Benefits of a wok?

[cdttmm]

Are there any decided benefits to owning a wok? The storage space in our kitchen is ridiculously maxed out and I think the wok should go. I think we've used in once in the past five years, which is why I'm arguing for ditching the wok and not something else. But my partner loves all manner of kitchen implements, so I need to convince him. The only thing I've ever made in a wok is stir fry. Do I really need a wok to make decent stir fry? Stir fry seems to be a popular frugal dish, does everybody here own and use a wok? I have to imagine the answer is no, so tell me how you make stir fry without a wok. For those of you who swear by cooking in a wok, what else do you make in it?

[IshbelRobertson]

I use my woks - I own 2 - for a lot of things. I cook all manner of Asian dishes in them. I also use the smaller one in place of a frying pan to quickly sear joints of meat before I oven roast the joint.

[Rosemary]

We make a lot of stir-fries. I have a wok because it came with our set of pots and pans. The pots/pans all hang on a rack and so don't really take up any space, and are really easy to get to - I highly recommend this type of storage for cookware. But I've used a large frying pan with a lid sometimes, and frankly, it has worked just as well.

[treehugger]

Well, I wouldn't call it an essential piece of equipment, but it is nice to have, for lots of things. I have a stove-top one (i.e., not electric) that I received as a wedding gift and I use it for all kinds of stir-fries and fried rice (both are very useful and frugal cooking techniques). I also use it when I have a large amount of stuff to cook down (like cabbage) that won't fit in my skillet.

Since you already have one, I would take a couple of months and see all the ways you can use it (certainly for more than Asian food) and then decide if it's worth it to keep it. And hey, since it's your partner that really wants it, challenge him to use it weekly for a month.

Kara

[puglogic]

I had a wok. I eat a lot of stir fries. I almost never used the wok, but instead use the mondo Calphalon saute pan....it just seems to work better for us, gets really hot, etc. I always MEANT to use the wok, but it never seemed worth it. I think it's down in the kitchen archive box somewhere in the scary basement.

I too would suggest that if your partner wants to keep it, HE find a way to use it over the next few weeks and see if it's superior to what you currently use. Not big on redundant pans here in our small kitchen!

[iris lily]

Such a timely topic!

I regularly cook stir fried dishes but have never had a wok. I've agonized over buying one, and I really want one of those Indian ones (they have a flat bottom.)

Last weekend I picked up one at the Goodwill outlet store for less than $1.00 .Tonight I used it--it's ok. It's really big and takes up a lot of space.

I love my cast iron skillets and wouldn't be surprised if this wok is HISTORY in a few months. But then, I do need to read up on wok technique before I jettison it.

[Amaranth]

Some people might want to go the other way--save the wok and one other versatile pot.

For all the amazing things you can do with a wok, see Breath of a Wok by Grace Young.

[Blackdog Lin]

I love love love my wok (remember the Hand-Hammered Wok informercial from the early 90's? - darn thing turned out to be WELL worth the purchase price, as it's still going strong today). It's efficient and fun to use, and we do at least once a week.

But that said, ANYTHING in my kitchen that only gets used once every 5 years would have to go.

[Weston]

I do a lot of stir frying and used to own a wok. I found the woks I have owned to be unnecessary equipment for stir frying. I did just as good a job with a skillet which was far more versatile except for steaming.

Quite a few years after I came to that conclusion, there was a segment on America's Test Kitchen which came to essentially the same result.

Link is below if your interested.

http://www.americastestkitchen.com/equipment-reviews/detail.php?docid=10345

[Mrs-M]

A wok is definitely not an essential piece of cookware when making stir-fry's and things, but what I like about using a wok is, the vegetables and things you are cooking always flow to the centre of the pan where all the flavour and juices/sauce is, so everything is constantly being basted with flavour. Aside from that, a regular ordinary large deep sided pan gets the job done in style!

[SoSimple]

I found a wok most useful when I had (many years ago) a stove with an extra-large gas burner. The wok was round-bottomed and sat on a little stand that perched it just above the extra-large and very hot gas flame. I did some truly authentic Chinese cooking with that set up.

But on a regular electric or gas stove, and with the typical flat-bottomed wok, the physics of heat distribution (or something) just does not work as well as it did with a more authentic set up. I've found a large, deep skillet to be more useful, even if it produces less authentic food.

(The authenticity I refer to was to do with how quickly, and how much, you can heat up a traditional wok, leading to better searing and lighter batters, among other differences. "Western" woks on typical western stoves just don't heat up/cool down fast enough to get the same food chemistry going - hence less authentic to my taste. But honestly unless you're a bit of a foodie snob, you'd hardly notice the difference).

[IshbelRobertson]

My hob has one of those 'wok' burners, SoSimple. I love it for extremely high heat cooking.

[Tweety]

I do all of my stir frying (which is nearly every night) in a cast iron skillet. A wok is useless on an electric stove, as I learned years ago.
Anything that you haven't used in years doesn't deserve to be taking up cabinet room. Which reminds me....there's a fruit & vegetable dryer in my cabinet that has been gathering dust for years.Tomorrow morning it goes on the Audubon Barn Sale pile!

[cdttmm]

Thanks for all the great responses about the pros and cons of wok ownership. Ultimately, we decided the wok can go - yippee! It just wasn't earning its keep in our kitchen so it will find a loving new home via Freecycle. :)

[Tiam]

Good lord I saw the hugest wok with a handle at the goodwill today. A nice one. I walked away. What does a single person living alone need with that wok?