Wok on the Egg

kweitz

I have a wok and spider arriving today for Egg-wokking. I have watched many videos on seasoning and they are all different. Any advice on seasoning the wok, maintaining correct temp with dome open, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

tjv

wash the wok with soap and water
lightly oil,  
flip upside down in egg, elevate wok if possible
let it sit in egg for hour or so to season,  egg temp 300ish, dome closed

on using, most folks use the spider up, raises the wok to a good working height.  on the fire, all you need is a good steak fire, 

when finished, clean the wok, lightly oil and put it back in egg to season again as egg cools down. I spray with Pam, Don't spray in the egg, fire........

stay way from sharp tool when wokking, the Chinese ladle and spoons will scratch off the season in no time.  you'll need a good pair of gloves to handle the hot wok. 

try shrimp scampi, it's my favorite wok dish.  If you plan to wok a bunch, get the big size, hot dog boats.  they make great bowls for holding your wok stuff.  they are cheap, so easy clean up, just throw them away, 

two big mistakes made in wokking, first, wok ingredients not cut small and uniformly. second, to much food in a wok. two small cooks better than one big one.  wokking is a process, ingredients go in the wok in a specific order.  

t

kweitz

Excellent! Thanks for the advice. I look forward to this aspect of egg cooking. 

tjv

wokking is a fun, different cook in the egg.  can be a healthy cook too.

we appreciate you supporting our family operation.  enjoy

t

SaltySam

Don’t season it in your oven like I did.  

Wow.  Lots of smoke. 

EggMcMic

I echo what @tjv said with a couple additions. I seasoned my wok as he suggested, but I used the oven for ease of set and forget. Don't know that there would be a difference in using the egg.

I put all of my ingredients in what (I think) are called ramekins and lay them out in order of the cook. They are smaller bowls and they work well, we had them so I use them...

Two of our favorites are orange chicken and beef/broccoli. 

I do find that my temperature will climb unless I partially close the bottom vent. I usually run with it 1/3 to 1/2 open once my fire is going.

Have fun!

SaltySam

Mise en place is your friend.  Have everything prepped and next to the Egg.  In other words, don’t run in and out of the house to get more ingredients.  The cook will go much faster than you expect. 

Other tips:

- fresh ginger and soy sauce make a fantastic beef marinade
- 

SaltySam

Whoops.  Hit send too early.  
- garlic burns in the hot oil quickly. Burnt garlic is bitter as hell
- burnt onions, however taste magical.
- look up the book “Breath of a Wok”.  Lots of great ideas, pictures and methods

tjv

SaltySam said:

Whoops.  Hit send too early.  
- garlic burns in the hot oil quickly. Burnt garlic is bitter as hell
- burnt onions, however taste magical.
- look up the book “Breath of a Wok”.  Lots of great ideas, pictures and methods

yep, the garlic is the tricky one to get........

these are the boats I was referring to....they are all over amazon......just add them to your next amazon order.....cheap.

kweitz

Thank you all for the input. I was waffling on woo vs spider. Spider appears to be the correct choice for the wok. 

fishlessman

if you get your egg up to about 600 dome temp, slip in the wok, then completely shut the lower vent, there will be no flair ups while cooking dome open for stirfrys etc. the fire under the wok will be alot hotter so work quickly. somehow i have a collection of chinese teacups, great for lining up spices and sauces to add to the wok as needed

Carolina Q

I don't use a wok nearly often enough. When I do, I use a Weber chimney starter for  wok stove. Recently had to buy a new one - we had enough snow to bury this one and I ran over it with my snow blower.

smbishop

This the cook book I use, excellent recipes!

https://smile.amazon.com/Stir-Frying-Skys-Edge-Ultimate-Authentic/dp/1416580573/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516995200&sr=8-1&keywords=stir+frying+to+the+sky's+edge

R2Egg2Q

I season mine following the Wok Shop’s directions but I use my gasser to keep the fumes outside: https://youtu.be/hNPe5-swL-k

kweitz

@Carolina Q -That looks delicious! Do you find the the chimney gives you the heat you need? Or too much?

SmokingPiney

Carolina Q said:

I don't use a wok nearly often enough. When I do, I use a Weber chimney starter for  wok stove. Recently had to buy a new one - we had enough snow to bury this one and I ran over it with my snow blower.

Elegant and simple.....love it! 

GoldenQ

What is the wok sitting on over the weber chimney

SciAggie

GoldenQ said:

What is the wok sitting on over the weber chimney

It's a cast iron wok. You can get them from The Wok Shop. https://www.wokshop.com/newstore/product/traditional-cast-iron-wok/

SciAggie

This post might be useful. http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1191401/wok-wednesday#latest

R2Egg2Q

GoldenQ said:

What is the wok sitting on over the weber chimney

Appears to be a wok ring (looks a lot like this on: https://www.wokshop.com/newstore/product/wire-frame-wok-ring/) turned upside down.  

Carolina Q

Correct, it was a wok ring I picked up at a local Asian market. You need an air gap so the chimney draws well. I bought the ring for this purpose, having no idea if it would fit. Was perfect though. Unfortunately, the ring was also devoured by the snow monster and I haven't found another yet. I have a new chimney though. I'll find one - or use my old Mini Woo. It fits too as I recall.

Carolina Q

Found a pic of the Mini Woo installed as a wok ring. I had to cut four notches in the top of the chimney. It fit very snugly so I didn't worry about it falling off and ruining dinner, yet it was just a friction fit and was easily removable when I needed the Woo.

I may just notch the new chimney...

GoldenQ

Thanks for the info

stlcharcoal

these are the boats I was referring to....

Gotcha.....thought you were talking about this:  




BTW @tjv , if your charcoal doesn't ship today, it's because I was screwing around on here and google trying to find that pic.  hahahaha

tjv

@stlcharcoal, man everything is on the web........lol

tjv

@Carolina Q, I'd keep that mini woo, probably one I made, an original.......it will have Sotheby's auction potential one day.......lol 

Carolina Q

tjv said:

@Carolina Q, I'd keep that mini woo, probably one I made, an original.......it will have Sotheby's auction potential one day.......lol 

@tjv Haha, so I'll split the profit with @FlaPoolman. He's the one who gave it to me. Much used and appreciated!

Carolina Q

Ok, done. Now what to cook? I could put a wok on it of course, or my old Mini's 10" grid. Even my 8" CI searing grid (which almost never use-it's always rusty) will fit if I place it directly on the sheet metal edge. Or any of my cast iron skillets for that matter. No heat control, but for searing, who cares?!


As for seasoning a wok, here's how I did my last one...

Washed in hot, soapy water, dried, got my large egg really hot with most of the coals burning, set the wok (not oiled) directly on the hot coals to heat it up, removed the wok and (step away from the fire please!) applied a thin coating of peanut oil, inside and out. Back onto the coals and rocked it around bit by bit until it turned black everywhere (even the handles). Doesn't take long. More oil, another thin coat, do it again. Last, I chopped up some green onions and stir fried until they turned black, burned to a crisp. Works great! 

You'll need heat resistant gloves (welder's are good), a rag to apply the oil, long tongs might be helpful. Oh and a place to put a very hot wok when you have to set it down! Keep kids and pets far away from this project! That's about all I can think of.

Cast iron before seasoning

And after (first cook)


Hope this helps! Enjoy!