Before you can use your wok, you need to ‘season’ it. This helps build up a black, non-stick surface that makes wok cooking so great.
- Wash the wok inside and out with hot soapy water. Do not use an abrasive cleanser on the inside of the wok
- Rinse and dry the wok well
- Place the wok on high heat turning it and tilting it up to the rim and back until it starts to turn an even yellow-brown color
- Remove from the heat, turn down to medium-low
- With a basting brush or tongs holding a paper towel, add a thin film of neutral oil (avocado oil is perfect for this), just enough to coat the inside surface of the wok. Too much oil will clump and burn.
- This part can get smoky, so turn the ventilation fan on and put the wok back on the heat for about 5 minutes - again moving it around to get even heat coverage
- Then turn the heat off and let wok cool back down to room temperature before the next round of seasoning. When it's cool, wipe out any excess oil with a paper towel
- Repeat steps 5-7 three to four more times. You'll notice that each time the wok will get darker and darker.
- Your wok is now ready to be used and at this point I like to throw in a big handful of chopped garlic, green onion and ginger to cook for a few minutes. And you wok will continue to darken each time you use it, and that’s good. Now go make something
- Remember when cooking, FIRST heat the wok until almost smoking, THEN add the oil
HOW TO CLEAN YOUR CARBON STEEL WOK
- Let it cool down first, but Do Not cool down with cold water - cold water could damage the wok and undo all your hard work seasoning it. Plus, the steam and spitting oil could easily burn you.
- Then, using water clean it with a soft sponge, dish-rag or bamboo brush - do not use soap or something scratchy inside as they can remove the seasoning. But it’s ok to use a more abrasive sponge on the outside of the wok to remove grease and anything stuck on
- When it’s clean, dry it really well because allowing a wok to air dry may cause rusting. Or you can dry the wok completely by setting it on the stovetop over low heat
- After cleaning, I add a very light coating of neutral oil again to further eliminate any chance of rusting