How to Season a Wok

There are many methods to actually prepare your brand spanking new wok to be in perfect condition for a super delicious stir fry or a wokalicious dish, but all these ways are based on one fact that is to clean the wok with a steel wool or a sponge and coating it with some sort of oil or fat while heating.


Woks made with carbon steel are the cream of the crop. You can use them to just about do anything that relates to cooking :) Stir fry, braise, boil and to make soups and stews you name it!, but only after your wok is seasoned and its ready for action.


When you buy a wok from the store they are normally coated with some anti rust coating to stop rust from eating your wok away, so this anti rust stuff could be some high tech stuff made by the NASA or just be plain grease or machine oil. to remove all these nasty stuff you could use the good ol steel wool or some dirt grime buster soap and a sponge would do the trick too. Keep in mind folks this is the first and the last time you will need to use this combination on your wok unless it becomes rusty!


Now its time to coat the super clean wok with some oil or fat. you could use vegetable, corn or peanut oil or any fatty oil for this process. Keep the wok on your stove and keep the heat on the high setting. after, pour the oil on the bottom of the wok. spread the oil out by moving the wok around or use a wet paper towel held by tongs to fully cover the surface of the wok with oil. continue until you could the see the bare metal turn its color into a platinum sort of colour or brown, which will protect the wok from rust. make note that the process will produce lot of smoke so keep windows open for ventilation.


some people suggest  adding chopped ginger and/or scallions to make that wretched taste of metal go away.


So after you are done with all the cooking and when its time to clean up, all you have to do is run it by with hot water. remember soap and steel wool is now your woks worst enemy. If you cant get some food off the surface of the wok try using some salt granules and rub it off with a soft sponge until its clean. after the rinsing keep it on a hot stove to dry the wok and dont forget to apply some oil on the surface for the first few times to keep it all nice and smooth before putting it away.


Vid by Poh's Kitchen.