What's up guys? Welcome back to Rack of Lam and the first episode to my new series: Review Rack,
where I'll be racking up reviews to all things related to food and kitchen. I'll be starting the
series off with this beautiful pre-seasoned iron wok from Master Star, who is kind enough
to send me this to try. I'll link this in the description below for anyone who may be interested.
So this wok is very similar to the one that I used in my how to season a wok video
except this came already seasoned so there's really nothing much to do on my part except
to give it a gentle wash with some dish soap, water and a sponge. To prevent rust from forming,
manufacturers coat their woks in industrial oil. I gave this pre-seasoned wok a quick scrub and rinse
and noticed that it didn't leave residue that new woks normally would. Good first impression!
So there's a few things that you may want to consider when you're selecting a wok:
its shape, its size, its handle and the material that it's made with.
Let's run those down for this wok by Master Star.
Also stay tuned to see if it passes the egg test!
Woks come in two shapes: there are round bottomed woks like the one that was sent to me
and there are also flat bottomed ones like this stainless steel wok that I own. Traditionally woks
were made with a round base, but the latter has emerged to accommodate flat stove tops. I currently
own three other woks that are all flat bottomed because the impression that the shape gives me is
it provides better stability, but in all honesty I've always wanted to own a dome-shaped wok
because that's what Chinese restaurants use to whip up authentic Chinese dishes with "wok hei."
It's also what I've seen my dad use growing up and I've witnessed the
ease of tossing and flipping your food directly in the wok single-handedly.
The impeccable curvature and concavity of this wok caught me at first sight,
but to test these features I went ahead and tried to flip some food on the wok.
Just look at the smile on my face.
To further season the wok and to test how food travels in it, I heated up some oil and
stir-fried some old ginger and scallions. The shape of the cookware enabled the food to glide smoothly
across the wok with gentle pushes of my spatula. I began to wonder why I never pulled the trigger to
purchase a round bottomed wok. This is an ideal shape for stir fries and surely makes cooking easier.
Unfortunately this shape works efficiently with gas stoves but isn't made for flat electric
stoves. If you own the latter I'd advise looking into a flat bottomed wok. On a gas stove it would
need an extra tool. One thing you must note if you're considering getting a round bottomed wok
is you're going to need a wok ring similar to this one to cradle and stabilize your wok while cooking.
This wok measures 34 centimeters which is slightly over 13 inches
and that's a fairly good size for domestic use and cooking for two to six people.
All of my woks are between 13 to 14 inches so this wok by Master Star fits right in.
As far as the weight goes, most woks that I've used fall between the range of three to four pounds.
This wok weighed over five pounds which is a bit heavy for me,
but it could also be that I haven't been working out.
So I haven't been working out as much as I want to after I became a mom but
these can work as five pound dumbbells. Maybe some rows?
All jokes aside, the weight does provide extra stability while it sits on the wok ring.
I do like that the handle comes insulated. If you're a frequent wok user or an owner of
multiple woks like I am, you're probably aware that woks can come with handles
that get extremely hot while cooking. That wouldn't happen with this one because it
comes with a silicone covering. I do move my wok around a lot while I'm cooking
and have my hand on the handle most of the time, so this handle will prevent my hand from burning.
What's also noteworthy is the handle and wok were forged into a single piece, which eliminates
the need for screws, where food and grease can get caught in. That makes cleaning a lot easier.
What I also like about this handle is it's slightly angled,
so my shoulder and my arm placement is more natural when I'm cooking.
I'm not gonna lie, I also kind of like this Chinese engraving on the handle,
although I'm not sure what it says.
So the material that was used for this wok is wrought iron. Along with carbon steel, iron is a
popular choice for woks because it develops a non-stick patina over time. That makes this wok
a healthier alternative to cookware that may potentially contain toxic chemicals.
This wok was hand forged and hand hammered with material that distributes heat evenly and effectively.
Like cast iron pans, iron from this wok may also integrate into your dishes, which is a unique
way to boost your iron intake. It's also very durable and washing only requires hot or warm
water and a sponge! The only downside to this iron wok is it does require some maintenance.
Washing the wok after every use is a breeze
but to maintain the wok, you must dry the wok thoroughly with paper towel.
Heat the wok on the stove until water completely evaporates,
then apply a thin layer of oil coating. This acts as a rust protectant.
After these simple steps, the wok looked like it had never been used before.
The egg test is commonly used to determine if a wok is properly seasoned. I heated about a
tablespoon of oil on this pre-seasoned wok, cracked an egg onto the wok and let it sit untouched.
Success! The wok fried an egg like a non-stick pan would. The egg flipped
and it glided.
Did this wok past the egg test? Most definitely. Would I recommend this wok? I give it a thumbs up!
Due to the heat distribution on this wok, the egg was also extra crispy.
You can find details to this wok in the description below and if you enjoyed
watching my video don't forget to like, share and subscribe. Thank you so much for watching.