Carbon Steel Wok 32 cm
1.6 mm spun carbon steel with a flat base and a wooden handle. Arrives raw, season it before the first cook.
Shipping is calculated at checkout. Cast iron is heavy. The rate reflects it.
- 1.6 mm steel changes temperature the moment you change the flame
- Flat 12 cm base sits still on a domestic hob
- Ships raw: scrub off the factory coating and season it first
- Not dishwasher safe; will rust if soaked or stored wet
The detail
- Diameter
- 32 cm (12.5 in)
- Flat base
- 12 cm; sits on gas, electric and induction
- Base construction
- Single-sheet spun carbon steel
- Thickness
- 1.6 mm
- Weight
- 1.5 kg
- Handle
- Wooden, riveted; not oven safe
- Induction
- Yes, on the flat base
- Seasoning
- Required before first use; ships unseasoned
Spun from a single sheet of 1.6 mm carbon steel, with a flat base 12 cm across so it sits on a domestic hob instead of rocking on a ring. At 1.5 kg you can lift and toss it, which is the reason to buy carbon steel rather than cast iron for this job.
Heat
Thin steel responds almost immediately. Turn the burner down and the pan follows within seconds, which matters when garlic is about to burn. It will never get as hot as a restaurant wok burner, but on a strong domestic gas ring it gets close enough to brown meat properly rather than steaming it.
It arrives raw
New woks ship with a thin protective coating that has to be scrubbed off, and then the pan has to be seasoned before you cook in it. This is not optional, an unseasoned wok will stick and rust within a day. The seasoning and care guide has the stovetop method; it takes about twenty minutes.
Living with it
Rinse hot, dry on the burner, wipe with a trace of oil. It will go from silver to bronze to near-black over the first few months and get slicker as it does. Do not put it in a dishwasher and do not soak it. The wooden handle is not oven safe.