Seasoning a Wok: Guide for Carbon Steel, Care and Heat

Which woks you need to season

Woks made of carbon steel (often sold as "carbon steel" or "iron") and cast iron need seasoning. You do not season woks with a nonstick coating. High heat without food damages the coating. Stainless steel woks do not get a patina in the classic sense either.

Carbon steel is the material wok cooks in China use. It heats quickly, responds directly to adjusting the flame and withstands the high temperatures you need for fried rice or gan chao niu he.

What you need

• Dish soap, hot water and steel wool or a strong scrubbing sponge
• An oil with a high smoke point: refined peanut, canola or sunflower oil
• Paper towel and tongs or an oven mitt
• Optional: a handful of scallions and a piece of ginger
• A strong heat source: gas flame, outdoor burner or an oven at high temperature

Open the windows and turn the range hood to its highest setting. Seasoning produces smoke.

Step by step: seasoning the wok

1. Remove the protective coating: New steel woks come from the factory with a layer of oil or lacquer. Scrub the wok inside and out with hot water, dish soap and steel wool. Read the maker's instructions: some lacquer layers you have to burn off over the flame until the metal changes color.
2. Dry: Set the wok on the flame until no water is visible.
3. Heat: Heat the empty wok over high heat. Tilt and turn it so the side walls get hot too. The bare metal turns bluish to golden brown.
4. First oil layer: Take the wok off the fire briefly, put a teaspoon of oil on folded paper towel and rub a thin layer over the whole inside. Hold the paper with the tongs.
5. Burn it in: Put the wok back on the flame until the oil smokes and the smoke subsides. The surface gets darker.
6. Repeat: Rub on the next thin layer of oil and burn it in. Three to five rounds give a first base patina.
7. Aromatic finish (optional): Fry scallions and ginger slices with two tablespoons of oil in the wok for ten minutes, spreading them over the whole surface. This is the traditional Chinese method. Afterward you throw the vegetables away.
8. Let it cool: Wipe out the wok. It is now ready for cooking.

Without a gas stove it also works in the oven, if your wok has a metal handle. Rub it inside and out with a very thin film of oil and put it upside down on the rack for one hour at the highest oven temperature, with a baking sheet underneath. Let it cool in the oven and repeat the process two to three times. Woks with a wooden handle do not belong in the oven. Unscrew the handle first, if that is possible.

After seasoning, the wok looks blotchy, with brown, blue and black zones. That is normal. The patina becomes more even and darker with every use.

Working with heat properly

A seasoned wok releases food only if you get it hot enough. The rule of thumb is "hot wok, cold oil":

1. Heat the empty wok until it begins to smoke lightly.
2. Add the oil and swirl it over the walls.
3. Add the first ingredients right away.

Cook in small batches. A full wok cools down, the meat cooks in its own juice and sticks. For kung pao chicken or wok beef, you sear the meat first, take it out and return it at the end.

On the stove: a round-bottomed wok needs a gas flame and a wok ring. For glass-ceramic and induction cooktops, buy a flat-bottomed wok. On induction only the bottom gets hot and the walls stay cooler. Plan smaller portions there.

How to recognize a good patina: the surface has a matte shine, feels smooth and dry and no longer rubs off on paper towel. A fried egg slides loose in a well-preheated wok with a little oil after a short time.

Care after cooking

• Wash the wok with hot water and a bamboo brush or soft sponge while it is still warm.
• A little dish soap for stubborn grease does no harm to a well-seasoned patina. But never let the wok soak.
• Dry it over the flame until it is completely dry.
• Rub it with a few drops of oil while it is warm.
• Store it dry. The dishwasher is off limits for steel woks.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

• Too much oil when seasoning: Thick layers turn sticky instead of hard. Heat the wok again until the oil has burned through, then wipe with a little oil.
• Rust: Scrub the rusty spot bare with steel wool and season it again with two to three thin layers of oil.
• Flaking black bits: That is charred buildup. Scrub the spot off and season again.
• Acid in young woks: Long simmering with tomato, vinegar or wine attacks a fresh patina. In the first weeks, cook chahan and vegetables with plenty of oil. Braised tomato dishes you cook in another pot.
• Cold wok: Eggs and noodles as in pad thai stick if the wok was not hot enough. Preheating solves the problem.