My opinion and tips on cooking with a wok

The wok allows us to prepare original and healthy recipes. Laura, author of the food blog Because, knows this style of cooking very well, so I asked her if she could give us her tips and some guidelines to keep in mind when using it. Here is her article, which you will surely find interesting!

More than a decade ago wok cooking became fashionable in Spain. That was when we began to see these rounded pans in stores and the first specialty restaurants started opening in the big cities. Healthy cooking and, generally, at affordable prices that piqued our curiosity.

Like many other customs imported from the Far East, they reach us filtered through a Western lens; naturally, we adapt them to our environment, trying to keep the most positive aspects. For this reason, after all these years the wok is still in many of our kitchens, considered a unique utensil for achieving healthy cooking of vegetables, fish, and seafood mainly.

Undoubtedly, this is its most practical aspect, but it’s a matter of getting to know this utensil a little better to make the most of it and turn it into one of our best allies in the kitchen. I’ll tell you the key points for that — let’s get started!

Ken Hom wok (spatulas not included). Recipe for Prawns in coconut and ginger sauce

Choosing a good wok

The wok is a utensil you can come to use a lot. In fact, most people I know have one, using it daily or weekly. Therefore, it’s important to know which wok to choose, or to understand what you’re buying.

The two main aspects to consider are: material and shape.

As for the material, the best are carbon steel and the cast iron ones since they withstand high temperatures better and retain heat evenly. You should consider that the former are lighter and therefore much easier to handle.

The woks used in the East for street cooking are almost entirely rounded and are placed over a high-temperature blowtorch. They usually have a wooden handle that makes it easier to toss the food.

We’re not going to be so purist as to install a blowtorch at home, right? And although some people have gas stoves that more closely resemble its original use, the truth is most of us have induction or ceramic cooktops... So what we should take from all this is that a more rounded shape gives us a larger surface to place foods at a similar temperature, and that a wooden handle facilitates the proper movement of the wok.

The Ken Hom wok is a very good option: carbon steel, lightweight, and with a wooden handle. Ken Hom is the best-selling wok brand worldwide, a guarantee of good product and quality, and also at very affordable prices. There is both a gas and ceramic version, as well as the Ken Hom induction wok (this one).

In the store you will find the 31cm Ken Hom wok, but also a Ken Hom 10-piece Set that is worth considering, because besides the wok it includes the lid, the rack, chopsticks, and other accessories to offer a complete Asian-method experience.

(Left) Ken Hom carbon steel wok; (right) Le Creuset cast iron wok

On the other hand, there are the Le Creuset cast iron ones. Although these are heavier, their enamel makes maintenance easy and provides an excellent cooking surface. They're also much thicker, which allows the entire pan to heat much more evenly. These cast iron woks can indeed be used on induction, and even in the oven if needed! They come with a Le Creuset lifetime warranty, which also speaks for the brand.

Key tips for wok cooking

Prepare all the ingredients in advance. It’s super important in wok cooking, and generally in all types of Oriental cooking, to have everything ready ahead of time.

This means all solid ingredients should be cleaned, cut, and dry, and the ingredients for sauces or broths you will use should be mixed. Begin cooking the foods that will require longer cooking times. Some woks have a rack that is placed on the rim where you can put ingredients once cooked so they continue cooking in the wok’s steam while you cook other foods, or simply to keep them warm.

It’s advisable to keep a certain uniformity in the cut of the ingredients to ensure they cook evenly.

Cook in batches. Don’t overload the wok; the foods must be in contact with the surface at all times so they sear on the outside and thus retain their juiciness inside.

Cook on high heat and lower the wok’s temperature in a controlled way. Lightly oil the pan and set it to high heat. Add the ingredients when it starts to smoke.

Use broth or sauce to lower the wok’s temperature and thus prevent the food from burning. This is probably the least-known step of wok cooking. It’s common to think wok cooking consists only of stir-frying, when in reality the broth performs two very important functions that shouldn’t be overlooked: on the one hand, it carries the seasoning — for example, soy sauce is the salt of the dish; if we don’t add it the result will be bland, and if we add salt directly to the vegetables during their hot cooking, the ingredients will lose all their juiciness. The other important point is that once ingredients are seared with heat, the broth helps regulate the temperature in the wok and allows the foods to cook better. If we removed them immediately after searing at high temperature, most would be tough and underdone. That’s why you should take them out once the liquid has evaporated.

Keep it moving. Toss the food while holding the wok by the handle, or use a spatula or wooden chopsticks. The important thing is to turn the ingredients so they sear evenly in a short time.

Wok recipes

Get encouraged to try wok cooking — it’s the healthiest fast food!!

Here are some ideas to christen your wok:

- Squid with onions, pochas beans and clams

- Prawns in coconut and ginger sauce with Thai rice

Le Creuset wok. Recipe for Squid with onions, pochas beans and clams