I still get messages from people who worry that they need a 'proper' wok before they can cook Chinese/Asian food. The truth is that although traditional steel woks are great, you don't need one to cook amazing Chinese food and actually in some situations it can make it more difficult. I made this video to help people make a better choice for them and to dispel a few myths about Chinese/Asian cooking. Let me know your thoughts. Hope you enjoy the video :)
I'm glad I watched this before I bought my new wok. I would have bought the steel, not thinking about the fact that gas is better for the steel. I have a 21 inch steel that I made from a disk blade and used horse shoes for the handle but it's too big to use on the stovetop. Again, thanks for sharing the wisdom.
Hi Jimmy, I'm glad the video helped. I always think you can make great food with pretty much any pan you have in your cupboard if yo use it in the right way. I'm fascinated by your homemade wok - that sounds like it would be great for a professional gas burner with the high volume gas jets! :)
We went carbon steel with our wok a few years ago and it's been absolute heaven to cook in. We just treat it like you say- essentially as cast iron- and it works a treat... especially on the gas stove. Thanks for the excellent, comprehensive breakdown Michael. Really nicely explained!
Definitely love my steel wok too. But at the same time I don't want people who don't have one or are worried about getting one to feel that they can't cook Chinese/Asian food without one. Thanks again for your feedback. It's much appreciated 🙏🙏🙏
@@ChowWithLau I totally agree with that, and your feeling on the tools generally. I hate tool exclusivity, or people feeling intimidated by not having the right thing on hand. So many ingredients, tools and methods are interchangeable, that while it might affect the end result, it won't necessarily make for bad food... and all the more, it encourages you to go and get cooking, which is really what it's all about.
@@RhubarbAndCod Exactly my thinking too! There’s always more than one way to cook a recipe and tool snobbery generates such negative energy. One of the nicest things that someone has told me is that they daren’t cook Chinese food before they saw my recipes and now they love creating their own recipes. That’s what it’s all about 😊
Here in Malaysia, the Steel Wok, traditionally seasoned, has become the default cooking tool for hawkers of all the races here. Chinese, Malays and Indians. Go to any hawker stall or restaurant of any Asian cuisine here, and you will see them using a wok for cooking almost everything. It just works for them and the only real difference I can see is that the Chinese cooks will be using a large ladle instead of a spatula for cooking. This is to facilitate lading liquids into the wok as required.
Hi Jen! I’m very happy that this has been useful. Honestly you can get great results from both types of woks if you use them right. Thank you so much for watching and for sharing your thoughts ❤️🙏🙏🙏❤️
I’m glad you like it. My purpose is to get as many people cooking as possible and when some say you need a very specific pan to cook ‘correctly’, that can stop people from trying. Thanks for watching and commenting - it is much appreciated 😊
I had non-stick wok pans peel. What did I do wrong? I have an induction ceramic stove top. Last I cooked stir fry with the nonstick wok pan it pans coating flaked into the food and I didn't use any harsh cooking utensils. Idk,? Maybe I had the temperature too high for the wok?
Hi Yvonne, sorry to hear that. Non-stick woks can vary a lot in quality. I’ve had cheap ones fail on me in the past. If you’re not already, buy brands that are well known and trusted. They tend to be a little bit more expensive but they last a lot longer. Hope that helps 😊
Over here in Malaysia, a popular hawker food is the fabulous char kuay teow ie. rice noodles of the flat variety which is stir-fried (together with bean sprouts, soy sauce, chilli sauce, cockles, prawns, lap cheong etc.) quickly in a wok over the intense flame of a high-pressure gas stove (usually of the commercial cooking range) so as to achieve the “wok hei” (Cantonese for “breath of the wok”) which imparts the characteristic aroma to a good char kuay teow. The hawkers only use steel woks.
Malaysia is on my list of travel destinations for sure! The food looks amazing - especially the dish you just described. Yeah if you're going for ultimate wok cooking then a steel wok and jet engine flames are important. What I'm trying to encourage is people who might not have these things to get cooking because you can still get very good results with domestic equipment if you apply good technique. Everyone who loves Asian food should try cooking it. Thank you for reaching out - much appreciated 😊🙏🙏🙏
Hey man. I live in Thailand. I stir-fry every day on both a commercial wok burner or an induction stove. Nobody in my neighborhood uses non-stick, but i think that's going to be the direction i take so i can avoid the maintenance. I know myself and my limitations and i know i would mess up seasoning regularly or get too lazy to wash immediately I'm the only non Thai on my entire street and everybody knows I'm the best cook in the neighborhood no matter the cuisine. Do you think the lack of wok hei from non-stick could be a weak point in my cooking if i go this route?
Hi Richard, thanks for your question. Ultimately it’s a personal preference. For most people who ask me this question I’d be happy to recommend non-stick as it is easier and you can get good results with thought and preparation. However seeing as you already use a wok burner and obviously are an experienced cook, I would say that a carbon steel wok would be perfect for you. Keep in mind that after regular use, the seasoning builds up and the maintenance becomes just a rinse with water and maybe a wipe with a cloth before that when cooking ‘stickier’ dishes. However, like I said before, it’s a totally personal choice. Both would serve you well in slightly different ways. Hope that helps 😊
@@QuranSprouts Interesting question. I hear a lot from Americans who worry about non-stick pans. I honestly don’t know if there is a difference between the chemistry of these things in the Uk and the US but here in Europe we don’t appear to have the same worries. To your point, stir fried benefit from really high heat, however not everyone has the tools to provide this. Electric/induction hobs, non-stick pans are not the best for high temps. However I like to show how you can get good results using non-optimal equipment. For me, the more people who are encouraged to cook the better. I’m not going to throw obstacles in their path. I’d much rather show what can be done. I will research the temperature limits on non-stick cookware though. I’m sure a video will be forthcoming
@ChowWithLau thank you for getting back to me, I'm looking forward to it (if you do indeed make one). I was put off making a stir fry today until I got to your video. I ended up making a stir-fry for the first time in my life 👍👍
I still think your new wok is a good investment. No non stick wok lasts forever, but this steel wok should last you a lifetime. When you work out the long term costs it’ll work out cheaper. And results should be a little better 😊
Before I bought a carbon steel wok I used a nonstick wok to the point to where it looked like i put tablespoons of pepper in the dish without doing so because the teflon melts right off. They are a gimmick you cannot stir-fry at high temperatures with a teflon pan of any sort. lol.
Thanks for your comment, Nelson. What you’ve described has happened to me before but only with cheaper non-stick pans. I’ve used many, many different types of woks, pans and sauce pans in my life, and in my own personal experience there seems to be a big span of quality in non-stick cookware. None of them last forever, some are really, really fragile but some are good quality and can handle stir frying. I’m not saying that they’re as good as carbon steel woks but they can be used to cook decent stir fried food as long as you modify your cooking technique accordingly. Carbon steel woks do it better and last much longer but not everyone wants to do the seasoning and maintenance. I’m trying to get people into stir frying and cooking in general no matter what utensils, energy source, and skill level. Many are put off if they think they have to have ‘special’ equipment and the internet is full of elitist doctrines that state if you haven’t got the right equipment then you might as well not bother. So if I can encourage people to get cooking without feeling intimidated and help them succeed, then they might eventually work their way up to upgrading to that carbon steel wok and levelling up their cooking skills. Thanks again for your comment, Nelson. It does definitely raise the point that not all pans are created equal and it pays to research them before purchasing 👍
@@ChowWithLau yeh, i wanted to try a stainless steel spatula and thats what ended up scratching it. It works. over medium heat with a plastic spatula. because my house has electrical stove unit. so i swapped it out with a butane burner and a carbon steel one so the stainless steel spatula works. which is surprisingly hotter than the side burner on my propane grill for some reason. I have considered a stove top wok burner from amazon. they arent more than about $100.
@@typerightseesight Yeah that’s definitely one of Teflon’s weaknesses - steel implements will scratch them right up. I’m definitely admiring your swapping out your heat sources. It’s interesting how some work better than others. I have a portable induction hob which I use when I want to cook outside and that was a challenge when I first used it as I wanted to toss the wok and of course when it loses contact with the induction plate the heat just vanishes! 🤣 Took me a while to get my technique right for that but it can definitely still work.
but I also, duno if a regular propane tank is whats good for that. Usually those are at least 20lbs from the gas station. I would want something like a 40lb tank restaurants use.
I only know about the U.K. but non-stick is safe for use here. I also know that in the past non-stick was toxic so I understand your concern. If you feel safer using a steel wok then that’s all good. Enjoy your cooking and thanks for your comment 😊
I make a lot of chinese food (big amounts), ive got thiner model of non stick wok and what I do, i stir fry veggies separately to create that stir fry instead of cooking effect and I have gas stove which is a must. All I need are good sauces recipes I am still struggling to find good spicy sauces which I can use with versatile meat and veg combo
@@ChowWithLau I will check and test your recipes since I just discovered your channel, im looking for sechuan takeaway sauce on the internet but it seems it’s a well kept secret lol,unless i find a job in a chinese restaurant I think I would never discover their secret 😂 I’m the biggest fan of chinese and I left fortune to takeaways and restaurants lol
@@Jepse89 I’m glad you found me! I’ve actually got a Szechuan Beef recipe on my channel. Sometimes it’s hard to replicate restaurant/takeaway dishes because they all do it slightly differently. In fact I’ve experienced dishes with the same name but with very different flavours from different establishments. I guess that’s all part of the charm 😊
You missed one big difference. You can not use any non-sick cookware on high heat. One day, maybe NASA or SpaceX or some secret military research will come up with a slick, non-stick cooking-appropriate surface that can handle high heat, but we're not there yet.
I still get messages from people who worry that they need a 'proper' wok before they can cook Chinese/Asian food. The truth is that although traditional steel woks are great, you don't need one to cook amazing Chinese food and actually in some situations it can make it more difficult. I made this video to help people make a better choice for them and to dispel a few myths about Chinese/Asian cooking. Let me know your thoughts.
Hope you enjoy the video :)
Great advice, well explained.......thank you 🙏❤🙏
@@farukuddin1504 You’re welcome! I’m glad you found the video useful 🫶
I'm glad I watched this before I bought my new wok. I would have bought the steel, not thinking about the fact that gas is better for the steel. I have a 21 inch steel that I made from a disk blade and used horse shoes for the handle but it's too big to use on the stovetop. Again, thanks for sharing the wisdom.
Hi Jimmy, I'm glad the video helped. I always think you can make great food with pretty much any pan you have in your cupboard if yo use it in the right way. I'm fascinated by your homemade wok - that sounds like it would be great for a professional gas burner with the high volume gas jets! :)
This is a very helpful video!! I am just starting to use a wok.Mine is non-stick.I'm grateful for this video.Love from Vermont
I’m very happy this has been useful to you, Rebekah. Happy wokking! 😊❤️
We went carbon steel with our wok a few years ago and it's been absolute heaven to cook in. We just treat it like you say- essentially as cast iron- and it works a treat... especially on the gas stove. Thanks for the excellent, comprehensive breakdown Michael. Really nicely explained!
Definitely love my steel wok too. But at the same time I don't want people who don't have one or are worried about getting one to feel that they can't cook Chinese/Asian food without one.
Thanks again for your feedback. It's much appreciated 🙏🙏🙏
@@ChowWithLau I totally agree with that, and your feeling on the tools generally. I hate tool exclusivity, or people feeling intimidated by not having the right thing on hand. So many ingredients, tools and methods are interchangeable, that while it might affect the end result, it won't necessarily make for bad food... and all the more, it encourages you to go and get cooking, which is really what it's all about.
@@RhubarbAndCod Exactly my thinking too! There’s always more than one way to cook a recipe and tool snobbery generates such negative energy.
One of the nicest things that someone has told me is that they daren’t cook Chinese food before they saw my recipes and now they love creating their own recipes. That’s what it’s all about 😊
Here in Malaysia, the Steel Wok, traditionally seasoned, has become the default cooking tool for hawkers of all the races here. Chinese, Malays and Indians. Go to any hawker stall or restaurant of any Asian cuisine here, and you will see them using a wok for cooking almost everything. It just works for them and the only real difference I can see is that the Chinese cooks will be using a large ladle instead of a spatula for cooking. This is to facilitate lading liquids into the wok as required.
Yes, the wok is the tool of choice for the far east and south east Asia. It’s a wonderfully versatile type of pan 😊
Exactly what I needed, perfect! Thank you
You’re welcome! Glad it helped and thanks for your feedback 😊🙏🙏🙏
Thank you thank you thank you! This was very helpful to me as a beginner!
Hi Jen! I’m very happy that this has been useful. Honestly you can get great results from both types of woks if you use them right.
Thank you so much for watching and for sharing your thoughts ❤️🙏🙏🙏❤️
Finally an excellent and informative video that doesn't shove carbon steel or cast iron woks down the viewer's throats.
I’m glad you like it. My purpose is to get as many people cooking as possible and when some say you need a very specific pan to cook ‘correctly’, that can stop people from trying.
Thanks for watching and commenting - it is much appreciated 😊
I had non-stick wok pans peel.
What did I do wrong? I have an induction ceramic stove top. Last I cooked stir fry with the nonstick wok pan it pans coating flaked into the food and I didn't use any harsh cooking utensils. Idk,? Maybe I had the temperature too high for the wok?
Hi Yvonne, sorry to hear that.
Non-stick woks can vary a lot in quality. I’ve had cheap ones fail on me in the past.
If you’re not already, buy brands that are well known and trusted. They tend to be a little bit more expensive but they last a lot longer.
Hope that helps 😊
Oh! Good, I bought the right Wok for my needs.... last night I broke my Wok in with Chinese Lettuce Wraps.... Pan worked Great.
Nice one! Happy wokking! 😊🫶
Over here in Malaysia, a popular hawker food is the fabulous char kuay teow ie. rice noodles of the flat variety which is stir-fried (together with bean sprouts, soy sauce, chilli sauce, cockles, prawns, lap cheong etc.) quickly in a wok over the intense flame of a high-pressure gas stove (usually of the commercial cooking range) so as to achieve the “wok hei” (Cantonese for “breath of the wok”) which imparts the characteristic aroma to a good char kuay teow. The hawkers only use steel woks.
Malaysia is on my list of travel destinations for sure! The food looks amazing - especially the dish you just described. Yeah if you're going for ultimate wok cooking then a steel wok and jet engine flames are important. What I'm trying to encourage is people who might not have these things to get cooking because you can still get very good results with domestic equipment if you apply good technique. Everyone who loves Asian food should try cooking it. Thank you for reaching out - much appreciated 😊🙏🙏🙏
thanks for the advice brother
You’re welcome! Hope it helps 😊🫶
Hey man. I live in Thailand. I stir-fry every day on both a commercial wok burner or an induction stove. Nobody in my neighborhood uses non-stick, but i think that's going to be the direction i take so i can avoid the maintenance. I know myself and my limitations and i know i would mess up seasoning regularly or get too lazy to wash immediately I'm the only non Thai on my entire street and everybody knows I'm the best cook in the neighborhood no matter the cuisine. Do you think the lack of wok hei from non-stick could be a weak point in my cooking if i go this route?
Hi Richard, thanks for your question. Ultimately it’s a personal preference. For most people who ask me this question I’d be happy to recommend non-stick as it is easier and you can get good results with thought and preparation.
However seeing as you already use a wok burner and obviously are an experienced cook, I would say that a carbon steel wok would be perfect for you. Keep in mind that after regular use, the seasoning builds up and the maintenance becomes just a rinse with water and maybe a wipe with a cloth before that when cooking ‘stickier’ dishes.
However, like I said before, it’s a totally personal choice. Both would serve you well in slightly different ways.
Hope that helps 😊
I started cooking on the steel wok since I was 14 or so. No need to "upgrade" to a steel wok.
Good for you 😊
Stir frys need high heat. How high can you put the heat on nonstick woks before they leech poison into our food?
@@QuranSprouts Interesting question. I hear a lot from Americans who worry about non-stick pans. I honestly don’t know if there is a difference between the chemistry of these things in the Uk and the US but here in Europe we don’t appear to have the same worries.
To your point, stir fried benefit from really high heat, however not everyone has the tools to provide this. Electric/induction hobs, non-stick pans are not the best for high temps. However I like to show how you can get good results using non-optimal equipment. For me, the more people who are encouraged to cook the better. I’m not going to throw obstacles in their path. I’d much rather show what can be done.
I will research the temperature limits on non-stick cookware though.
I’m sure a video will be forthcoming
@ChowWithLau thank you for getting back to me, I'm looking forward to it (if you do indeed make one).
I was put off making a stir fry today until I got to your video. I ended up making a stir-fry for the first time in my life 👍👍
@ You’re welcome buddy!
I get a lot of comments about non-stick so it’s definitely worth a video.
Give me a little time to do the research 😊
@@QuranSprouts And well done on the stir fry. Hope it went well 👍👏👌
Wish I'd seen this video before I went and bought my new wok 😪 Ah well, y'live and learn
I still think your new wok is a good investment. No non stick wok lasts forever, but this steel wok should last you a lifetime. When you work out the long term costs it’ll work out cheaper. And results should be a little better 😊
Before I bought a carbon steel wok I used a nonstick wok to the point to where it looked like i put tablespoons of pepper in the dish without doing so because the teflon melts right off. They are a gimmick you cannot stir-fry at high temperatures with a teflon pan of any sort. lol.
Thanks for your comment, Nelson. What you’ve described has happened to me before but only with cheaper non-stick pans. I’ve used many, many different types of woks, pans and sauce pans in my life, and in my own personal experience there seems to be a big span of quality in non-stick cookware. None of them last forever, some are really, really fragile but some are good quality and can handle stir frying. I’m not saying that they’re as good as carbon steel woks but they can be used to cook decent stir fried food as long as you modify your cooking technique accordingly. Carbon steel woks do it better and last much longer but not everyone wants to do the seasoning and maintenance.
I’m trying to get people into stir frying and cooking in general no matter what utensils, energy source, and skill level. Many are put off if they think they have to have ‘special’ equipment and the internet is full of elitist doctrines that state if you haven’t got the right equipment then you might as well not bother. So if I can encourage people to get cooking without feeling intimidated and help them succeed, then they might eventually work their way up to upgrading to that carbon steel wok and levelling up their cooking skills.
Thanks again for your comment, Nelson. It does definitely raise the point that not all pans are created equal and it pays to research them before purchasing 👍
@@ChowWithLau yeh, i wanted to try a stainless steel spatula and thats what ended up scratching it. It works. over medium heat with a plastic spatula. because my house has electrical stove unit. so i swapped it out with a butane burner and a carbon steel one so the stainless steel spatula works. which is surprisingly hotter than the side burner on my propane grill for some reason. I have considered a stove top wok burner from amazon. they arent more than about $100.
@@typerightseesight Yeah that’s definitely one of Teflon’s weaknesses - steel implements will scratch them right up.
I’m definitely admiring your swapping out your heat sources. It’s interesting how some work better than others. I have a portable induction hob which I use when I want to cook outside and that was a challenge when I first used it as I wanted to toss the wok and of course when it loses contact with the induction plate the heat just vanishes! 🤣 Took me a while to get my technique right for that but it can definitely still work.
but I also, duno if a regular propane tank is whats good for that. Usually those are at least 20lbs from the gas station. I would want something like a 40lb tank restaurants use.
@@typerightseesight I’m no expert in these tanks, but doesn’t a lot depend on the type of burner you use?
But non stick wok is not really healthy with all the nonstick chemicals burning I think even without gas’s stove steel wok is healthier
I only know about the U.K. but non-stick is safe for use here. I also know that in the past non-stick was toxic so I understand your concern.
If you feel safer using a steel wok then that’s all good. Enjoy your cooking and thanks for your comment 😊
I make a lot of chinese food (big amounts), ive got thiner model of non stick wok and what I do, i stir fry veggies separately to create that stir fry instead of cooking effect and I have gas stove which is a must.
All I need are good sauces recipes I am still struggling to find good spicy sauces which I can use with versatile meat and veg combo
Thanks for your comment! My 2 staple spicy sauces are Jimmy’s Sate sauce and toban djan. I’m going to be researching Korean chilli sauces soon 😊
@@ChowWithLau I will check and test your recipes since I just discovered your channel, im looking for sechuan takeaway sauce on the internet but it seems it’s a well kept secret lol,unless i find a job in a chinese restaurant I think I would never discover their secret 😂 I’m the biggest fan of chinese and I left fortune to takeaways and restaurants lol
@@Jepse89 I’m glad you found me! I’ve actually got a Szechuan Beef recipe on my channel.
Sometimes it’s hard to replicate restaurant/takeaway dishes because they all do it slightly differently. In fact I’ve experienced dishes with the same name but with very different flavours from different establishments. I guess that’s all part of the charm 😊
how do you prevent the coating from peeling off?
@@kevinreyes6778 don’t use brands such as tefal, use procook granite and use plenty of oil and wooden spatula
For your own health - as well as the health of the planet - you shouldn't use any PFOA coated pans (eg Teflon™), so a steel wok every time.
Thanks for that Bob. I use my steel wok for the majority of my cooking. I think there’s a big shift to ceramic now too 😊
💜💜👍👍,....I use a diamond coated wok...on 3kw induction hob or gas...👍👍👍👍 makes lovely fried noodles or rice👍👍never stick
I hadn't heard of diamond coated woks before. I really want to try one now! Thanks :)
You missed one big difference. You can not use any non-sick cookware on high heat. One day, maybe NASA or SpaceX or some secret military research will come up with a slick, non-stick cooking-appropriate surface that can handle high heat, but we're not there yet.
Наконец-то совет из реального мира
@@lubyanko Thank you! 😊🫶❤️