Garry used to live with someone who is a cook and a baker, and I was inspired by this traditional carbon steel wok I saw hanging from her rack of pots and pans. My family had only ever used nonstick woks, and I was in need of a really good one after a bad experience with a cheap IKEA wok that kept flaking bits of nonstick coating into my food.
I was in Walmart the other day and came across this carbon steel wok for about $16. I thought, what a steal! Haha, no pun intended. I glanced over the seasoning instructions and they looked simple enough. I gave it a chance.
I took it home and the shiny smoothness of it made me happy. I was excited to get started with the seasoning. Here's how I did it:1. Fill wok about 2/3 with water. Set on the stove and boil for about 10 min.
2. Drain wok and scrub with scouring pad and hot, soapy water to remove protective coating.
3. Immediately season. Use 1-2T cooking oil and place over medium heat on the stove, using a paper towel to distribute oil evenly on wok's interior surface.
4. Tilt wok occasionally to heat sides as well as bottom of the wok. (This is where I screwed up. I tilted the wok to one side and then went to eat some dinner. When I got back to the wok, I had burned an ugly brown area onto one side of the wok and spent the next half hour or so scrubbing it desperately to get the burned stuff off. It never did completely come off.)
5. After 10 min, take off heat and let cool.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 about three or four times. (Yes, very time consuming. Who knew this was so much work!)
7. Wok is ready for use!
8. After initial seasoning, DO NOT wash wok with soap. Just use hot water and a scrubber. Coat wok with oil before storage to prevent rusting. If rusting occurs, scrub off with hot soapy water and repeat steps for initial seasoning (which, considering how much work it was to begin with, should deter anyone from being so careless as to let their wok rust up). I'm excited for the yummy stir-fries I will be making with my new wok!
2. Drain wok and scrub with scouring pad and hot, soapy water to remove protective coating.
3. Immediately season. Use 1-2T cooking oil and place over medium heat on the stove, using a paper towel to distribute oil evenly on wok's interior surface.
4. Tilt wok occasionally to heat sides as well as bottom of the wok. (This is where I screwed up. I tilted the wok to one side and then went to eat some dinner. When I got back to the wok, I had burned an ugly brown area onto one side of the wok and spent the next half hour or so scrubbing it desperately to get the burned stuff off. It never did completely come off.)
5. After 10 min, take off heat and let cool.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 about three or four times. (Yes, very time consuming. Who knew this was so much work!)
7. Wok is ready for use!
8. After initial seasoning, DO NOT wash wok with soap. Just use hot water and a scrubber. Coat wok with oil before storage to prevent rusting. If rusting occurs, scrub off with hot soapy water and repeat steps for initial seasoning (which, considering how much work it was to begin with, should deter anyone from being so careless as to let their wok rust up). I'm excited for the yummy stir-fries I will be making with my new wok!
