A SEASONED WOK IS A FRIEND FOR A LIFETIME! AND YOU WILL NEVER HAVE TO SAY "I'M SORRY" TO THE FOOD THAT PASS THROUGH IT, BECAUSE THEY WILL JUST SLIDE AROUND AND NEVER BURN!
Happy Food makes a Happy Mood!
The idea is to have a non stick wok by seasoning it with distinct flavor. When you buy a Carbon Steel Wok, it comes with a factory lacquer or coating so that the metal won’t rust during the shipping, storing and selling process. Otherwise, without that coating it would just be a Wok of Rust. Get it? Who would want to buy that. I know I won’t be. It is just there to look nice and pretty, so that it would sell fast. Most people buy the already non stick ones, like the one coated with Teflon, and are priced at extremely high price. Usually they do not last very long, as people sometimes have a tendency to burn their cookware and ruin the coating, therefore becoming dangerous to food and health. Today, knowing what I know now, I am not a fan of the non stick pots and pans. I like the Carbon Steel, Stainless Steel and Cast Iron cookwares. I even own a Pressure Cooker that has a Stainless Steel Pot, just because I went through a couple that had the teflon coating, now being useless, I might re purpose it for a potting plant of herbs in the near future. But getting back to this topic, Seasoning. Here are the Steps you need to take to season your Wok correctly.
Please be warned that this is a hot and long process, so, be sure to ventilate your kitchen and house by opening some windows and doors.
1. Put water to about ⅔ deep in the Wok, and boil for 10 minutes. You will notice a yellowish color on the water, it means that the coating is loosening up, thus beginning to break down and slowly dissolving.
2. Empty the water in the sink and add about ½ cup of Baking Soda and ½ cup of White Vinegar.
3. Scrub with Steel Wool to begin the removal of the factory coating. Start at the center of the Wok, If you have a flat bottom Wok, do it on the counter top unless it fits in your sink completely. If the bottom is round, then the sink will do. Scrub all the way to the edge of the Wok. While wet feel for smoothness where your finger does not make a squeaky noise when you run your finger through it. You can also scrub the outside of the Wok to remove the coating as well. But the most important is the cooking surface. You don’t want any of that factory coating while cooking.
4. Rinse with warm soapy water, using a scouring sponge scrubber and dry completely.
5. You can dry it more on the stove, on medium heat, allowing all the moisture to evaporate. Just don’t burn it yet.
6. Remove from heat, add a thin coat of vegetable oil, or peanut oil, using a crumpled up paper towel to spread the oil.
7. On high heat, place oiled Wok on stove and start the burning process. Be sure to use a oven mit, because it is an extremely hot process. First it will turn black, if you look closely, you will notice tiny fire explosion of the remaining factory coats, like tiny volcano bursting its top off. After it turn black, the color will change to a silvery gray color. So, rotate the Wok to even out the color. Start from the center and rotate to the side, Just don’t burn the wooden handle. This will take about an hour to 1 ½ hour.
8. Once the Wok is silvery gray in color, remove from heat and let it cook off naturally, do not wet it yet.
9. Scrub with a non metallic scouring sponge scrub and warm soapy water, as this is the Last Time you will wash this wok with Soap. Keep scrubbing to assure that all the burnt coating is removed.
10. Let it dry completely.
11. Now, the Seasoning process begins, by placing the dry Wok back on the stove, on Medium High Heat.
12. Add an animal fat, whether it’d be pork or chicken fats, and get as much oil as possible from it, then add a cup of sliced yellow onions and char it completely, keep adding more fat if it is drying up. You want to open up the pores of the steel to allow the flavor infused into the Wok. This will remove the metallic taste from the Wok. As you cook more and more, it will always have that oily coating with an onion taste, thus making this Wok Non Stick forever, so that anything you cook will just slide around. What an Awesome concept!
13. After charring the onion, remove from the heat and discard, Let it cool and then just RINSE with WATER ONLY and DO NOT USE SOAP, so you don’t remove the seasoned oil coating. Just use a soft brush or a sponge to wipe off the caramelized sugar from the onions. Rinse well and let it dry for your first cooking.
14. Take a PICTURE AND SHOW OFF to your friends on facebook. Be proud of your work, because it took a long time to achieve this.
15. Now you can close all the Windows and Doors you needed to open for proper ventilation. And maybe Spray the house with FEBREEZE to rid of the smell.
16. If you have a photo, send me a copy, so that I could feel proud that I taught you something. LOL.
Finally a seasoned wok that makes all your cooking nice and easy!
Now that you have done it, have a margarita or a glass of wine, and relax. Reward yourself, feel proud for standing in front of a hot stove and sink for hours. But you will reap the rewards in your cooking. It will be nonstick and easy to clean.
Thank you for reading this blog, as it is quite lengthy. I hope I made a friend in you, and you are my new and forever subscriber.
God Bless and Happy Cooking
“Mahalo” and “Salamat”
*Felix dafudguy (the food guy)
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