How to clean a wok?

[luvnit]

I live near an auction house that has auctions every month. Usually they do businesses that are bankrupt like: restaurants, gyms, model home furniture, construction companies, etc.

Well anyway, I finally found an auction that had an Asian restaurant that went belly up. I bid on a lot with 2 woks, some kind of strainer and a misc. pot. I got them all for 10.60. But they are in serious need of cleaning. How do you clean them properly without taking off the seasoning?

And, does anyone know that that aluminum pot is for in the middle? Not sure what that is for.

[Mare749]

Sorry, I'm no help with the cleaning part. I guess you could spray them with oven cleaner, but I would be worried about residual chemicals, so that might not be a good idea either. The pot in the middle might have been used for cooking/re-heating small amounts of noodles for individual orders.

Maryann

[cjs]

Laura, I found these instructions long time ago and keep them handy, maybe they will help you -

The pot in the middle? Looks like there are legs of some kind on it? Great buy anyway!

How To Season a Carbon Steel Wok

Wash the wok in hot water with a small amount of liquid detergent and a scrubber (such as a stainless steel sponge or pad).

If needed, scrub the exterior of the wok with the scrubber and an abrasive cleanser. Do not use the abrasive cleanser on the inside of the wok.

Rinse the wok and dry thoroughly.

Place the wok on high heat.

Move the wok, turning it and tilting it up to the rim and back, until the metal turns a blueish-yellowish color.

Remove the wok from the stove element. Turn the heat down to medium-low.

Add a thin film of oil (about 1 ½ teaspoons) over the entire inside surface of the wok. There are several ways to do this. One is to use a paper towel to rub the oil over the surface.

You may want to use tongs to hold the paper towels. Another way is to use a basting brush for barbecues or any other heat-proof brush to brush on the oil.

Heat the wok on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.

Wipe off the oil with another paper towel. There will be black residue on the towel.

Repeat steps 7 through 9 until no black residue comes up on the paper (about 3 times). The wok is now ready to use.

Tips:

Flat bottomed woks are better for electric ranges. Round bottomed woks can reflect heat back on the heating element, damaging it.

It is important to thoroughly clean the wok to remove the manufacturer's protective coating.

It is better not to purchase a non-stick carbon steel wok, as the high heats required for Chinese cooking may damage the non-stick coating.

If you do purchase a non-stick wok, follow the seasoning and cleaning instructions carefully, or you may damage the coating.

---- How to clean a wok -

Rinse the wok in hot water.

Gently lift off or scrub away food particles with a nonmetallic scrubber.

Rinse the wok.

Dry the interior and exterior of the wok with paper towels.

To finish drying, place the wok over medium to medium-high heat.

Wipe the inside of the wok with a small amount of vegetable oil. This helps prevent rusting. (Note: this step may not be necessary if your wok is properly seasoned and gets a lot of use.

Store until ready to use again.

Tips:

Never scrub a carbon steel wok with an abrasive cleanser, as this can damage the seasoned surface.

Do not put the wok in the dishwasher.

If rust appears or the wok is accidentally cleaned in the dishwasher, simply re-season it, being careful to remove all the rust.

Description:
"While many types of woks are available today, carbon steel is still the best. With proper treatment, it will last forever."

[luvnit]

I did think about oven cleaner. These woks are pretty scuzzy. Especially on the bottom. Looks like they have never been cleaned.

I want to preserve the black patina. I will try Jean's method to see how clean they get first before I do anything drastic.

Thanks guys!

p.s. I know that's not a very good picture but the pot in the middle has no legs. The odd thing about it is the lip on the top portion of the pot. It's about 2" Not sure if it's for a steam basket, or what. It just seems like you could set something ontop of it.

[Roxanne 21]

Jean's instructions should work beautifully----that sort of looks like a pasta pot to me---

[luvnit]

I found out what that pot is!

It is a 'sticky rice' pot. The rice is actually steamed in a basket on top of the pot.



I also found out that the one with two handles is a cantonese wok.



And the one with the long-single handle is a mandarin wok.



Now I just have to figure out what that all means. I understand the sticky rice thing. But not the woks. I just figured a wok is a wok is a wok. I think Rob could shed some light on this perhaps, but just a hunch.

[Gourmet_Mom]

What a GREAT buy! I will soon be checking into auctions like this for the kitchen at the camp. I'll just have to figure out how to find them.

I would think, restoring the wok would be like restoring cast iron, just on the stovetop. So Jean's directions should work nicely. You may want to get some help with the elbow grease necessary for the scrubbing. I'd start with the finest steel wool and go up if needed. (Maybe a medium to coarse for the outside.)