[1 - 3] - I feel like I can't incorporate things.
[4 - 9] Okay. Man overboard. (upbeat music)
[9 - 12] - For years, we've tweaked conventional stir fry recipes
[12 - 15] to achieve delicious results in a nonstick skillet,
[15 - 17] instead of a wok, the traditional cooking vessel.
[17 - 20] - Since American stove burners are typically flat,
[20 - 22] we aim to get more contact with the burner
[22 - 26] by using the broader cooking surface of a 12-inch skillet
[26 - 29] instead of the smaller cooking surface of a wok.
[29 - 31] - [Lisa] But recently we took another look at woks
[31 - 33] and we put them through our rigorous review process.
[33 - 35] We had some interesting findings
[35 - 37] and I personally bought our winning wok
[37 - 38] even before I was finished testing.
[38 - 40] - Lisa and I are gonna cook the same
[40 - 42] Cook's Country beef and broccoli stir fry
[42 - 45] in a wok and a skillet so you can see
[45 - 47] if the wok life is right for you,
[47 - 49] or if you'd be better off with a regular old skillet.
[49 - 52] - First off, Hannah's gonna show us the skillet.
[54 - 55] - All right, so the oil is in the pan,
[55 - 57] but before I even turn this pan on,
[57 - 58] I wanna talk a little bit
[58 - 60] about cooking safely in nonstick.
[60 - 62] Traditional nonstick skillets like this one,
[63 - 64] they basically have a coating of plastic
[64 - 65] across the top of it,
[65 - 67] and if they're heated too hot,
[67 - 69] the plastic can start to break down,
[69 - 71] and it can release dangerous fumes.
[71 - 72] One way to make sure you're not cooking
[72 - 74] in too high of a heat,
[74 - 77] is to use oil in the pan, never heat it empty.
[77 - 80] Smoking point of vegetable oil is roughly 400 degrees
[80 - 84] and these pans can start off-gassing at 500 degrees.
[84 - 86] So if you see your oil smoking,
[86 - 88] you know the pan is getting too hot,
[88 - 89] and that is a big difference
[89 - 91] between a nonstick skillet and a wok.
[91 - 94] They can get super, super hot and they're still safe.
[94 - 95] They're not gonna off-gas.
[95 - 97] That's definitely a pro for woks.
[97 - 99] You have to be a little more cautious here
[99 - 100] and you do not wanna get these
[100 - 102] nonstick skillets quite as hot.
[102 - 105] We tested 10 12-inch nonstick skillets
[105 - 109] priced from about $30 all the way up to $200.
[109 - 111] We rated them on nonstick ability,
[111 - 114] capacity, ease of use, and durability.
[114 - 115] This is our winner by Oxo,
[115 - 117] which is actually on the lower end of the price range
[117 - 118] for this testing.
[118 - 120] All right, so let's get going here.
[120 - 122] We are gonna put the burner on to medium.
[122 - 125] Once it is heated up, we're gonna put the beef in
[125 - 128] and brown it a little bit, two minutes on each side.
[128 - 129] All right, so my oil is smoking here.
[129 - 131] I'm gonna add my beef.
[135 - 136] Spread it out nice and thin.
[138 - 140] One reason this pan won our testing,
[140 - 141] we looked at all different things,
[141 - 143] and one of them was capacity.
[143 - 145] This has such a nice broad surface area,
[145 - 147] so you can brown more efficiently.
[147 - 149] Things aren't crowded. They're not steaming.
[149 - 151] You're not getting like gray beef.
[151 - 152] Also had a really nice shape.
[152 - 155] You can get in there, scoop around, you can toss.
[155 - 156] We also looked at durability.
[157 - 159] We do this egg test, where we cook 50 eggs
[159 - 162] with no fat when the pan's brand new one after another
[162 - 164] to check how it releases.
[164 - 165] This is a major industry test.
[165 - 167] Then at the end of testing,
[167 - 169] we cook another 50 eggs right in a row
[169 - 171] to see how the pan releases at the end of testing.
[171 - 175] And this pan was super durable, which is great,
[175 - 179] but I will say nonstick skillets are not infallible.
[179 - 181] This is, like I said, a plastic coating on here.
[181 - 182] It's gonna wear off.
[182 - 184] I think the cookware association estimates
[184 - 187] like two to three years is the lifespan of a nonstick pan
[187 - 189] if you're using it regularly.
[189 - 191] So you do have to be careful with these.
[191 - 194] I grabbed these tongs that are coated in silicone,
[194 - 196] so I didn't scratch up the surface
[196 - 198] with a metal spatula, for example.
[198 - 199] Honestly, I kind of hate that.
[199 - 201] I don't like being careful when I'm cooking.
[201 - 204] So for me, that's definitely a downside to nonstick.
[204 - 205] I don't wanna have to baby my pans.
[205 - 208] I wanna be able to bang things around.
[208 - 210] So the skillet here has a much broader cooking surface
[210 - 211] than the wok does.
[211 - 214] This is just under 10 inches
[214 - 216] compared to the wok's seven inches.
[216 - 218] So if you have a less powerful stove,
[218 - 220] if you're working on a glass top electric stove,
[220 - 222] or an induction stove,
[222 - 225] it's gonna be really hard to get the wok hot enough
[225 - 227] to stir fry successfully.
[227 - 229] So we do recommend sticking with a nonstick skillet
[229 - 232] if you've got a less powerful stove.
[232 - 233] All right, so our beef is all browned.
[233 - 237] Now I'm gonna add this delicious smelling
[237 - 242] scallion, ginger, garlic, oyster sauce mixture.
[242 - 243] Stir this around.
[243 - 246] So this pan, it's nice to maneuver in
[246 - 247] when compared to other nonstick skillets.
[247 - 250] It was definitely the best of the bunch on that front.
[250 - 254] That said, I am still being pretty careful here.
[254 - 256] I'm carefully stirring around
[256 - 259] 'cause I really don't wanna lose
[259 - 261] any of this beef over the side.
[261 - 263] All right, I'm gonna add my broccoli in here.
[265 - 267] Now I really have to be cautious
[267 - 272] and I need to make sure...
[272 - 275] See, I'm getting a little close to the edge there.
[275 - 276] It's a little nerve-wracking.
[279 - 280] I feel like I can't incorporate things.
[281 - 283] Okay. Man overboard.
[283 - 286] I can't incorporate things
[286 - 288] as quickly and efficiently as I want to
[288 - 289] because I really am being careful
[289 - 290] because of these lower sides.
[290 - 295] So definitely a pro for the wok there.
[295 - 298] This nonstick surface, it is plastic.
[299 - 302] The fond is sticking to the food and not to the pan.
[302 - 305] One factor to consider with a nonstick skillet
[305 - 306] is that you don't have to worry
[306 - 308] about upkeep and maintenance
[308 - 312] like you do with carbon steel, with cast-iron. Nonstick pans,
[312 - 315] you don't have to oil them after use,
[315 - 317] so there is definitely a pro there.
[317 - 321] They are no maintenance. Easier to use on that front.
[321 - 324] All right, so we've got a cover on here for three minutes.
[324 - 326] We're gonna wait until the broccoli
[326 - 328] gets nice and crisp tender.
[328 - 330] Throughout these few minutes,
[330 - 333] you wanna do a little shaky shaky
[333 - 335] to make sure things are evenly distributed.
[335 - 338] This handle, it's super comfortable.
[339 - 340] It's nice and ergonomic.
[340 - 342] It has good affordance,
[342 - 344] which means it doesn't force your hand
[344 - 348] into a certain formation with weird bumps or anything.
[348 - 350] It's nice. A lot of grip options.
[350 - 354] It's gently brushed steel, so it's not slippery.
[354 - 356] Great handle, that's for sure.
[357 - 359] This Oxo pan was also the lightest that we tested
[359 - 361] as far as nonstick skillets,
[361 - 363] which can be a huge plus.
[363 - 365] You can pick it up. It's easier to clean.
[365 - 367] Carbon steel woks,
[367 - 369] carbon steel in general, cast-iron in general,
[369 - 371] they're definitely gonna be heavier.
[371 - 373] It's all done now.
[374 - 377] We're gonna stir in our scallions here.
[377 - 379] Green part of the scallions.
[379 - 381] We used the white part earlier.
[381 - 383] Stir this in.
[383 - 385] Now this is ready to serve.
[385 - 387] All right, so I have some of the stir fry here.
[387 - 392] I'm gonna try it out. Mmm. So good.
[392 - 395] This is absolutely delicious.
[395 - 395] But the question is
[395 - 398] how does this compare to the stir fry in a wok?
[398 - 400] Let's go to Lisa with our winning wok.
[401 - 403] - So I'm here to talk about woks.
[403 - 406] These are really wonderful cooking vessels
[406 - 408] that we hadn't really used in the test kitchen.
[408 - 411] We were focused on letting people use a pan
[411 - 413] that they may already have for other purposes,
[413 - 414] like a nonstick skillet,
[414 - 416] but we always question our assumptions
[416 - 419] and we wanted to look into woks a little bit more.
[419 - 421] One of the really interesting things about woks,
[421 - 422] they have this bowl shape,
[422 - 426] and traditional woks are completely round at the bottom.
[426 - 427] This is a flat bottom wok.
[427 - 429] It has a flat surface on the bottom.
[429 - 431] Traditionally what they did in China,
[431 - 434] they had these ovens that were built with a hole in them
[434 - 436] and the wok dropped into the hole
[436 - 438] and you built the fire underneath,
[438 - 442] and that bowl shape allows you to put ingredients in
[442 - 443] and move them around
[443 - 446] and cook on the sides as well as the bottom.
[446 - 448] The cooking goes very, very quickly.
[448 - 449] That's one of the things about it.
[449 - 451] It's very hot. It's intense.
[451 - 454] It sears the exterior and gives it lovely flavor.
[454 - 458] A really well seasoned older wok,
[458 - 460] people say that it gives it the breadth of the wok,
[460 - 461] the flavor of the wok.
[461 - 462] And that's really treasured,
[462 - 465] if you eat a fresh, hot stir fry,
[465 - 466] it has this extra flavor
[466 - 471] because that high heat and the oil and the searing
[471 - 472] is so delicious.
[472 - 474] So I was pretty excited about this,
[474 - 475] and I really wanted to learn more.
[475 - 479] I went and asked people who are experts in wok cooking,
[479 - 482] including Grace Young, who's won a James Beard award,
[482 - 486] and IACP awards for her writing and for her cooking.
[486 - 487] Her family's wok is actually
[487 - 489] going to be put in the Smithsonian
[489 - 493] as an artifact of Chinese American culinary history,
[493 - 495] which is incredible.
[495 - 497] I also spoke with Tane Chan,
[497 - 498] who's the owner of The Wok Shop
[498 - 500] in San Francisco's Chinatown.
[500 - 502] This is a real institution.
[502 - 504] She is a font of all knowledge.
[504 - 507] And both of them told me a few things to look for
[507 - 509] because when you go wok shopping,
[509 - 511] they're at every possible price,
[511 - 513] all kinds of materials and shapes,
[513 - 515] and they all say they have different advantages.
[515 - 517] Both of them were really adamant.
[517 - 519] They said the only materials you'd wanna look at
[519 - 522] is carbon steel and lightweight cast-iron.
[522 - 525] Those are the most authentic materials for a wok.
[525 - 528] They said look at 14-inches woks,
[528 - 531] which are 14 inches across the diameter of the rim.
[531 - 534] Anything smaller is just gonna pile up and steam your food.
[535 - 535] They make bigger ones,
[536 - 537] but those are for restaurant kitchens.
[537 - 539] They also said get a flat bottom wok.
[539 - 541] You don't really want one that's round bottom
[541 - 543] for a typical American stove.
[543 - 545] And then you don't need a wok ring,
[545 - 548] which also you've seen those rings the wok sits on.
[548 - 550] It holds it up off the heat,
[550 - 553] and it doesn't really let the heat come up in the right way.
[553 - 555] So they said if you get a flat bottom wok,
[555 - 556] you're good to go.
[556 - 557] I chose nine woks.
[557 - 560] They're all priced between about 33 and $55.
[560 - 562] You can spend hundreds of dollars, but they said don't.
[562 - 564] Lightweight cast-iron ones,
[564 - 565] they held on to heat a little too long,
[565 - 568] took a little longer to heat up in the first place.
[568 - 569] Unanimously, people preferred
[569 - 572] a really lightweight carbon steel.
[572 - 573] One of the things
[573 - 575] that you have to know, though, about carbon steel
[575 - 577] is that you have to season it.
[577 - 579] It's just like a carbon steel skillet.
[579 - 582] The metal is raw and unfinished for the most part,
[582 - 586] and if it's exposed to water or air, it will rust.
[586 - 590] So it's sent in a coating of a thick grease or wax
[590 - 592] that you need to scrub off first.
[592 - 593] Do your best.
[593 - 595] Doesn't have to be perfect. It will come off in time.
[595 - 597] And then you're gonna cook in it
[597 - 601] some food just to start the process of seasoning it.
[601 - 603] This one, our winner, is by Taylor & Ng
[603 - 607] and it's pretreated in the factory
[607 - 609] with a high heat process that actually turns it
[609 - 611] this gorgeous blue, gray color.
[611 - 612] The pretreatment gives it
[612 - 614] a little bit of a leg up on seasoning.
[614 - 617] It's eventually gonna turn completely black inside.
[617 - 620] I've had mine for several months.
[620 - 621] And this is a process.
[622 - 624] It's gonna turn a little blotchy and brown,
[624 - 626] and might get a little better and worse,
[626 - 627] it might stick in the beginning,
[627 - 629] but as you keep using it,
[629 - 634] it eventually becomes beautiful black nonstick, it's great.
[634 - 636] The process is pretty simple.
[636 - 640] You're just gonna take some oil, salt, and potato peels,
[640 - 643] and stir them around on medium high heat.
[643 - 644] Move it around the pan,
[644 - 646] get that oil to splatter,
[646 - 648] the salt kind of scrubs off
[648 - 651] the rest of that shipping grease.
[651 - 655] The oil starts to sort of settle in and polymerize.
[655 - 658] The peels are there to give you something to look at
[658 - 660] and to gauge how...
[660 - 662] When they're really dark brown and almost burned,
[662 - 665] take the whole thing off, throw all that stuff away,
[665 - 668] rinse it with water, pat it dry,
[668 - 669] and you're good to go.
[669 - 670] You can start cooking.
[670 - 673] That doesn't mean you're completely done with seasoning.
[673 - 674] That's gonna happen over time.
[674 - 677] This is just a process. Just keep cooking.
[677 - 679] It's gonna get more and more nonstick.
[679 - 681] It's gonna be easier and easier to use,
[681 - 685] and as Grace puts it, you kind of bond with your wok,
[685 - 688] and you develop this relationship
[688 - 690] where you're taking care of it, it's taking care of you.
[690 - 692] I had different testers
[692 - 694] who had different experience with woks
[694 - 696] and heights and strengths and skills.
[696 - 699] We all got to handle the woks and give lots of feedback,
[699 - 702] and everyone really loved this one because it's lightweight
[702 - 705] because you don't need a potholder most of the time
[705 - 706] 'cause it's got a wooden handle,
[706 - 708] because it's just very easy to handle
[708 - 710] and to see what you're doing.
[710 - 712] And it became a little bit more nonstick
[712 - 714] a little faster than some of the other ones.
[714 - 717] I'm cooking on a little standalone gas burner here
[717 - 719] just because my stove is up against the wall,
[719 - 721] and it's kind of hard to see what's going on.
[721 - 725] So I'm gonna turn this on, and it happens very quickly.
[725 - 727] It gets very hot.
[727 - 729] This is a really thin carbon steel.
[729 - 731] Carbon steel is great at transmitting heat.
[731 - 732] It's very efficient.
[732 - 734] It cools down fairly quickly too, which is nice.
[734 - 736] Grace taught me a trick that you can...
[736 - 738] If your wok is dry,
[738 - 741] you can flick a little bit of water in there
[742 - 745] and you can see exactly where the heat is.
[745 - 746] I can see that the sides of my wok
[746 - 749] are not quite as hot yet, but the bottom is good and hot.
[749 - 751] Don't just pour the oil in the bottom.
[751 - 753] Run it down the sides around the wok.
[753 - 756] And that just lets it heat up and cover the whole wok,
[756 - 757] which is really nice.
[757 - 760] It's already smoking, as you can see,
[760 - 761] so this is hot.
[762 - 766] I'm just gonna move the oil around to get it on the sides.
[766 - 768] Turning down my heat a teensy bit
[768 - 769] 'cause my goodness.
[769 - 771] And I'm adding that beef.
[779 - 781] I'm spreading the beef out
[781 - 785] so that it really gets lots of contact
[786 - 788] with the bottom and sides of the wok.
[788 - 790] Wish you could smell it. It smells so good.
[792 - 796] I have a mixture of scallions and ginger and garlic.
[796 - 798] Gonna add this in. These are our aromatics.
[798 - 800] We don't wanna put those in first because they'll just burn.
[800 - 810] You really wanna get the beef cooking. Chicken broth. Soy sauce.
[810 - 812] More oyster sauce.
[812 - 813] That's going in.
[816 - 818] And now all my broccoli.
[822 - 823] Stir that in.
[825 - 827] And then I'm gonna cover it
[828 - 832] and use that natural moisture
[832 - 834] to steam my broccoli.
[834 - 835] Now the thing you need to know
[835 - 837] about getting a cover for your wok,
[837 - 840] they don't fit on top of the pan rim to rim
[840 - 842] like on Western style pans.
[842 - 845] It's about two inches in diameter smaller than the wok.
[845 - 849] So this is a 12-inch lid in a 14-inch wok.
[849 - 851] And that lid is really handy,
[851 - 852] especially if you wanna make popcorn
[852 - 854] or to steam any kind of vegetables
[854 - 856] in the process of cooking.
[856 - 859] So the broccoli's been steaming in there with the beef,
[859 - 861] and all those flavors are coming together
[861 - 863] under this dome lid.
[863 - 866] Oh my goodness. That is so beautiful.
[866 - 867] I'm gonna give it a good stir.
[867 - 869] In a 12-inch skillet,
[869 - 871] I do have to worry that this is too much food
[871 - 873] and that it's gonna fall out,
[873 - 875] but I've got plenty of space here.
[875 - 878] I've got a couple of inches of extra walls
[878 - 881] and I can toss this stuff around
[881 - 883] and move it as I need to
[883 - 884] to get the nice browning
[885 - 889] and distribute that sauce and that flavor.
[889 - 893] So I love the fact that this is a surface
[893 - 896] that's gonna keep getting better with time
[896 - 899] rather than degrading, the way a nonstick would.
[899 - 901] This is done. Look at this.
[901 - 903] And here I am, a weakling,
[903 - 906] able to lift it with a single hand.
[908 - 913] Let me take a little bit and see how it is. Looks amazing.
[916 - 918] I'm gonna run off with this bowl of food
[918 - 919] 'cause it's super good.
[919 - 921] It's just flavorful.
[923 - 927] The meat is beautifully seasoned. It's moist.
[927 - 929] It's a little crispy around the edges,
[929 - 931] but nice in the middle.
[931 - 934] The broccoli is perfectly crisp tender.
[934 - 936] Bright green, kept that color.
[936 - 938] And it's a wonderful easy dish
[938 - 940] to put together in a few minutes.
[940 - 942] This is just a great pan.
[942 - 945] It's relatively inexpensive.
[945 - 948] And it's gonna be something I can hand down to my kids.
[948 - 950] So as we learned,
[950 - 953] woks have some distinct advantages
[953 - 956] in the sense that they're a big sort of shell-shaped vessel
[956 - 959] that you can put a lot of food in at once
[959 - 960] and move it around,
[960 - 962] and it gets lots of heat contact.
[962 - 963] You have the sides as well as the bottom,
[963 - 966] which offer different heat zones.
[966 - 968] Woks are great,
[968 - 970] and we found one that we really love.
[970 - 974] If you have a gas stove or a coil electric stove
[974 - 976] that provides plenty of heat output,
[976 - 978] a wok can be terrific.
[978 - 979] - All right, so if you can't tell,
[979 - 981] Lisa completely fell in love with woks during her testing
[981 - 984] and I think we all did a little bit.
[984 - 986] Nonstick skillets, they have some pros too.
[986 - 989] They're lighter. They're no maintenance.
[989 - 991] There is a broader cooking surface there.
[991 - 993] If you have a glass top electric stove
[993 - 995] or an induction stove,
[995 - 997] the wok's not gonna work that well on them,
[997 - 1001] so a nonstick skillet is probably a better choice there.
[1001 - 1004] But you really can't go wrong with either of these pans,
[1004 - 1006] and we truly loved the woks.
[1006 - 1007] - For more information
[1007 - 1009] on all the equipment we just talked about,
[1009 - 1011] check out americastestkitchen.com,
[1011 - 1014] and for the winning products, see the links below.
[1014 - 1017] - Leave us your wok and skillet questions in the comments,
[1017 - 1019] and make sure to hit that subscribe button
[1019 - 1021] so you never miss an episode.
[1021 - 1024] (bright casual music)