Wok recommendations?

[Shinomaster]

So My girlfriend ( Stir-fry-Cindy) makes killer veggie stir fry which I love. Sadly her wok is a POS and is covered with peeling Teflon. I really want to get her a new, heavy, carbon steel wok- maybe hand hammered if I can find a real one (not cast iron). I don't want a flat bottom wok or a flimsy one from Target etc. - something a real Chinese chef would use. Can someone recommend a good place to get one? Chinese kitchen supply store? Thanks!

[Noteddy]

The Wok Shop in SF is worth looking into. I've browsed the physical store and they have a mind-boggling array of stuff for extremely reasonable prices. Can't say I've used more than a few incidentals like bamboo mats, etc. Oh, and my favorite SS strainer came from there.

WOKSHOP.COM: Selling woks and Asian kitchenware for over 40 years

I've never been convinced my biggest gas ring gets hot enough to make good use of a wok.

[zetroc]

I was about to suggest the Wok Shop. They're a treasure. There's another store here that would have good ones but they're storefront only as far as I know.

[Shinomaster]

Oh cool, I think my GF stumbled in there when in SF a few months ago but couldn't really bring anything home. Awesome, thanks!

[ZenNMotion]

Bodum Chambord cast iron/enamel wok. This is not a typical cheap thin steel asian wok. Instead, it's a Vsalon wok- ie, spend much more on it than you need to but it's unique and totally awesome. I've had one for a decade where it sees use several times a week. It's quite heavy and holds and distributes heat really well- necessary for wok cooking on a non-commercial stove that's anemic compared to the jet flames in a restaurant kitchen. You won't be able to pick this up with one hand if you're a typical cycle weenie.
http://www.amazon.com/Bodum-Chambord...ct_top?ie=UTF8

Edit, just saw "no cast iron" I don't know, I like cast iron for high heat cooking.

[Shinomaster]

I dunno, she loves cast iron everything but I'm not sure she could lift it!! Our glass top stove gets pretty effin hot.. I bet that woks super-awesome...hmmm.

[TMB]

Chinatown?

Ours came from some dingy hole in the wall in Vancouver's Chinatown about 25 years ago.

[Shinomaster]

Chinatown?

Ours came from some dingy hole in the wall in Vancouver's Chinatown about 25 years ago.

There isn't one in Portland any more.

[Animus Cycle Fab]

Joyce Chen (Mine is a 14" round bottom cast iron)
Carbon steel and cast iron available
Plastic or wood handles
Round or flat bottom

I've had one in use almost daily for years.
Just starting to get that perfect patina outside, and the inside is practically new!

[UnfilteredDregs]

I've never been convinced my biggest gas ring gets hot enough to make good use of a wok.

Wok burners are like jet engines putting out 40k btu and up...

[maunahaole]

Go hit Fubonn on SE 82nd between Powell and Division. Stop in at Ocean City for dim sum.

[summilux]

I took this video when I was in Shanghai last month. His Wok skills are pretty amazing. I ate from him every other day (more or less) for almost a month. He got a bit of stage fright when I took the video because it was the first time I saw him spill something from the wok. I pretty sure that he would say: get something cast iron, something with a handle, and something that you can toss with one hand. No fancy stuff. And propane burners that are indeed jet engines. The woks that I saw in China were ALL cast iron.

If I could speak Shanghainese, this guy has a story. It is unusual for a middle aged guy to have ink. The fact that he has a big one on his chest likely says that at some point in his life he was a badass. I'm hoping that he changed for the love of a good woman. She's off-screen and is in charge of taking the money.

If you are ever in Shanghai, Hefei Lu is a great place to eat if you are comfortable eating on the sidewalk or in hole-in-the wall places. The noodles I buy cost 8 RMB (slightly more that 1 USD)

[summilux]

Oh and buy a bamboo scrubber. They add water to a wok that has been cooked in and then use the bamboo to clean it, tossing the water when it boils. No soap at all.

[Rayburn Shaun]

I actually prefer a thin carbon steel wok. It reacts to the cooking flame (heats up, cools down) much more quickly than a heavy wok.

[Too Tall]

I've had a Le Creuset Cast Iron Wok for a few years. This is one of the jobs with no enamel on the outside it's all business. I'm ready to love it or hate it. The bugger is way way way too heavy to move and that single fact destroys me.

[rydesteel]

I bought my last at the Asian market, high carbon steel, cheap and light, plus had a fantastic bowl of Pho while I was there.

[caleb]

I'm at the New York house, where all I have is an 11" saute. It works, but it's not nearly as good as the cheapo Asian market wok we have at home.

Veg, black rice noodles, and pork shoulder through a scratched up iPhone lens for solo dinner tonight:



I've got my eye on this thread - hemming and hawing between the Wok shop hammered pow and a De Buyer. There's just no substitute for a wok.

[Chik]

If your GF is accustomed to using a Teflon coated pan, then she may find a traditional wok to be a pain to care for, with the seasoning and washing 'ritual', without which the food will always taste / smell funny. I switched to All-Clad's 'Open Stir Fry' over 20 years ago and never looked back at a 'real' wok, not that a real one is much to look at. I'm not sure if they still come with a lid these days, but it is very useful to have one. All-Clad pieces are nice to look at, perform very well and last forever. No doubt they cost a pretty penny, but I don't think you or your GF will ever regret it.

[Cookietruck]

that wokshop site is cool, so tempted to get something like this. cheap, thin and flippable.
The Wok Shop's carbon steel hand hammered 'pow' wok

i imagine care would be just like the carbon steel de buyer skillet i use, i just rinse/scrub it out with hot water and then reheat to dry it.
if it gets dull looking i'll rub a very light coat of oil in it, heat, then wipe it out again...

i'm tempted to order a wok, so cheap...if i do i'll probably get one of those DEBA knives too and some fancy chopsticks...

[Too Tall]

Full disclosure. Now that I have a gas range I ordered THAT wok and it arrived this morning. Cleaning and breaking it in today. Looks 110% legit.

that wokshop site is cool, so tempted to get something like this. cheap, thin and flippable.
The Wok Shop's carbon steel hand hammered 'pow' wok

i imagine care would be just like the carbon steel de buyer skillet i use, i just rinse/scrub it out with hot water and then reheat to dry it.
if it gets dull looking i'll rub a very light coat of oil in it, heat, then wipe it out again...

i'm tempted to order a wok, so cheap...if i do i'll probably get one of those DEBA knives too and some fancy chopsticks...