Woks

A wok can be made from stainless steel, aluminium, iron or copper. It has a handle on each side. The best woks have heavy features to maintain and evenly distribute the heat. There are different sizes of wok cooker for different recipes.

Stir Frying with a Wok

This is the most classic wok cooking method. The cooking technique of stirring gives a smoky taste to the food. If you are cooking everything at the same time, the food to be cooked should be in equal sized pieces so it cooks evenly. This applies whether you use a big wok or a small wok. You can even get a wok on wheels if you want to entertain in style!

Deep Frying with a Wok

There needs to be plenty of oil in the wok if you want to deep fry with it. You should use a medium high heat. A wok can maintain this heat. When deep frying food in a wok, you just need to cook it until it goes golden brown and a wire strainer is handy for removing the cooked food and it removes excess oil too. Alternatively, you can put a paper towel on a plate and drain the excess oil off on that.

Steaming Food with a Wok

A lot of people use bamboo steamers if they are steaming with a wok. The lid needs to be closed tightly to trap the steam. The bamboo steamer goes into the wok you add some water to the wok. The water needs to be a centimetre below the steamer. The water needs to boil over a high heat. Different foods take different amounts of time to steam.

When the food is ready, you can remove the steamer from the wok and serve the food.

You can also use a wire steamer if you like when steaming with a wok. This works well for braising and smoking food. For this type of steaming, you need to put a rack inside the wok and add about 5 cm of water underneath the rack. Don’t let the water touch the rack. Arrange the food on to a heatproof plate and put this plate on the rack. Cover the wok and keep the heat at medium or as the recipe tells you.

The main advantage of a wok is its curved shape, which means you can shallow fry even large foods. Spices can be deep fried, even in a tiny bit of oil. You can use woks over gas or electric. Woks respond well to temperature changes. If you have a flat, round electric hob, buy a wok with a flat, round base.