Wok Recommendations for an XL

Romain

Mrs. Easter Bunny, her nose and ears twitching inquisitively, has just asked me if I was interested in anything specific to be included in my forthcoming basket other than the standard fare of peeps, eggs, jelly beans, and chocolate.  I have decided on a wok.  So fellow eggheads, any suggestions and/or advice on a wok for an XL?  The food coming off the XL has been well received this last year in addition to keeping her out of the kitchen.  This will add to my repertoire of recipes quite nicely.  Mrs. Bunny keeps advising me that a happy Mrs. Bunny is a happy life for Mr. Bunny. 

corey24

Look forward to hearing responses as well because I am in the market for a Wok for an XL as well.........I've seen some at the Ceramic Grill Store that looks nice and their stuff is usually high quality.

DMW

I just ordered a Spider from Ceramic Grill Store for my XL. Just picked up a 14" carbon steel wok from The Restaurant Store for $10.49. They also had an 18" which I'll probably add later.

Carolina Q

Here is what The Wok Shop has to say about it...

"Fourteen inch (14") woks are the most popular; not too big; just right and very manageable. Can cook for 1-2 or more, a smaller wok, 12", 10" limited in capacity and cannot cook for more than 3 unless your portions are small. 14" gives you a lot more room to toss and stir fry especially lots of leafy, bulky veggies before they cook down. Woks are very affordable, a small and large one will be ideal and very efficient wokking in the kitchen.  16" is rather large and a bit cumbersome and too heavy for most females but manageable with the helper handle opposite the long wooden handle.  10" is ideal for camping, a second wok or for stir frying small portions.  Good for a single person, one serving, no leftovers.  Woks 18" and larger are considered commercial size and usually too large for home use unless you have commercial range or cooking outdoors with a high BTU (more than 16,000 BTU) stove/grill."

http://wokshop.stores.yahoo.net/wokology101.html

I had to chuckle at her "female" comment.

When the boys were here, my family of four used a 14" wok and it was perfect. Now, it's just me and I have both a 13 and a 14". The size of the wok is determined by how much you are cooking, not the size of the egg. Well, with the obvious diameter limitation. If the quantity you are cooking can be done in a 14" wok, there is no reason to buy a larger one. Just don't try to fit 18" of food in a 14" wok. If you overfill, you cannot stir fry properly.

EggSpinner

I have the woo2 and 19" carbon steel wok for my xl.  We usually cook on the wok once a week during the week since it is such a quick cook. Bought both from ceramicgrillstore.com.  

DMW

Carolina Q said:

Here is what The Wok Shop has to say about it...

"Fourteen inch (14") woks are the most popular; not too big; just right and very manageable. Can cook for 1-2 or more, a smaller wok, 12", 10" limited in capacity and cannot cook for more than 3 unless your portions are small. 14" gives you a lot more room to toss and stir fry especially lots of leafy, bulky veggies before they cook down. Woks are very affordable, a small and large one will be ideal and very efficient wokking in the kitchen.  16" is rather large and a bit cumbersome and too heavy for most females but manageable with the helper handle opposite the long wooden handle.  10" is ideal for camping, a second wok or for stir frying small portions.  Good for a single person, one serving, no leftovers.  Woks 18" and larger are considered commercial size and usually too large for home use unless you have commercial range or cooking outdoors with a high BTU (more than 16,000 BTU) stove/grill."

http://wokshop.stores.yahoo.net/wokology101.html

I had to chuckle at her "female" comment.

When the boys were here, my family of four used a 14" wok and it was perfect. Now, it's just me and I have both a 13 and a 14". The size of the wok is determined by how much you are cooking, not the size of the egg. Well, with the obvious diameter limitation. If the quantity you are cooking can be done in a 14" wok, there is no reason to buy a larger one. Just don't try to fit 18" of food in a 14" wok. If you overfill, you cannot stir fry properly.

This, and your prior advice, is why I'm starting with a 14". Thanks Carolina Q!

fishlessman

i have a 14 and a really nice 16 inch hand hammered, the 16 inch hangs in my attic, i like using the 14 inch better. i also like long handled woks over the hoop style

R2Egg2Q

If you're using a CGS spider or Woo2 as your wok holder, the outside diameter on the ring is 14".  A 14" wok may not sit very securely in the ring and the Woo2 product details state "To span the lower ring's diameter, the platform or vessel must be larger than 14".   I have a 16" wok from CGS and a 20" wok from the Wok Shop and both work great in the XL.  It seems like most recipes are written for a 14" wok (I can't find a recipe for another size in Grace Young's "Breath of a Wok" book).  If you're looking to upsize 14" recipes for a larger wok, you can multiply recipe ingredients written for a 14" wok by 1.5 and not overcrowd an 18" wok.  You can double the ingredients for a 20" wok.  You may wish to consider how big of a wok you can comfortably wash in your sink but if it has a nice seasoning it won't spend much time in there anyway. 

travisstrick

I have a 20" hand hammered wok from the wok shop. I would not use a smaller on the xl for one reason. The space between the edge of the wok and the inside of the egg would let too much heat out and burn the crap out of  your hand every time you went to do anything. With a 14 or 16" wok, you would be working over mostly red hot coals and it would be miserable. 

DMW

@travisstrick‌ Thanks for the advice. When I'm ready for a big one I'll go 20" instead of 18".

Focker

Why not use foundry gloves for the smaller wok?  20" seems like overkill.  

Used them successfully for much higher pizza temps. 

Doesn't CGS have a reducer ring for the XL?

travisstrick

Focker said:

Why not use foundry gloves for the smaller wok?  20" seems like overkill.  

Used them successfully for much higher pizza temps. 

Doesn't CGS have a reducer ring for the XL?

That is an alternate way to skin the cat.