Distorted Vision wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm just starting to learn to cook chinese food so please forgive me
> if my questions seems ignorant.
>
> I just bought a new wok from my local Chinese supermarket. I knew I
> should buy a carbon steel wok but I assumed that they would all be
> there since they supply local Chinese restaurants etc. They all looked
> the same to me and I couldn't even identify the difference in quality
> between them so I just chose the most expensive one.
>
> Anyway, when I came to season my wok something did not appear right.
> The wok did not turn blueish black when heating the oil with a paper
> towels and wooden tongs. It just started go dark brown slowly but not
> uniformly eventually turning black in parts. When it came to using the
> wok for the first time I was very disappointed with the results. Food
> seemed to burn easily and stick to the bottom.
>
> I have cleaned the wok with a scouring pad and removed all the black
> patches. I believe I have in fact purchased a stainless steel wok and
> not a carbon steel one. When I look at photos of carbon steel woks
> they look more darkish grey than bright stainless steel. I have taken
> some photos of the wok I purchased. It isn't all shiny as it was when
> I purchased. There are some markings in Chinese - I would be interesed
> in what they say.
>
> http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/660...2008270at4.jpg
> http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/211...2008272ro3.jpg
> http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/211...2008272ro3.jpg
> http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/3...2008275af0.jpg
> http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/8...2008277pu8.jpg
>
> Can anyone please confirm that I have in fact purchased a stainless
> steel wok? I paid £22 for mine so its not the end of the world and I
> am more interested in learning from my mistakes.
>
> I am looking at purchasing a new one. One on Amazon which is 2.0mm
> carbon steel but it has a flat base:
>
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/34cm-Heavy-G.../dp/B000P5Q4BO
>
> There is a round bottomed made by Hancock
>
> http://www.hoohing.com/acatalog/Products__Wok_169.html
> http://www.londonwok.com/acatalog/LO...VESSELS_2.html
>
> Is there any difference between round and flat bottomed ones. Please
> help me chose - these are the only two that I can find suitable.
>
> Many thanks for your help!

"The Breath of a Wok" by Grace Young, has a lot of detail on woks, as
you might expect. It might be worth your while to read some of it in a
library or bookshop.

The recommendations here about round bottoms will work OK when you are
using gas, as it appears you do at the moment. For electricity, however,
you just have to use a flat bottom, electricity being such a sucky
heating method.

I have one stainless steel wok that works with electricity fairly well,
except for food sticking far too easily to the surface.

The one I prefer is a flat-bottomed cast iron one, which I picked up in
a Great Wall chinese supermarket locally for about $16 (their last one
in stock, too). Its quite big, and very stable, and the bottom does not
distort, the way a carbon steel one I had did. Best of all, the food
does not stick at all. Temperature changes are a bit tricky, since it
takes a while for heat to penetrate all that iron, but I almost never
use the stainless steel one any more.

Cheers,

Ian