Wok
Deep round-bottomed pan used in Chinese cooking techniques.
A wok is a deep round-bottomed cooking pan of either indigenous Chinese origin or derived from the South Asian karahi. It is common in Greater China, and similar pans are found in parts of East, South and Southeast Asia, as well as being popular in other parts of the world. Woks are used in a range of Chinese cooking techniques, including stir frying, steaming, pan frying, deep frying, poaching, boiling, braising, searing, stewing, making soup, smoking and roasting nuts.
- Origin
- China or South/Southeast Asia
- Common materials
- Carbon steel, cast iron, non-stick, aluminium
- Handle styles
- Loop handles and stick handles
Lore & Background
The origin of the wok is unclear, with both an indigenous origin theory and a South/Southeast Asian origin theory. In the South/Southeast Asian origin theory, scholars believe it originated from the karahi, as well as the Southeast Asian kuali (believed to be the etymology of Mandarin 鑊). These cooking vessels are universal in South and Southeast Asian cuisine for stewing and quick evaporation. They likely entered China via Central Asia from India where it evolved into the wok.
Reader's Guide
The wok's most distinguishing feature is its shape. Classic woks have a rounded bottom. Hand-hammered woks are sometimes flipped inside out after being shaped, giving the wok a gentle flare to the edge that makes it easier to push food up onto the sides of the wok. Woks sold in Western countries are sometimes found with flat bottoms—this makes them more similar to a deep frying pan. The flat bottom allows the wok to be used on an electric stove, where a rounded wok would not be able to fully contact the stove's heating element. A round-bottom wok enables the traditional round spatula or ladle to pick all the food up at the bottom of the wok and toss it around easily; this is difficult with a flat bottom. With a gas hob, or traditional pit stove, the bottom of a round wok can get hotter than a flat wok and so is better for stir frying. The uniqueness of wok cooking includes the Cantonese tradition of wok hei, 'breath of the wok'.
Did You Know?
- The wok's name is a Cantonese word; the Mandarin is Guō.
- The best quality woks are almost always hand-made, being pounded into shape by hand from two or more sheets of carbon steel.
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