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Introduction
The Chinese kitchen is considered by many as the best in the world. It is certainly one of the oldest,
full-fledged, and sophisticated kitchens. It has a tradition which dates back more than 3000 years. The
preparation of the food is hereby very important. Cooking itself is very fast and occurs with only minimal
moisture. The result is nutritious and very tasty. Quickly moving and turning the ingredients around
using a little oil in a very hot pan is called “stir-frying”, in Chinese it is also called the “chao” or “chow”
method. This method is used to prepare vegetables, meat, poultry and fish. The wok, a bowl shaped
metal platter, is the basic cooking utensil used when stir-frying. However you can also use the wok for
steaming, deep frying, sautéing, baking and frying. This manual is mainly prepared to teach stir-frying;
after that you can experiment yourself with the traditional western cooking methods.
1. THE WOK
The wok is a relatively thin, half round pan of 25 to 40 cm in diameter (10” to 16”). It is used in all
eastern countries. Sometimes it is also called “karachi”, “kuali” or “wajan”. Mostly it is made out of
steel, aluminium, cast iron or cast aluminium (with or without a non-stick layer) and sometimes also
out of stainless steel. All these materials give more or less good results, but they do show one or two
disadvantages.
A. Steel
Certainly the most common material for the wok; it is cheap but it is difficult to maintain. A steel wok
would need to be regularly oiled otherwise it will rust and the conduction of heat is not ideal.
B. Aluminium
Gives better results, however pitting occurs and aluminium oxides are unhealthy. Aluminium will also go
out of shape quite easily. It is usually covered with a non-stick coating.
C. Cast iron
A relatively good wok, but it is heavy. Corrodes easily and does not have an ideal heat distribution.
D. Cast aluminium
Similar results as for the aluminium wok. Also needs to be covered with a non-stick coating.
E. Stainless steel
Woks made out of only stainless steel give unsatisfactory results as stainless steel is a poor conductor of
heat. Good heat conduction is very important for a good wok otherwise food will stick, burn and cook
unevenly, etc. On the other hand stainless steel is a hygienic material, very strong and easy to maintain.
F. Wok with non-stick coating
This can give good results, but – typically for a wok – heating on very high temperatures can easily
burn the non-stick coating. Metal utensils can never be used while stir-frying in a wok with a non-stick
coating.