Seasoning a Wok

A wok is a cooking vessel which is most commonly used for cooking authentic Chinese food. Nowadays, people consider wok as an essential instrument in the kitchen because it can not only be used for stir frying, but also for purposes like deep frying, steaming, boiling, stewing, braising, etc. The wok is the best cooking equipment for people who are health conscious or have been asked to reduce the intake of oily foods as the wok requires very little oil to cook food. The biggest advantage of using a wok for cooking is that it is easy to clean this vessel. However, before you start using the wok, it is important to conduct the process of its seasoning to ensure that the food glides in it, without sticking at the bottom. So, if you have invested in a new wok, you must definitely know about how to season a wok.

How to Season a Wok
The most popular types of woks are carbon steel wok, cast iron wok and stainless steel wok. While seasoning carbon steel wok and cast iron wok is extremely important, it is said that seasoning stainless steel wok is not at all necessary. However, one needs to add a little more oil while preparing food in stainless steel wok than in the other types of woks. Here, we will take a look at the ways of seasoning cast iron wok as well as a carbon steel wok.

Seasoning Your Wok with Oil

1. The first step of seasoning is to scrub the inside of the pan to remove the coating that manufacturers apply to protect the wok from getting rusted in the store. For this, you have to wash the wok in a mixture of hot water and liquid detergent. Scrub the wok with a stainless steel scrubber till all the protective coating is removed. Rinse the wok thoroughly and allow it to dry for a few minutes.
2. When the wok is completely dry, place it on the stove on a very high heat. You have to allow the pan to heat on a high flame for several minutes. During this time, you will observe that the color of the wok transforms from steel gray to blue, purple, red till it achieves the black color. When this happens, you do not need to worry as this is a part of the seasoning process.
3. After this is done, take several paper towels and dip them in oil. The best oil for this purpose is corn oil or peanut oil, though it is also fine to use vegetable oil. Rub the oil dipped paper towels on the entire wok. You can use tongs to hold the paper towels, if you think that your hands may accidentally touch the hot wok. However, you should never pour the oil directly into the wok.
4. Once this is done, lower the flame and let the wok heat for 10-15 minutes. During this time, the wok will absorb the oil and will start becoming more dark. You have to repeat the process of applying oil till the wok becomes very dark.
5. Remove the wok from the stove and let it cool down at room temperature. When it is completely cool, you can use the wok for cooking.

Seasoning Your Wok with Salt

1. Apart from the above given method, it is also possible to season a wok with salt. The first step is similar to the above one, i.e., you have to wash and scrub the wok to remove the protective layer.
2. To dry the washed wok, you can keep it on the stove and heat it till all the water is evaporated. When this is done, put a cup of kosher salt into the wok and start stirring it. You have to stir the salt continuously for at least twenty minutes. You have to make sure that the salt reaches the edges of the wok while stirring.
3. When you stir the salt in the wok, you will see that the bottom of the wok starts blackening after five minutes. After 18-20 minutes, you will find that the entire wok has become black. Discard the salt from the wok and allow it to cool completely. Spread a thin film of oil on the wok before you start cooking in it.

I hope this article on how to season a wok has been helpful for you in understanding the wok seasoning process. Once you have seasoned your wok, it is ready for cooking. However, if you find the food is sticking to the bottom of the wok, you will have to repeat the entire seasoning process again. Nevertheless, once you have done the seasoning, you do not have to spend too much time in washing the wok after cooking. To clean the wok after you have cooked in it, all you have to do is pour some hot water on it and swish it with a non abrasive brush. Applying a small amount of oil on the entire wok will prevent it from rusting.