Wok
A bowl-shaped pan that takes fierce heat and tosses food up the sides. Carbon steel is the usual home choice.
When you need it
Stir-fries, searing noodles, and anything that wants a hot spot and a cooler slope. You do not need one to cook Chinese or Korean food at home — a large skillet can stand in.
What to look for
Carbon steel, a base that matches your hob, and a lid if you steam. Non-stick woks are a different tool.
Alternatives
A wide stainless or carbon-steel skillet. You lose some toss and smoke-point theatre.
Care
Season carbon steel. Do not soak it like a casserole. Dry it on the hob.
Recommended products
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Recipes using this
Pad thai
ผัดไทย
Stir-fried rice noodles with tamarind, fish sauce, palm sugar, egg and peanuts — a national dish with a 20th-century origin story.
40 minMedium🌶️
Mapo tofu
麻婆豆腐
Sichuan tofu in a chilli-bean sauce with minced pork, Sichuan pepper, and enough oil to carry the mala.
35 minMedium🌶️🌶️🌶️
Jeyuk bokkeum
제육볶음
Spicy stir-fried pork with gochujang and gochugaru — weeknight heat with rice that you will need.
47 minEasy🌶️🌶️🌶️
Kimchi-bokkeumbap
김치볶음밥
Kimchi fried rice with a fried egg — the 10-minute argument for keeping sour kimchi and leftover rice.
18 minEasy🌶️🌶️
Jajangmyeon
짜장면
Thick wheat noodles under a black-bean gravy of pork and fried chunjang — Korea's Chinese-restaurant hug.
45 minMediumNo chilli
Jjamppong
짬뽕
A Korean-Chinese seafood noodle soup so red and briny it fogs your glasses.
45 minMedium🌶️🌶️🌶️