. The bottom of the wok should be slightly brown. Repeat the above steps two more time, and the bottom should darken even more. Over time, the entire wok will turn black (that's good). Now the wok is ready to go.

But we're not nearly done. Ever wonder why Chinese restaurant dishes produce that mouth-watering aroma when they are served on your table? And ever wonder why you can't quite match that flagrant flavor when you try to cook Chinese food at home? They come from cooking food on an almost impervious shiny black coating in a well-seasoned wok. That black coating is called "patina", which is essentially harmless carbon residue from cooking in a wok repeatedly on high heat. A well-seasoned wok cooking at a high heat will impart what Chinese chefs lovingly call "wok hay". Its literal translation is "breath of wok". Wok hay is so revered in Chinese culinary tradition that in China , especially in the Canton region (south), when a customer is served stir fry dish without wok hay, it is considered an insult or bad luck.

It takes time, care, and regular use before a wok develops a patina. There are no shortcuts. But having patina on your wok is still not enough produce wok hay on your dishes. It is imperative that you heat the wok on high heat to the point where you see some faint smoke coming from the bottom before you add cold cooking oil. The cold cooking oil cools down the wok slightly, and makes the food taste tenderer once it's done. If the wok is not hot enough, or cold (gasp!) when you pour in the cooking oil, the ingredients will stick to the wok (even with the patina) and inevitably burn, also leaving the ingredients raw inside. Not to mention you lose that coveted "wok hay".

In Part 4, we will talk about cleaning and caring for you wok.

Helen Fan grew up in a family that has owned various Asian restaurants all over North America, from Vancouver (Canada), Houston (Texas), Decatur (Illinois), to Chicago (Illinois). She, and the rest of the Fan family are now sharing their decades of knowledge on the art of Chinese cuisine at http://www.ChineseHomeCooking.Com

You can read more of our articles at http://www.ChineseHomeCooking.Com/r esources/resources.htm

---

Powered by Feedzilla

Contact Us Today For Ad Information...

Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Cheap Domain Names

Cool Summertime Cooking

Summertime--and the living is easy! But the kitchen is hot!!... Read More

How to Bake: How Long Should My Bread Rise?

It depends. The best way to tell if the dough... Read More

Weber Grills Reviewed: Quality that Lasts

Barbecuing has long been a favorite pastime for many and... Read More

Grilling Tips ? Safety Comes First at the Barbecue

You're standing at the gas grill in the hot sun,... Read More

Clarifying Butter

Clarified butter is a delightfully rich concentrated butter that can... Read More

Make It With Mint

It wouldn't be summer without fresh mint in pots on... Read More

Ten Steps to Perfect Pasta

I'm amazed at how often I get e-mail from a... Read More

Is Your Cookware Poisoning You?

For over 40 years scientists have known that the fumes... Read More

The Joys of Refrigerator Cookies

Baking cookies seem to fill the house with a sense... Read More

Chinese Cooking Technique: Deep Fry

There are usually 2 ways of deep frying in Chinese... Read More

Modifying Your Recipes, More or Less

You just found that great recipe that you have been... Read More

About Baking: Eight Tips for Perfect Pancakes

Pancakes are easy and almost foolproof. But there are some... Read More

How to Bake: Muffins (with recipes)

Muffins are a mainstay around our house. They are as... Read More

The Noble Crescent Roll - How to Roll a Masterpiece

Ahhh?the noble crescent roll. In some forms it has its... Read More

Grill Your Corn for Maximum Flavor

There's two basic theories on grilling corn. Some people prefer... Read More

The Almighty Beer-Can Chicken

A popular method of cooking chicken in recent years both... Read More

Food Poisoning--An Overview

What is Food Poisoning?Food poisoning results when you eat food... Read More

Low-Budget Meals In a Minute

Ever go home and look in the fridge only to... Read More

Fruit Cake

Are you the fruit cake in your family? Before you... Read More

Secrets of Great Breads

Often we field questions about making great bread. Great bread... Read More

What is a Serving Size?

Have you ever wondered how much a serving really is.... Read More

Wok this Way! (Part 3 of 5) Seasoning Your New Wok

Seasoning is the most important thing you can do to... Read More

The Barbecue Pit

The barbecue pit has been around since 1920,s and it... Read More

Vegetarian Cooking - Three Basics

For any of the many reasons people choose to eat... Read More

Make-up or Mixing Methods for Muffins

When muffins aren't perfect, the first reaction is to change... Read More