How to Season a Steel Wok

The steel wok is a staple in many East Asian homes as well as American homes that value Asian cooking. It is a versatile cooking utensil, particularly for stir fry meals such as stir-fried rice or Yakisoba. To bring out true flavor and serve as a non-stick cooking surface, a wok must be properly seasoned. This is a labor of love, but can be well worth the time and effort.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Wok
• 2 cups of lard or palm oil
• Paper towels or cloth
• Water
• Liquid soap
• Stove

1. Wash and clean the wok with a sponge and minimal soap and water. Dry with a paper towel or clean cloth. This should help remove any coating or packaging debris on your wok.

2. Heat the wok up until the entire surface is hot.

3. Coat the wok's cooking surface with lard or similar substance like Crisco. Use a barbecue basting brush for best results. Ensure the surface is evenly and completely covered. If unavailable, substitute with peanut, palm or corn oil.

4. Cook the oil for five to seven minutes, tilting the wok from side to side so that the entire surface is covered. Open up the windows and turn on vents.

5. Let the wok cool down to room temperature. Use a cloth to remove any excess grease.

6. Turn the heat back onto high and repeat steps three through five of applying lard and heating it up until it burns off. Do this until the wok's cooking surface looks to be oily when dry. The wok's color should darken and be uneven in tone.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to use only a sponge or plastic spatula to remove any stuck food particles. For the first five cooking sessions after seasoning your wok, use only water and no soap to clean it. Use the stove's burner to dry the water. For more effective seasoning, re-season the wok by repeating the heating and lard application process at least once after cleaning for the next 10 cooking sessions.

References

• Season A Wok

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