CALLING ALL CHEFS - what wok do I buy?

[How About?]

Those who do not use a wok cover obviously hasn't simmered food in gravy as part of Chinese cooking process.

It depends what you are cooking to decide whether you need a wok cover or not.  Please do not generalise that a wok cover is not needed.

[Msimbati]

Bought a red Tefal wok about 2.5 years ago - fantastic quality.  More expensive - but def recommend the brand.

[native]

How About? is right, the wok cover is used to simmer food, usually applied after the initial high heat stir fry phase, when gravy is introduced to the dish.  you can't achieve the right crunchyness in stir fry veges without covering it for a bit.  knowing when and for how long to place the wok cover while cooking is an art in itself.

also, many people use the wok for steaming, which requires a cover.

[Knife Attack]

So I gather the leading money is on:

1. Buying a cast iron wok that the hawkers use but take real good care of it by making sure it remains bone dry and oiling it when storing.

2. Buying  Le Creuset (though no one can clarify for me whether it's non-stick on stick)

3. Buying a stainless steel wok that's heavy.

4. Avoid buying an aluminium one.

5. Somebody suggested that as a bachelor I'd be doing myself a favour by getting a Le Creuset grilling pan thingy as well?

Stay tune folks, next week, I'm going to ask about pressure cookers  

[Chief Chef]

So what did you buy in the end?

[quite concerned]

regarding Alzheimer's disease and aluminum cookware!  Most of my pots and pans are stainless steel but also have aluminum bottom or core for better heat conductivity.   AHHHHH!  Now I hear about Alzheimer's and aluminum!  Has anyone bought new cookware due to this?  Would you recommend iron or copper?  
Oh-one more question about oiling pots and pans-how to do this, and how often to do this? Do all types of cookware need to be oiled?  
Thanks!

[Pressure Cooker]

Knife Attack, loved your posts as well as the replies. I do Chinese-styled home-cooked food on a daily basis for my family. i.e. nothing fancy, just normal stir-fry and steaming - veg, soups, fish & some chicken, no red meat. Here's what I use:

WMF pressure cooker - great for soups as it saves me a lot of time (chicken soup & stock-making, herbal soup, red bean soup, etc). Actually, using earthen pots over charcoal for soups / double-boiling for herbal soup is the best but who has the time & space?

WMF big wok - for steaming fish and braising vegetables. And stir-fried veg, noodles & nasi goreng. However, cleaning off the residue is a pain for stir-fried food. BTW, this wok came free with the pressure cooker, wait for some good deals - got mine at CK Tang.

For cooking smaller portions - I go for Tefal non-stick pots & pans.

?? forgot the brand - Anodised iron wok with a long handle & glass cover. My alternate wok for steaming & stir-fry.

I think I'll try out Le Creuset next. I see them in Takashimaya & CK Tang.

So Knife Attack, have you bought any woks yet?

[Knife Attack]

Hi All,

Been busy meeting ridiculous deadlines and putting out fires in the kitchen. Never knew boiling water could be so complicated.

Fear not, the adentures of Bachelor boy Knife Attackwill be back.

In brief, the search continues but it looks like the leading money's on Le Creuset at the moment....

[want_to_believe]

sorry for answering so late, I'm traveling at the moment.
Yes, le crueset has no coating on the inside, no problem to use metal objetcs . The lcookware is handmade in sandforms by the way. The also make a very nice gourmet pan, one of my favourites , but not cheap

[Knife Attack]

Hello all.

Well, I decide on a Creuset Wok - but didn't buy one just yet because at almost $400 it was difficult to justify.

So I bought a cast iron wok of a cheaper variety - yes, the type that has to be bone dry and oiled before storing away.

However, the full story of Le Creuset has yet to be written - this bachelor boy who is finding it hard to divide his attention between the birds and culinary skills and impressing both with both is adopting a new strategy.

He is putting away $100 a month so he can buy a Creuset wok by the year's end. And drop broad hints to the parents to get him a Creuset baking dish for Christmas.

Pretty smart huh? So that's it for this chapter, next week young Knife Attack will take on Pressure Cookers!!!

[Too heavy]

Don't you find those black woks too heavy though?

I prefer stainless steel ones - they're heavy but not so bad that you can't carry it from the cooker to the table.

[word of advice]

If you're not much of a chef yet, why not buy something cheaper until you have practiced a bit more.  Then you'll know what you want from a wok.  

By all means get some good knives (as your other topic), but I wouldn't splash out  on a le crueset wok NOW, let alone when I first started cooking.  They're just too heavy for a decent stir fry.  You have to move the pan around when you're stir frying stuff, and those cast iron pans are good for sitting still and simmering, not being thrashed around the kitchen.

just my opinion!

[Knife Attack]

Made some very decent Fried Rice in my big black wok already and passed the test. My friends actually asked for second helpings!

Mate, if you want to impress the babes (and Angelina Jolie) - you need Le Creuset. So my lady friends and board members here tell me.

[Trouble by Wok]

Hi,

I have a WMF stainless steel non-stick wok.  Was very troubled by this wok because it is very smokey whenever I stir-fried.  It also causes food to stick at the bottom.

Any idea is it all stainless steel wok has this problem? or is it I did not season it when I first bought it?

Kindly advise pls.
Thanks in advance.

[hmm...]

apparently, those non-stick pans are made of cancer-causing material???