How To Use A Wok Pan

How To Use A Wok Pan

Sprinkle some water before pouring oil into the pan, and when it dissipates quickly, the wok is hot enough. Pour enough oil on the hot wok so that you can mix it onto the surface. It also blows out the ingredients over the surface.

• Place the aromatics on the side and damp the protein such as fish, meat products, and poultry. Allow the meat to char and produce a little moisture. Stir-fry until almost cooked, then place it on a serving plate.
• Pour the vegetables, like carrots, broccoli, and potatoes in the wok pan from the longest to the shortest cooking time. The zucchini, mushrooms, and peppers should come next, followed by soft leafy greens and tomatoes.
• Using a spatula, stir the ingredients around the wok continuously. Let the ingredients combine well, so the herbs and meat absorb the flavor.
• To deglaze the pan, swirl the broth, soy sauce, or wine to add a kick to the food. The taste of the aromatics and meat enhances the flavor too.

Before cooking your dish, prepare all the ingredients to make it easier and quicker to stir fry. Heat the oil until you see a little smoke coming out of the pan. If the ingredients look a little sticky or overcooked, it is just the ingredients’ savory coating. If the protein appears lighter, you will recognize when they are tender. Learning how to use a wok pan is as easy as peasy.

How To Season A Wok Pan

You would want to season your wok pan to make a thick and rust-resistant coating after knowing how to use a wok pan. This way, you can have a savory flavor in your foods.

Here are simple steps to follow when seasoning your wok pan

• Scrub vigorously to remove the factory finish and machine oil with a soapy steel wool pad and hot water, then dry absolutely.
• Slice 1⁄2 cup of ginger thinly, slice one green onion into 2-inch bits and crush one garlic clove.
• Heat the wok to a high temperature and pour three tablespoons of cooking oil and the ginger, onions, and garlic.
• Lower the heat to medium and fry the ingredients for 12 minutes. Ensure that you press the ginger, onion, and garlic tightly into the wok’s surface as they absorb any metallic taste. This produces the first ‘patina,’ which is the pan’s nonstick layer as it builds over time.
• Rinse thoroughly with hot water, wipe with a soft cloth to dry the wok pan.

You may find it useful to re-season the pan after each use to avoid rust if you have a carbon steel wok.

Other Meals You Can Make With Wok Pan

For Steaming
A wok pan is the best cooking tool for a Chinese bamboo steamer due to its circular and bowl shape. One of the benefits of using a bamboo steamer is that the condensation streams back to the ingredients, the cover traps excess humidity.

You can also use a metal steaming rack too. Place them over the wok’s side, and you can get one with hooks or use a regular metal steamer with legs.

Before adding food, such as buns or vegetables to the steamer, damp the water for steaming.

For adding and removing the food, you should use long-handled tongs. Steam releases hot vapor, and it can burn your forearms and hands.

You will find a ‘line’ in your wok when you are steaming, where the seasoning is cleaned from the surface. You can re-season the wok using the instructions above.

For Deep Frying
You can deep-fry prawns and tempura with a wok easily due to its curved shape. The narrow bottom that rises to the top indicates that less oil is required than a standard frying pot. You should also use higher smoke-point cooking oil.

For deep frying, pour in 2 inches of oil but never fill more than half the wok’s capacity, as the pan will become heavy.

To check if the oil is hot enough before add food, you may use a thermometer designed for deep fryers. Ensure that all your raw food is dried to minimize oil splattering over you and the surface before battering.

Add battered bits to ensure even cooking and keep them from sticking into the outer layer. To extract food from the hot oil, use a slotted spoon and metal strainer to screen excess oil.

How Much Time To Cook Ingredients In A Wok

If you’ve seen a skilled chef cooking using a wok pan, you see them throwing the ingredients together into a wok, toss it a few times, and place it on a plate. Such a skilled cook knows how to use a wok pan over a stove, and they are much hotter than you have at home.

There is a simple way to get the elements cooked properly. Here is the order of cooking all the ingredients:

• It takes 7 minutes to cook the protein.
• Aromatics takes about a minute to cook in a wok pan.
• Depending on the vegetable’s size and thickness, it normally takes around 7 minutes to cook veggies.
• The sauce requires 2-minute cooking.