This Damn Wok
A Voicemail Message on resiliency, acid and sugar, and carbon steel versus humans.
Today I Googled “What the fuck is wrong with my wok” because all the other polite, SFW Googling I’ve done — as well as my purported, semi-professional-chef and decently culinarily educated understanding of how to cook with seasoned metal pans is NOT WORKING.
I am beside myself, send help.
I have ardently scraped free, and then diligently, obediently, fastidiously re-seasoned this Mother at least three times in the past as many months. Here I will outline my exact process, and then you shall provide insights. Clearly I am doing something wrong!!!!
I start with a cold, clean wok. I set it on the burner, crank it up to high (it’s literally called a “POWER BURNER” so the thing rips), wait for the wok to smoke. She’s super hotsy totsy.
I add oil (peanut, or canola, or vegetable — I’ve tried them all) and swirl to coat. The oil is shimmering, just like it’s supposed to be!
Vegetables stir-fried in oil are fine. The problems arise with proteins and starches. Also sometimes… soy sauce?!
I add the protein (or the rice, or the noodles), and I stir like a banshee…
