Soldato
- Joined
- 19 Oct 2008
- Posts
- 6,008
Has anyone maintained a good seasoned wok? Here are the problems I tend to face.
When I bought my current wok one I initially wiped it only but this soon resulted in a build up of blackened patina that started coming off into the food I was cooking. So, I then moved to using hot water only and a sponge or the scouring side of the sponge to remove stuck food. THis method worked fine but again, eventually the black patina layer started breaking down and appearing in food. I think overheated the wok once which might not have helped.
So recently instead of picking up a new wok I took my current one back to metal apart from some really hardened oil. To do this I used harsh chemicals and also baked it in the oven to get as much of it off as possible. It did the trick. Afterwards I tried a different approach to the initial seasoning. I coated the inside of the wok with oil and then baked it in the oven for about 15 mins. This worked really well. I tried cooking some spring onion and garlic (not to eat) to continue the seasoning and this initial baked on layer of seasoning was great - no sticking at all.
Question is, where to go from here to maintain a layer of seasoning without building up a load of black crud that eventually starts breaking down when cooking in the wok. I normally apply a layer of oil after cleaning and then heat it on the hob until just about smoking before turning off but I don't think it works well across the entire wok. Removing the handle, applying a layer of oil and baking in the oven after every use would probably be better but would be such a faff and I'm sure the Chinese cooks don't do this.
Any thoughts on maintaininmg a seasoned wok for a long time, without having to take it back to bare metal or buy a new one periodically?
When I bought my current wok one I initially wiped it only but this soon resulted in a build up of blackened patina that started coming off into the food I was cooking. So, I then moved to using hot water only and a sponge or the scouring side of the sponge to remove stuck food. THis method worked fine but again, eventually the black patina layer started breaking down and appearing in food. I think overheated the wok once which might not have helped.
So recently instead of picking up a new wok I took my current one back to metal apart from some really hardened oil. To do this I used harsh chemicals and also baked it in the oven to get as much of it off as possible. It did the trick. Afterwards I tried a different approach to the initial seasoning. I coated the inside of the wok with oil and then baked it in the oven for about 15 mins. This worked really well. I tried cooking some spring onion and garlic (not to eat) to continue the seasoning and this initial baked on layer of seasoning was great - no sticking at all.
Question is, where to go from here to maintain a layer of seasoning without building up a load of black crud that eventually starts breaking down when cooking in the wok. I normally apply a layer of oil after cleaning and then heat it on the hob until just about smoking before turning off but I don't think it works well across the entire wok. Removing the handle, applying a layer of oil and baking in the oven after every use would probably be better but would be such a faff and I'm sure the Chinese cooks don't do this.
Any thoughts on maintaininmg a seasoned wok for a long time, without having to take it back to bare metal or buy a new one periodically?