# Reseasoning a Wok?



## Handgunner (Oct 24, 2004)

We bought a Wok about 2 months ago and went through the seasoning process... The boiling water, wiping down with oil, heating it up, wiping down, etc...

Here's the problem.  My loving wife, put it in the dishwasher, and let it "air dry". 

Long story short, it's COVERED in rust now.  Any way to fix it, or do ya think we just need to toss it and start with another one?

I cleaned it best I could, but it still has that rust look to it and I'm sure something is gonna stick to it.  It's just too rouch for something NOT to stick to it...

So what do ya think?  Maybe a brillo pad with some cooking oil or something?

It was a good Wok, I don't know what she was thinking!


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## QuakerBoy (Oct 24, 2004)

I would try some steel wool with oil/fat and try rubbing it out.

Then reseason it


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## Catfish369 (Oct 24, 2004)

1.   Wash the new wok with hot water and mild soap.  

2.   Rinse well.  

3.   Place wok on stove over medium heat.  

4.   Fold a paper towel into a small square, and then soak it with fresh vegetable oil.  

5.   Wipe the hot wok until it is completely covered with a thin film of oil.  

6.   Switch to a clean paper towel pad and continue wiping the wok until it is completely covered with a thin film of hot oil.  

7.   Turn the heat to low and let the wok heat for 15 minutes.  

8.   Let the wok cool, and then use.  

9.   Reseason the wok if food sticks to the wok.  


  Tips:  
 After using the wok, rinse with very hot water and clean with a plastic scouring pad. Don't use soap or steel wool.  

 Always pat wok dry with a paper towel.  

 Through repeated usage, a dark brown film of carbon will form in the wok. This is not only normal, it's desired: like a cast-iron skillet, the patina that builds up on a wok makes food less likely to stick and even imparts flavor.  

 Woks rust very easily. If your seasoned wok rusts through disuse or improper cleaning, wash and reseason it.


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## Catfish369 (Oct 24, 2004)

Or here's another opinion..........


Only iron and steel woks need to be seasoned. Stainless steel woks do not need this treatment, as they are far less porous than iron or steel woks. However with stainless steel woks, more oil is required to prevent the food from sticking and burning. 
Seasoning a steel wok enables foods to glide smoothly over the cooking surface of the wok. In a properly seasoned wok one should be able to make perfect omelettes. If the omelette even sticks ever so slightly, then the wok is not properly seasoned and should be re-seasoned. 

There are two methods for seasoning the iron or steel wok. To season a new or to re-season an old rusty wok, thoroughly scrub it inside and out with soap and a steel wool scouring pad to remove the manufacturer's protective coating on a new wok, or the rust on an old one. Rinse thoroughly with hot water. Some manufacturers apply a coating that is hard to remove, so set the wok on the stove, fill it with water and boil it for several minutes until the coating dissolves. Pour out the water and scrub the surface clean with steel wool and soap. 

Set the clean wok over high heat. Heat until a few drops of water sprinkled into the wok immediately turn into dancing beads. While the pan is heating, it will change from shiny steel grey to blue, purple, red and, finally, black. 

Dip several sheets of wadded-up paper towel into peanut or corn oil and wipe the oil on the entire inside surface of the wok (you may want to use long-handled tongs to hold the towels). Reduce heat to low and let the wok sit over the heat for 15 minutes to absorb the oil - the colour changes will continue and, hopefully, the bottom of the wok will darken. In time and with frequent use the entire wok will turn black. If the surface looks dry, wipe with another thin film of oil. Remove wok from the burner and let it cool. 

Reheat the wok and repeat the oiling and heating process once more before using it for stir-frying. 

Another more thorough method of seasoning a wok is to brush polyunsaturated cooking oil on the cooking surface of the wok and then place the wok into an oven at 150'C. for four hours. The oil in the wok will become pooled while heating in the oven, so about every hour or so, take your brush and brush the oil up around the sides of the wok and continue heating. Obviously, woks that have plastic or wooden handles should not be put in the oven. 

New woks may cause a slight metallic taste to the first two or three dishes that are cooked in it, but after use, the metallic taste disappears. 

A wok's worst enemies are soap and scouring pads - they'll remove any seasoning the wok has acquired. After cooking foods in the wok, it is best to run very hot water into it and clean the surface of the wok with a bamboo brush or plastic scour. If you watch a Chinese cook in a large restaurant, you will see him (yes, I think men are the best cooks! ) keep the wok on the stove, make it hot again and then dump some water into the wok and, as it is sizzling, scrub it quickly with a bamboo brush and then dump the water before starting to make a new order. The whole process takes maybe 5 seconds and the wok is clean. 

After you have washed your wok, dry it thoroughly with a paper towel and store for future use. Some gourmets will place a small amount of oil on their fingertips to re-coat their woks to keep them in top cooking condition. 

Eventually through repeated usage, a dark brown film will develop in the wok. The wok is now truly seasoned. This film is essentially carbon and is not harmful to one's health. The bottom of the woks, the part that touches the cooking flame of the stove should definitely be scoured over occasionally to free it of collected residue. 

If one has the misfortune to accidentally burn food in the wok, it will be necessary to take steel wool and scour out the burnt material and then re-season the wok once again. Each time that one has to scour out the wok with abrasive material, then one should re-season the wok. 

Stainless steel woks sometimes stick when used to cook omelettes or for stir-frying meats. To overcome this problem, one can spend five minutes to "season" the wok before use or spray a coating of lecithin on the surface of the wok to allow for easy gliding of the foods. Lecithin is sold commercially under several brand names as "non-stick" cooking aids.


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## Schulze (Oct 24, 2004)

where are you guys buying good woks?

I would hate to try and make one but it won't be too hard


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## Handgunner (Oct 25, 2004)

Catfish,  THANKS!  I'll try that.

I must ask though, how do you know so much about them?  Are you a chef of some sort?


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## Catfish369 (Oct 25, 2004)

My wife has been trying to get me to go to cooking/chef school for 4 years now, but no I am not currently a chef, except in my own household....I just love to cook is all.  Half of my "Favorites" I have saved on the computer are recipes and recipe sites.


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## Handgunner (Oct 25, 2004)

Good deal.  Then let's see some of your "Favorites" in the Outdoor Cafe'!   I'm always up for a good recipe or three...


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## Perry Hayes (Oct 26, 2004)

If is rusty or dirty, find someone with a small air blast cabinet and it will clean up like brand new. then re-season.


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## leadoff (Oct 26, 2004)

I have found that there is just no reasoning with a wok! Darn things are soooo hot headed!!!


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