[0 - 1] - Hi, I am Eric, I'm a professional chef,
[1 - 2] and today I'm gonna teach you
[2 - 4] everything you need to know about woks.
[5 - 7] We're gonna be talking about how to choose one,
[7 - 10] how to clean one, how to season it,
[10 - 11] and of course, how to cook in one.
[11 - 13] Prepare to receive more wok knowledge
[13 - 16] than you ever hoped to have in your entire life.
[16 - 19] This is Wok 101.
[19 - 23] At its core, a wok is a hot bowl.
[24 - 25] it keeps food cradled
[25 - 27] in such a way that you can toss them differently.
[27 - 30] You can also steam, you can braise, you can stew,
[30 - 32] you can season and emulsify in a very different way
[32 - 33] than from using a frying pan.
[33 - 35] That's really what makes 'em special.
[35 - 38] And there's a reason why woks play such a pivotal role
[38 - 40] in Asian cuisine and history.
[40 - 42] The thin metal is very receptive
[42 - 44] to a scarcity of combustible fuel.
[44 - 46] So you're always meant to be cooking things really quickly.
[46 - 48] That's how you really need to think about the wok
[48 - 52] when you're using it. [bright music]
[52 - 54] When it comes to woks there are so many options out there.
[54 - 58] All sorts of shapes, sizes, materials, carbon steel,
[58 - 61] cast iron, Teflon, all the non-stick ones,
[61 - 64] they all have viable uses and they'll all get the job done.
[64 - 65] So for a home cook,
[65 - 69] I would recommend either heavier carbon steel or cast iron.
[69 - 70] These are gonna be kind of unwieldy
[70 - 72] for a restaurant or heavy,
[72 - 73] they get tiresome to use all night.
[73 - 75] But if you're just cooking a couple dishes,
[75 - 76] they retain heat really well.
[76 - 78] So you're gonna have better non-stick properties,
[78 - 80] better heat distribution as you cook.
[80 - 82] It's a little more challenging to do that
[82 - 83] with thin carbon steel.
[83 - 85] If not, finally that non-stick are great.
[85 - 87] They're very simple, they're obviously very forgiving,
[87 - 90] and you can still make great food out of them.
[90 - 91] So this is a non-stick wok.
[91 - 94] I think they're perfectly acceptable for your home cook.
[94 - 96] People have their feelings about Teflon and plastics
[96 - 97] and such like that,
[97 - 98] but if you maintain it well,
[98 - 101] these work great and they last a really long time.
[101 - 103] Personally, I use these all the time.
[103 - 104] I think they're very easy,
[104 - 106] they make cleanup really easy,
[106 - 108] so no shame about using it a non-stick wok.
[108 - 110] This is a restaurant-style wok.
[110 - 112] It's thin, carbon steel,
[112 - 114] it's very light, it's inexpensive.
[114 - 115] The handle is just riveted here.
[115 - 118] This is what it looks like when it's brand new in the store.
[118 - 120] It's not ready to cook on yet, you need to season it.
[120 - 122] These aren't ideal for your home cook.
[122 - 124] The firepower you have at home
[124 - 126] is not really enough to keep this thing hot
[126 - 128] and non-stick the entire way through.
[128 - 129] These are better suited to a restaurant.
[129 - 132] This is the same thing, only it's been seasoned.
[132 - 134] So as you can see, it's a pretty dramatic difference.
[134 - 137] It turning black is the oils carbonizing together
[137 - 138] with the metals,
[138 - 140] and hopefully forming a non-stick surface.
[140 - 143] If you maintain this well, it lasts a really long time,
[143 - 144] even in a restaurant setting.
[144 - 146] This is the wok that Epicurious recommends.
[146 - 147] This is carbon steel,
[147 - 150] really great material for your cookware to be made out of.
[150 - 152] It has almost all the same
[152 - 154] heat retaining properties as cast iron,
[154 - 157] but it's a lot lighter and easier to clean and maintain.
[157 - 158] It's heavy but not too heavy,
[158 - 159] so that means it's gonna retain heat,
[159 - 162] but it's still able to be manipulated pretty well.
[162 - 163] It has this nice angled handle,
[163 - 166] which is ergonomically friendly,
[166 - 167] and the wooden handle is great.
[167 - 168] It's never gonna get too hot,
[168 - 170] you're not gonna hurt yourself grabbing it.
[170 - 172] It has a nice flat bottom.
[172 - 175] This is good here for your electric tops
[175 - 177] or even your gas top or induction.
[177 - 178] And then it has a handle here,
[178 - 180] so if you've got something heavy in it,
[180 - 181] it's full of soup, full of stew,
[181 - 184] you can just use a towel here to grip it here.
[184 - 187] Easier to manipulate, safer, non-stick already.
[187 - 188] You don't need to go through the process
[188 - 189] of seasoning it at home.
[189 - 191] I don't think there's any reason to spend more
[191 - 193] than 50 or $60 on a good wok.
[193 - 195] This one, for example, is about 50, 60 bucks.
[195 - 196] You can get it online.
[196 - 197] So for a lot of good reasons,
[197 - 202] this is a really nice home wok. [bright music]
[202 - 204] Seasoning a wok means to create
[204 - 206] a protective non-stick layer,
[206 - 209] basically by burning the bejesus out of it
[209 - 210] and adding a light sheen of oil.
[210 - 214] That heat will cause the oil to bond to the metal.
[214 - 215] If we did it right,
[215 - 217] it'll stay non-stick for a very long time,
[217 - 219] so long as we don't do anything too damaging to it.
[219 - 223] What we have here is a round bottomed, unseasoned,
[223 - 224] carbon steel wok.
[224 - 227] Woks should never look kind of silvery
[227 - 229] and chrome like this.
[229 - 230] They need to be dark black
[230 - 231] because that indicates they have been seasoned.
[231 - 232] This is not ready to cook in.
[232 - 234] This round bottom does not sit very well
[234 - 235] on these western style burners,
[235 - 238] so I am using a wok ring.
[238 - 241] Very inexpensive, very handy.
[241 - 245] To begin seasoning, turn on the heat. Wait.
[245 - 248] So in a restaurant you would have this giant jet burner
[248 - 250] that cradles the wok perfectly,
[250 - 252] and you would turn on full blast
[252 - 255] and this whole thing would turn black very quickly.
[255 - 256] You'd add a light sheen of oil,
[256 - 259] let it chill out, cool down for a second, done, season.
[259 - 261] That's a little harder to do at home
[261 - 262] because you have this gas burner
[262 - 264] that doesn't quite exactly fit the wok,
[264 - 266] so you're gonna have to show some patience.
[266 - 267] Let it heat up.
[267 - 269] Especially this is like thicker, heavier carbon steel,
[269 - 271] we're gonna take our time with it.
[271 - 273] And let it just heat up until it starts to turn color.
[273 - 275] And once we get there, we'll add a light sheen oil
[275 - 279] and then hopefully we'll be ready to go, ready to wok.
[279 - 282] We're looking to achieve a process called polymerization.
[282 - 283] Once oil reaches a certain temperature,
[283 - 287] it's going to fill the microscopic pores of the metal,
[287 - 289] and what you're doing is developing a patina,
[289 - 293] which is a non-stick protective layer
[293 - 296] of carbonized metal and oil and fat.
[296 - 296] We're getting there.
[296 - 300] Look at that shiny iridescence getting a little darker.
[300 - 303] We're gonna get the edges getting every edge ripping hot
[303 - 304] until it turns color.
[304 - 309] Okay, it's turned a blue purplish dark silver kind of color.
[309 - 311] That means we're quite hot here, so be careful.
[311 - 312] Turn your heat off.
[312 - 314] All right, the light sheen of oil.
[314 - 316] We're gonna get a bunch of paper towels here.
[318 - 319] Moisturize your pan.
[319 - 321] Basically what we're looking for,
[321 - 323] it is normal to create a lot of smoke during this process,
[323 - 326] so do this in a well ventilated area.
[326 - 328] Metal is super hot right now,
[328 - 330] so the pores are open
[330 - 331] and that's only gonna be a short window.
[331 - 333] And then as you let it cool down,
[333 - 335] it's going to absorb all that oil
[335 - 337] and form a beautiful non-stick layer.
[337 - 339] Okay, so as you can see, pretty dramatic transformation.
[339 - 341] It was this light silver color,
[341 - 345] now it is distinctly dark blue/black.
[345 - 347] It's only going to get darker over time.
[347 - 350] That's what it takes to season your wok.
[350 - 354] Look at that thing. Beautiful. [bright music]
[354 - 355] So when it comes to working with a wok,
[355 - 358] 90% of the work is done ahead of time.
[358 - 361] You have all your ingredients, seasonings measured out, everything ready.
[361 - 362] The noodles are blanched.
[362 - 364] That way everything comes together
[364 - 365] in just about a minute or two.
[365 - 368] Today I am making some stir-fried noodles.
[368 - 369] A little bit of oil in.
[369 - 372] The oil is readily smoking, that means we're good to go.
[372 - 373] I'm gonna add some sausage
[373 - 374] in first to render a little bit.
[374 - 375] I'm gonna add my carrots.
[375 - 378] The hottest part of the wok is on the bottom.
[378 - 380] This flat bottom part, add my veg in.
[382 - 383] I'm gonna keep tossing.
[383 - 386] You're not trying to color anything too aggressively,
[386 - 388] you're just trying to get it to cook and go snow peas.
[388 - 391] So this is just what I like to add to my noodle,
[391 - 393] but you can add whatever you like.
[393 - 395] You're always moving stuff so it's not burning.
[395 - 397] You can take it off the heat for a second if you need to.
[397 - 399] Then I'm going in with the noodle,
[399 - 402] and then you're rocking the wok,
[402 - 405] going forwards and backwards, constant movement,
[405 - 408] a little bit more oil, MSG or salt.
[408 - 412] Constantly tossing, again, you don't want any color here.
[412 - 413] You take it off the heat for a second.
[413 - 415] I'm gonna add my seasonings.
[415 - 418] I got my light soy sauce, I got my wine, Oyster sauce.
[418 - 420] We're bringing it back on the heat.
[420 - 421] I have my liquid seasonings here.
[421 - 422] I'm gonna add it to the edge of the pan
[422 - 424] just to cook down a little bit.
[424 - 426] Moving it constantly.
[426 - 428] A little bit of oil.
[429 - 431] We're getting that hot flavor into it,
[431 - 435] that wok hei, that breath of the wok. Constant movement.
[435 - 437] Best you can on your home burner.
[437 - 438] I like to add scallions at the very end,
[438 - 442] just to wilt them a little bit. That's it.
[442 - 445] A very quick, simple noodle stir fry.
[445 - 448] It was really only about a minute or two of cooking
[448 - 449] over really high heat,
[449 - 451] and you're adding your ingredients in.
[451 - 453] Each one requires a different amount of cooking time.
[453 - 455] It's all about movement, timing, preparation.
[455 - 459] You can make great stir fries. [bright music]
[459 - 461] Let's talk about cleaning your wok.
[461 - 463] It should be a very simple process.
[463 - 465] While it's hot, you just add some water to it
[465 - 467] to steam off the crud.
[467 - 469] There shouldn't really be that much
[469 - 471] if you've maintained a nice non-stick coating.
[471 - 473] You just give it a light scrub or rinse,
[473 - 476] wipe it out, it will be dry, and that's that.
[476 - 480] This wok has been poorly treated.
[480 - 482] Some of this looks like oil, some of it looks like rust.
[482 - 485] It is salvageable, but it is going to take some effort.
[485 - 489] First step, put it on high heat and let it rip.
[489 - 493] We are going to turn all this gunk into ashes.
[493 - 495] It's a lot like maintaining a cast iron.
[495 - 496] You don't need any soap.
[496 - 499] You should be able to just use a steel wool ball.
[499 - 501] We're smoking already here.
[501 - 502] While it's hot,
[502 - 505] this is the easiest time to scrub all this gunk off.
[505 - 506] As you can see,
[506 - 510] all elements of the wok require some heat to manage it.
[510 - 515] Here we go. [wok clunking]
[515 - 518] All right, hope is not lost, it's coming alive.
[519 - 521] So all this black dust that we're picking up,
[521 - 525] it's all the grease and the rust that caked on.
[525 - 528] We're scraping it off, turning into ash.
[529 - 532] All right, I think I've scrubbed most of the gunk off.
[532 - 535] So now all that's left to do, is to re-season this thing.
[535 - 538] Bring it back to life and turn the heat off.
[538 - 540] I'm gonna add a light sheen of oil,
[541 - 546] swirl it around. [wok clunking]
[546 - 549] Kind of keep doing the same thing couple times.
[549 - 551] You just need a little bit of oil.
[551 - 554] I think the temptation would be to put a lot
[554 - 554] and that's not what you want.
[554 - 557] You want a very thin layer to get extremely hot.
[557 - 560] That way it's going to go below past its smoke point
[560 - 561] and it's gonna polymerize.
[561 - 563] It's gonna basically turn into a non-stick coating,
[563 - 564] kinda like we see here.
[564 - 565] If you have too much oil,
[565 - 567] it's gonna be too cool for that process to happen.
[567 - 570] This is probably still gonna need a little time and love,
[570 - 572] but from where we started, this isn't so bad.
[572 - 576] We're getting back that dark blue, almost black patina.
[576 - 579] With some more use and care, some more regular maintenance,
[579 - 581] this thing will be as good as new.
[581 - 584] Woks, hopefully you have better understanding
[584 - 587] of how to cook, how to season, how to repair one.
[587 - 589] A wok really is a wonderful
[589 - 591] and investment for your kitchen.
[591 - 594] Keep building your relationship with your wok. [bright music]