I Bought a French Wok

The reviewer introduces the De Buyer 12.5-inch carbon steel wok, highlighting its French origin. He notes its price (around $100, but bought on sale for $75), its significant weight (almost five pounds), and its two-millimeter thickness, which is thicker than many woks. Concerns are raised about its conical shape, small four-inch flat cooking surface, and potential instability due to the long handle and weight. The handle is coated, preventing oven use for seasoning, which could be an issue for flat-top stove users.

Carbon steel is discussed as a reactive metal that needs seasoning to prevent rust and create a non-stick layer. The manufacturer's seasoning instructions (hot water wash, leaving some beeswax, and oiling) are critiqued as being too general. The reviewer adapts the method, finding that uneven heat distribution on gas burners required rotating the wok to season the sides. A fried egg test demonstrates impressive non-stick properties after initial seasoning.

The wok's cooking performance is described as a mixed bag. While delicious food was produced, it required a lot of effort and finagling due to issues with seasoning, heating, and stability. The reviewer stocked up on Asian ingredients and watched numerous fried rice videos to prepare for testing across various burners and cooktops.

Testing on electric and induction flat tops reveals significant problems. The small flat base of the wok made little contact, leading to extremely hot centers (over 800 degrees Fahrenheit) and much cooler sides (around 100 degrees Fahrenheit). This wide temperature differential prevented proper seasoning of the entire wok and caused food to stick to the cooler sides. The wok's weight also made flipping and moving it difficult and risky on a glass top stove, leading to warnings from his wife.

Performance improved on gas burners. Searing chicken on a medium burner with a wok ring worked, with the caveat of cooking in smaller batches to avoid steaming. Deglazing effectively cleaned sticky bits. Fried rice on a smaller burner yielded delicious results, but sticking on the cooler sides led to seasoning loss. The reviewer demonstrates a safe technique for touch-up seasoning by wiping oil on the hot pan. Using a high-output burner and more oil reduced sticking significantly.

Frozen stir-fry vegetables were tested. The cold, wet veggies drastically dropped the wok's temperature on a medium burner, taking a long time to recover, and prevented quick, high-temp stir-frying. Kung Pao chicken was prepared, and the reviewer learned to cook the chicken less in the wok and finish it in the sauce in another pan for better results.

The wok ring adds stability but lifts the wok further from the flame, reducing heat. Placing the wok directly on the grates provided more heat but made it unstable. On the high-output burner, the larger flame spread out, heating the sides intensely but the center less efficiently. The most effective method for high-temp stir-frying was manually holding the wok over the high-output flame, but this was inconvenient and the handle became hot.

Cooking beef flank steak on the small burner caused it to boil rather than sear, leading to sticking. The medium burner was better, but still required batch cooking. Only by manually holding the wok over the high-output flame could true searing and quick browning be achieved. Despite ultimately producing delicious food, the reviewer concludes that the De Buyer wok, while high-quality carbon steel, has a problematic shape for most home stoves, especially flat tops. He gives it a moderate thumbs down due to the finagling required and its premium price, suggesting that a cast iron skillet might offer a similar experience with fewer headaches.