INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

This should answer all your questions about the care and feeding of
woks.  A Wok That Can Rust Is a Wok Worth Cleaning by Joyce Jue
Recently, a reader wrote asking if he should throw out his rusty wok
and start with a new one.  Keep it!  An old wok that can rust is a  wok
worth owning.  Unless the cooking surface has deep pits from rust, a
wok can be  cleaned and reseasoned.  It should stir-fry better than
when it was  new.  Wok Talk:  Why an I writing about woks again?
Because the "rusty wok" question  is the one I'm most frequently asked,
followed by:  How do you season  a----wok??  If you want to feel like a
Chinese cook and produce dishes that taste  authentically Chinese, I
highly recommend using a carbon spun-steel  or thin iron wok for
stir-frying.  Both require initial seasoning,  but regular use will
maintain the seasoning and eventually produce a  shiny black patina
finish.  Chinese cooks are persnickety about their woks.  It takes
time, care  and lots of cooking before a wok develops a patina that
almost  impervious black coating found on well-used woks.  The ultimate
goal  is for the wok to impart wok hay, an elusive pan flavor and aroma
that is associated with Chinese restaurant dishes.  Actually, wok hay
comes from cooking over extremely high heat in a  well-seasoned pan.
Finely Tuned Implement:  Once a wok imparts wok hay, it is respected
like a finely-tuned  instrument.  A well-seasoned wok is almost
non-stick.  I often stir-fry vegetables  using just a thin film of
surface oil.  As the patina builds up, less cooking oil is required.  A
wok is quite sturdy.  It stands up to high heat better than any  other
cooking pan.  It seems impervious to being banged or battered -  I have
accidentally dropped mine down four flights of concrete stairs  and it
came through intact with patina unscratched.  A wok's worst enemies are
soap and scouring pads - they'll remove any  seasoning the wok has
acquired.  Until a wok takes on a shiny, smooth, black patina, the
initial  seasoning must be strengthened by frequent use of the pan, and
fortified by an occasional light re-seasoning.  There is no shortcut to
achieving a perfectly seasoned wok.  It comes  from use.  Seasoning: To
season a new carbon spun-steel wok or to re-season an  old rusty wok,
thoroughly scrub it inside and out with soap and a  steel wool scouring
pad to remove the manufacturer's protective  coating on a new wok, or
the rust on an old one.  Rinse thoroughly  with hot water.  Some
manufacturers apply a coating that is hard to  remove, so set the wok
on the stove, fill it with water and boil it  for several minutes until
the coating dissolves.  Pour out the water  and scrub the surface clean
with steel wool and soap.  Set the clean wok over high heat.  Heat
until a few drops of water  sprinkled into the wok immediately turn
into dancing beads.  While  the pan is heating, it will change from
shiny steel gray to blue,  purple, red and, finally, black.  Dip
several sheets of wadded-up paper towel into peanut or corn oil  and
wipe the oil on the entire inside surface of the wok (you may  want to
use long-handled tongs to hold the towels).  Reduce heat to  low and
let the wok sit over the heat for 15 minutes to absorb the  oil - the
color changes will continue and, hopefully, the bottom of  the wok will
darken. In time and with frequent use the entire wok  will turn black.
if the surface looks dry, wipe with another thin  film of oil.  Remove
wok from the burner and let it cool.  Reheat the wok and repeat the
oiling and heating process once more  before using it for stir-frying.
S.F. Chronicle, 9/18/91.  Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; December 13
1991.  File
ftp://ftp.idiscover.co.uk/pub/food/mealmaster/recipes/cberg2.zip

A Message from our Provider:

“Our hopelessness and our helplessness are no barrier to (God’s) work. Indeed our utter incapacity is often the prop He delights to use for His next act… We are facing one of the principles of Yahweh’s modus operandi. When His people are without strength, without resources, without hope, without human gimmicks – then He loves to stretch forth His hand from heaven. Once we see where God often begins we will understand how we may be encouraged. #Ralph Davis”