BabishCarbon Steel Flat Bottom Wok and Stir Fry Pan, 14-Inch

I purchased this wok three months ago, and I can't say enough good about it. I've been looking for a ling time to find the right wok for me and this is it. my criteria were:1. flat bottom for gas or electric. Easy one. For most home cooks, the round bottom woks require a ring stand (for goas) or can't be used. On gas, the ring stand retains heat to the point of potential damage to the stove finish. must have a flat bottom.2. sturdiness. most woks, with the exception of some in the Asian markets are flimsy. I bought a Joyce Chen wok that had great reviews, but it has a lot of wobble and flex in the bowl- i hated it while using only until i found something better.3. carbon steel. Wok must be carbon steel. -- and this is the the reason i give it 2/5 for easy to clean. Like a carbon steel or cast iron pan, this wok requires a little extra when done. There are tons of how to's on maintaining a carbon steel pan so i won't go into it, besides my recommendation to use the chain mail scrubber. Works like magic. Hot water and scrubbing only.4. handle type. I want to be able to season the entire wok, including the sides, but that is darn near impossible with bottom heat from the range top. One of the best features of this wok is the removable handle- that goes back on as solid as the day it arrived. This allows me to season my wok in the oven and get the tall sides nice and stick free.5. Cost was not a huge concern. I want a wok that does what i want it to do. However, for the thickness of the steel and the features, it's definitely worth the extra $20, especially if you spread that out over say 30 years of use.Bottom line is, you will not regret this wok. Be prepared to clean it properly and maintain the seasoning. If you're not, go with a non-stick wok. This is not the one for you. But if you want a wok that acts the way a wok should, with high heat retention and sides that are cool enough to hold the food out of the fire, this is it.* one year update - still loving the wok! I’ve been waiting to write a one year review and here’s the short update. Everything above is still true and the way it holds seasoning is fantastic. Don’t hesitate to make this your go to wok and deep fry pan!

We got our wok yesterday, and we went to work to season it for cooking Chinese stir-fry today. Everything went smoothly, and the food took on the traditional "wok-hei" smoky flavor typical of. Chinese cooking!Before you jump in to do your first stir-fry, just let me pre-warn you that it is an ABSOLUTE MUST to season your wok correctly. The instructions that came in the box were less than desirable, because it is the way westerners season cast-iron frying pans. So let me tell you the steps to do it the correct way!!(1) Take the pan out of the packaging and immediately go to work using Soft-scrub and steel wool. I mean "work" with the heaviest elbow grease possible, put your force into it, and scrub the heck out of it to take away the layer of factory provided fake seasoning that comes with the wok to keep it from going rusty in storage and transit. Rinse and dry it thoroughly with a towel. Count on doing this no less than 5-6 times.(2) Put the wok on top of your stove, turn on low heat to make sure all moisture is evaporated. It is desirable to use a gas stove, but if all you have is an electric stovetop or an induction stove, it works just as fine in the seasoning process. I have a glass top electric oven, and it worked just fine.(3) After the wok is thoroughly dry with your low heat on stove-top. Put in a 1/2 cup of oil with high smoke-point. Open your windows around the house and turn on your exhaust fan on high.Turn the Stove-top heat to max heat to heat up the oil.(4) Use your Chinese wok-spatulato to coat the upper side of your wok with the hot oil. Make sure all inside surface of the wok is coated with hot oil.(5) At some point the oil inside your wok is going to get so hot that the oil self-ignite. Let that burn with the flame inside your wok for 30+45+ seconds, and use a large pot-lid to cover the flame in the wok to snuff out the flame. Let the wok continue to sit on the hot stove top for another 2-3+ minutes.(6) Remove the pot lid and turn off the heat to your stove. What you will see is a bubbly charred surface of teflon-like plastic layer covering you wok on the inside surface. Remove this layer using your Chinese spatula with scraping action all over the inside of the wok to totally remove this layer of charred plastic.(7) After the wok cools off, wash the inside surface of the wok with Soft-scrub and steel-wool. Go to work at it and make sure all the charred plastic layer is removed and you're seeing the bare metal surface of the wok(8) Dry your wok thoroughly with a towel and place it on your stove top in medium heat. Put in a 1/3 cup of high smoke point oil and heat it up. Put in your sliced/chopped onion and start stir-frying. Use the Chinese spatula to lift the cooked onion inside the wok to coat the inside surface of the wok. Make sure the entire inside surface is coated with oil.(9) Scoop out your caramelized onion and you have a perfectly seasoned wok. I recommend that for the first handful times you cook with your wok, use plenty of oil! Try frying an over easy egg, and you'll notice how easily the egg flips over, and nothing sticks to your wok.(10) With a well-seaaoned wok, you only need to wash your wok with a sponge and water since nothing sticks to your wok (DO NOT USE SOAP or STIFF SCOURING PADS or STEEL-WOOL EVER). Always dry your wok thoroughly with a towel after washing, place it back on your stove top in low heat to thoroughly dry and evaporated any trapped moisture that you don't see. Then coat the entire inside surface of your wok with a very, very, light layer of oil. Wipe off excess oil with paper towel!! Then, store the wok as you would store a cast iron frying pan.This wok will give you decades of service with no problem if you take care to initially season your wok as I instructed, clean it properly after use with no soap, and store it with a light coat of oil!!So all you people who complain that your wok is not working properly, is rusty, or whatever, you did not do the proper steps to properly season your wok.