This is the first time I’ve seen a cast iron wok. Have I had my head buried in the sand and just not seen them gallivanting around? In any case, does anyone know if they’re worth it? I have a regular wok but I also have a full set of cast iron (sans wok) that love. Does the cast iron make a difference wok-wise?
I’ve watched alot of cooking shows and have never seen anyone use a cast iron wok. I think the real ones are hardened steel and will be much more than 30 bucks.
@Vexboxx I was thinking the same. Most woks seem to be thin steel or SS that is easy to heat quickly and not too heavy. So it is easy to move around.
Real woks are carbon steel and meant to be used on a high btu burner to achieve very high heat for flash/stir frying foods, but most homes just don’t have a burner on their stove that can output much more than 10K btu, if even that.
A cast-iron wok has enough thermal mass, however, to achieve and maintain very high temperatures, even as food goes in and out, if you heat it long enough on high heat before you start cooking. The downside is that it is heavy, so there’s not going to be much wok-tossing action.
I have a Lodge cast-iron wok that I like, though having a regular wok also comes in handy. It’s great for stir fries, and as a bonus, it also serves as a pretty good vessel for deep(ish) frying in since it is so wide.
I have the lodge also. No tossing, way to heavy. But with a high burner (I have a modified side burner on my grill) the thing will get super hot and hold that. So you can get that fresh crisp. I usually use a spider (think skimmer asian style) to “toss” the food around and pull it out when done.
Works reasonably well, but I find myself going for the thin walled ones more often than not…
Where are these cast? Never heard of this brand.
China
I love my cast iron wok. Mine is by La Creuset. I use it much more than my carbon steel wok.