How To Clean A Wok (Carbon Steel Wok Maintenance)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ต.ค. 2024
- A Bamboo Wok Brush is a great tool to clean a wok after each use. Cleaning a wok is fast using a Bamboo Wok Brush. Why soap should or should not be used to clean a carbon steel wok.
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HOW TO CLEAN A WOK
For home cooking, make sure you buy the small bamboo brush suitable for a home cooking. The large bamboo wok brush are more suitable for cleaning the large commercial woks, such as those found in restaurants. The bamboo wok brush in this video is only about 9 inches long. It's perfect for my size of wok.
I use a few drops of dish washing liquid added to water to clean my wok. Some traditional cooks say cleaners will damage the hard patina surface of the wok. They only use water to clean their woks. The woks at my grandfather's restaurant and my dad's restaurant in the past were cleaned every night with detergent soap added to the water. I personally feel it's okay to use dish washing liquid to clean a wok.
Bamboo wok brush can be purchased in Asian supermarkets and specialty stores. I bought mine in our local Chinatown. This bamboo brush can also be used to clean utensils and other kinds of pots and pans. Try it and see how you like it. Happy Chinese cooking.
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The wok I use in my house is over 30 years old. It has been used so many time I can't count that high. I use a bamboo brush like yours to clean not only the wok but all of my pot and pans that have stuff stuck on them. After I clean my wok I use spay oil on it. Works great.
Great to hear about the history of your wok. Thanks for the tip about using spray oil. If I ever do a video about using oil spray on my wok, you'll know it's from your tip. Thanks for viewing my video on How To Clean A Wok.
Thanks I got a bamboo brush with a utensil set and had no idea what it was for. Now I know. Thanks for the info.
You're very welcome. That bamboo brush is great for cleaning pots and pans too. Thanks for viewing my video on How To Clean A Wok.
Great video! Simple and straight to the point.
Thanks for the feedback. Thanks for checking out my video.
Finally! Realistic way of cleaning! Thank you. I can rest assure.
You’re welcome 😊 Thanks for viewing my video on How To Clean A Wok.
After cooking with your wok, try to remove all the lose food from the wok.
Add water to your wok, using the brush as shown in the video, clean, and
scrub the edges, and the bottom of your wok. Place back on the stove starting with a med-high heat
continue to clean using the bamboo brush.
If needed, add more water, no worries, it will boil quickly
continue cleaning, and changing water until clear. Then,
add more water, bring to a boil, cleaning your bamboo brush
and ensuring the wok is clean.
Leave the burner on high, using an old whit T-shirt dry excess water from Wok, and 1/4 tsp of coconut oil
remove from heat, and swirl oil around until all cooking surface is covered.
Using a separate T-shirt cloth, remove excess oil, and store your wok.
I use my wok every day also, and I use it for almost everything including omelettes, eggs over medium
various stir fry...
Thanks for your tips for cleaning a wok. Great to hear you use your wok every day.
I’d run out of t-shirts if I used your method. I have an easier method I will post.
Tedious method... simple scrub and oil lightly when storing? 🤷♂️
Thank-you. I'm loving my first wok
Great to hear. Wishing you all the best in your cooking adventures with your wok. Thanks for viewing my video How To Clean A Wok.
I freaking love this channel so much! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
You're very welcome. Your support is greatly appreciated. Thanks for viewing my video on Daily Wok Cleaning.
Question about a NEW wok. Do you "season" the outside also w/oil so it doesn't rust?
I don't season the outside because if there's a bit of rust, I'm not concerned because I'm not eating off it. When I notice a bit of rust, I just take a napkin with a tablespoon of cooking oil and wipe out the rust. Thanks for checking out my video. Happy cooking.
So glad to have found this Korean cooking channel!!!!! :) Just kidding. Thanks for the info.
You're very welcome. When I was younger, people used to tell me I looked like Daniel Dae Kim, the Korean actor. Thanks for viewing my video on How To Clean A Wok.
Great video! Thanks!
You're welcome! Thanks for viewing my video on How To Clean A Wok. Happy cooking!
@@ChineseCookingChannel yes I recently purchased a proper wok and it came with the Bamboo brush! I had no idea how to use it and now I wonder where this has been all my life! Ingenious!
@ChineseCookingChannel, Dan Seto: Suggestion: It’s much better and more effective to use very coarse salt to clean stuck on food from the wok or cast iron cookware. Grace Young, author of “Breath of a Wok” and “Stir Fry to the Sky’s Edge” books, calls this process, giving the wok a “facial scrub “.
Good idea with the coarse salt. Thanks for the suggestion.
Thank you for the video. I dont cook regularly. Usually only during weekends. Hence after oiling the surface of the wok and storing it. Would it be recommended to wash off the oily surface before cooking again? Also for daily use of the wok, do you also wash away the oil before cooking?
If you are using your wok weekly, you probably don't need to wash the oil before cooking. If you store the wok for a few months, then I would wash the wok and oil the wok again before cooking. If you are using your wok daily, every time you wash your wok, just rub a thin coat of oil on the wok, and leave the oil on when you do your cooking. Thanks for your questions, Thanks for viewing my video on How To Clean A Wok.
Thank you, enjoyed your video!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for checking out my video on How To Clean A Wok.
Nice channel. My thoughts: I NEVER use soap on a steel wok, discada or cast iron cookware. NEVER!!! When I’m done cooking, I wipe out the wok with a paper towel. I then add hot tap water and use a dedicated soap-free “wok brush” to wash the wok with, but NO soap! The heated water is all that is needed for big stuck-on food residue. Then rinse again. Then follow this method for complete cleaning and re-seasoning:
1. Wipe dry with paper towels and add a tiny amount (1-1 1/2 table spoons only) of “light olive oil” (or your favorite cooking oil).
2. Heat the oil super hot and add 2 tablespoons of regular table salt to the pan. The salt acts as a gentile abrasive and also keeps the smoke down. Once very hot where the oil barely begins to smoke, turn off the flame.
3. Next, with a wad of paper towels, lightly scrub the inside of the pain with the salt/oil (don’t burn yourself) and remove any stuck-on food. Make sure to coat the entire inside of the pan. The salt just clumps together and is easily discarded into the sink or trash.
The wok is now coated with a thin coating of oil, seasoned and ready for the next meal on another day. And don’t worry, all of the salt is gone when you easily wipe it out of the pan. Only the seasoned baked-on oil coating is left perfectly on the surface of the pan.
Never use soap! 😮
Basically I agree with you. This was an earlier video. Here is a later video uploaded on March 13, 2021 where I use the salt, no soap and wok brush: th-cam.com/video/IcfA37xFe_w/w-d-xo.html
However, in my dad's and grandfather's 4 restaurants, we cleaned our woks with soap and we had no problems. Nowadays I generally don't use soap.
Thanks for your detailed summary of technique. Thanks for checking out my video on How To Clean A Wok.
Is there an inexpensive really good wok you could recommend? I been making stir fried rice a lot and started looking at some woks, but Amazon is annoying with the amount of woks that maybe shouldn't be trusted.
My wok is a "Dexam" brand. I think it's from England. You can check it out under my video in the description section, in my "Chinese Cooking Accesory Guide". It's the 14 inch (30cm) carbon steel wok with the 2 cm. thickness. If you can find in an Asian Supply store or a cooking specialty store, you save the shipping costs. It is fairly expensive (just under $100 Canadian with shipping costs), but it should last almost a lifetime. If you check the "Joyce Chen" brand of wok, the 14 inch (30cm) seems to be similar or the same as the "Dexam" wok. You can order the "Joyce Chen" wok directly through Amazon. I have the flat bottom wok because I cook on a coil top stove. If you have a gas stove, you would need the round bottom wok. If you have any questions, let me know. Thanks for viewing my video on How To Clean A Wok.
I had always been told you never use soap on a wok, or it will take out the seasoning. (Same for cast iron).
I can point them to this video now. :)
I'm sure there will still be viewers that will tell me I shouldn't use soap of any kind. Thanks for checking out my video on Fast Wok Cleaning.
i'm most concerned with the water on the wok and applying oil on top of that. its not the correct way of seasoning after you clean it.
@@ChineseCookingChannel I use soap to clean my wok, but do dry and rub oil after clean.
Hi I think I used to much cooking oil or applied it when it was still too hot, so the bottom looks sort of brown, should I try to scrap it and re-season from scratch?
I think it's o.k. if the bottom of your wok is brown in color. It takes time to build up a hard, black patina surface. Just start cooking with your wok. Be sure not to cook anything with vinegar in it. If it's a new wok, just try grilling stalks of green onions or plain onions really well and then throw out the green onions or onions- don't eat them. It takes several months before the wok starts to get a smooth black surface. If the surface of the wok starts getting rough again, just repeat the process that you see in this video. Also check out some of my other wok seasoning videos on this channel and also on my other channel, under my name "Dan Seto. If you have any questions, please let me know. Thanks for viewing my video on How To Clean A Wok.
Will adding soap remove the seasoning?
Using mild soap does not hurt the seasoning. This is based on what I saw at my dad's and grandfather's restaurants where they used woks for cooking. Last few years, I seldom use soap to clean my home wok because generally you don't need soap to clean your wok. Thanks for viewing my video.
很久才看到这个视频，非常感谢！想问一下我用这种铁锅炒菜（开锅以后）之后，锅里会稍微有点黑，旁边还好，就是中间底部怎么也刷不掉，请问是正常现象吗？会不会有损健康?
How do you prevent the bamboo brush from harboring bacteria?
I went down to the store in Chinatown yesterday where they sell these brushes. The lady at the store told me there are natural properties in the bamboo prevents bacteria from forming. Sometimes when I'm washing the dishes, I did the end of the brush into the dish soap water and then rinse in hot water. Thanks for your question. Your question is a very good one. Thanks for viewing my video on How To Clean A Carbon Steel Wok.
If we have no bamboo brush, what type of sponge should we use?
I use a green scrubbing pad sometimes. You can also use a dish washing brush with a handle. Thanks for viewing my video on How To Clean A Wok.
What are those huge wok a Chinese use, those attach to a cement stand.
Most likely these woks use propane tanks to cook their food. Thanks for viewing my video.
I have a round bottom wok. I also have a traditional electric coil stove. I noticed you have a flat bottom wok. Is my wok cooking experience compromised because my round bottom wok sits on an electric coil? Could it compromise the food I'm cooking? Sould I get the fire ring? Thanks
The ring will make it easier to cook when the wok is sitting on it. When I used a ring before, it was sitting higher, so the wok wasn't as hot because it was farther away from the stove coil. The round bottom doesn't make as much contact with the stove coil, but if you have been able to cook with it, the that's all that matters. Thanks for viewing my video on How To Clean A Wok.
Thanks for this video! I'm curious if a chain link (used to scrape food off cast iron) will work just as well a bamboo brush?
I'll have to check into the chain link. I have never heard of it before. Thanks for viewing my video on How To clean A Wok.
@@ChineseCookingChannel www.amazon.com/Efaithtek-Cleaner-Premium-Stainless-Scrubber/dp/B073HZFXFJ/ref=sr_1_2?crid=28GMGVBQLAIXX&dchild=1&keywords=chain+link+scrubber+for+cast+iron&qid=1588559939&sprefix=chain+link+for+cas%2Caps%2C219&sr=8-2
My carbon steel wok arrive today. It is so sticky. There’s no instruction with it. How can I remove the sticky stuff inside the wok?
There are different approaches to seasoning a new wok. Here's one of my videos on Seasoning A New Wok: th-cam.com/video/a783vEF2yYA/w-d-xo.html
I also have other videos on Seasoning A New Wok on my other TH-cam channel, under my name "Dan Seto". Thanks for viewing my video. Happy cooking.
Clean TF out of it. I scrubbed mine w steel scrubber and soap first, then BKF, then vinegar, repeated w some of them, used a Skoy scrubber instead of steel one sometimes... got all the black stuff off.
Then I dried it and coated w thin layer of flax oil, baked in oven for an hour at 400 or 450F. (took the wood handle off first)
Then cooked green onions and ginger in it on the stovetop until charred.
Washed w water and Skoy scrubber, dried, coated with very thin layer of oil on the interior, done.
Don't you dry the wok first, before putting oil on it. Rust can still form ?
I probably should have used one side of the napkin to dry the wok, then use the other side to apply the oil. Generally I find a little water doesn't really affect the surface that much. Also, some people put the wok on the burner at low heat to dry the water from the surface of the wok. I find it too much trouble to do, especially if I use the wok all the time. Thanks for your comment. I will try to mention the part about the wet wok if I do another wok cleaning video. Thanks for viewing my video on Fast Wok Cleaning.
Pun Jab I depends on what metal your wok is made from
so one video says wash and dry by heating the wok till it smokes
you are saying just add oil in with out really drying the water away
Thanks for your observation of the 2 different ways of putting oil on the wok at the finish. The first method is the more proper way to heat the wok until the water is completely gone. After awhile, to save time, I started to wipe dry the wok with paper towel and then wipe the oil after. Lately, I put the oil in the wok when the wok is still wet and wipe the wok with the paper towel. I really don't find any difference in the result, but you might try each way to see for yourself. In the future if I do a video on wok maintenance I will mention all three ways. Thanks for your comment and thanks for viewing my video on How To Clean A Wok.
Hi I am wondering are you from Guangdong? I love Cantonese cuisine along with Huaiyang Cuisine the most, but generally when it comes to China I love all its food from every province. I am from Yunnan by the way you should go there and try our local snacks and dishes I am sure you won't be disappointed.
I hope I can visit Yunnan some day.
I thought you weren't supposed to add dish soap because it destroys the protective layer?
Mild dish soap will not ruin the surface. This is from what I observed with the woks in my grandfather's and my father's Chinese restaurants over many years. Nowadays I don't use soap very often because I don't need to most of the time. Thanks for checking out my video.
The problem with soap is that it will and does react chemically with the seasoning. You wont taste it through the food. But if you have a stomach ache, that could be why. I don't use soap. I use the brush, dry, heat and re-season. That is all thatbis needed. Even if you cooked shell fish.
Thanks for the info! Is that based on empirical evidence? I tend to agree with you as I have done videos since this one where I don't use soap of any kind. The odd time I still use mild dish soap to remove thick sauces or grease. Thanks for checking out my video.
@ChineseCookingChannel there is no evidence of that. Guy is just repeating some incorrect info he was told. Mild dish soap does not react with seasoning.
Let me guess....you were taught this by a parent or grandparent? It's not true, btw. Soap will absolutely not affect your seasoning. It take something much stronger, like lye, to strip seasoning.
My mother knows all about woks, (or so we thought), she tossed her carbon steel wok out because it had rust on it. I guess she didn't know how to season it.
Actually I threw out a video a long time ago. Thanks for viewing my video on How To Clean A Carbon Steel Wok.
Maybe she knew it's easier to buy a new one.
oh please tell her to wash it, put it back on the stove and heat it up until you see smoke. turn off fire, add a little bit of oil and use a tong to spray a thin layer on the wok. its not a good idea to use oil when there is still water on there.
Soap is fine. Scrubbing won't get the season off. Maybe people are confused that black botches on the wok is a season. Black stuff is carbon build up on top of your seasoning. Seasoning is not black. Correct seasoned pan is shiny blue. Will not rust as long as you have done first coat of seasoning right. But if you sandpaper it and the moment it touches the bare metal, it will instantly rust.
Stuff is stuck to my wok much much harder than that....
Sometimes mine too. Thanks for checking out my video.
I wonder whats ur channel's about
This channel is mostly on Chinese cooking and related topics. Also will be doing some Chinese restaurant reviews and events. Thanks for viewing my video on How To Clean A Wok.
Damn! I just ruined my first wok.😩
If you bought a carbon steel wok, I'm sure it is not ruined. The surface will be uneven and rough in texture when it is new. If you keep on using your wok for cooking, it will become smooth and hardened with a black patina surface. If you have any questions, feel feel to ask me. I want you to have a lifetime of good cooking with your wok. Thanks for viewing my video on How To Clean A Wok.
a few hour it get rusted because threre still water in it
Yes, better to dry the wok first. I haven't had any rust the way I do it. Thanks for viewing my video on How To Clean A Wok.
Never using soap. The fats used to season the wok absorb the soap and release them in the next use on the fire.... NEVER USE THE SOAP IF IT IS ALREADY SEASONED
I used to believe that soap didn't harm carbon steel woks because my dad's and grandfather's restaurant used to clean their woks with soap at the end of every day. Now I tend to agree with you. I have stopped using soap in my more recent videos on wok cleaning. Thanks for the feedback and thanks for checking out my video.
Home standards and commercial Restaurant standards are different. Maybe Dad and GrandDad use soap because it is FASTER and more reliable, and less likely for customers to get food poisoning.
They use the high power gas for wok cooking in restaurants. The black carbon surface built up really thick on the woks with the high heat. True, using soap is faster for cleaning and it doesn't strip the surface. For home woks, soap might strip the surface at first, but after awhile the surface would be harder to strip off. Thanks for viewing my video on How To Clean A Carbon Steel Wok.
No, no, no, no, no!!! NEVER put soap in a carbon steel wok... wtf...
Why
@@awokenworld4082 Because you will ruin the seasoning. you are supposed to have a layer (several, actually, like 3-4) of burnt (hardened) oil in your wok. if you put soap, you take it off, and your wok will rust.
The seasoning layer is there to serve as an anti-stick coating, and protect the wok from rust.
A wok should be washed with water only, using a bamboo scrubbing brush which you brush aggressively in the wok. it takes everything out of the wok, but wont go through the seasoning layer. I've been using my wok for 10 years now. it quickly went from grey to BLACK, and there is ZERO rust. There is no mold that will form if you scrub properly.
@@awokenworld4082 You wash it with soap ONCE. the day you get it. This is because you WANT to remove the oil that comes from the factory. this is not food grade oil, it's often a synthetic oil... The FIRST thing you do after washing it this way is season it (watch videos on wok seasoning). And then you never put soap in it again. Never.
@@MattCantSpeakItlol, you're completely wrong. Normal dish soap with absolutely, positively NOT remove any polymerized oil. If that were the case, then people wouldn't need to resort to using things like lye baths and electrolysis tanks to remove baked-on seasoning from cookware. Soap only removes grease. Polymerized oil is not grease. Do some research, bud.
@@turtlepowersf
Applying oil at the end does not attract roaches???
We generally don't have a roach problem here. Maybe some other places do. I use my wok all the time. If you don't use it for months, you should probably clean it and put new oil on it. Thanks for viewing my video on How To Clean A Wok.
Nobody uses soap on a wok
I do. Sometimes. Thanks for checking out my video.
Sorry but you have no idea what you are talking about
First you tip the wok on its side to remove the ingredients onto a plate
Then put the wok back on the heat and add water and clean it a few times with the brush
When it is clean leave it on the heat until dry
If you use this method you never have to use soap
Also you haven’t broken in your wok brush it shouldn’t be stiff but soft and flexible
Thanks for your tips. Thanks for viewing my video on How To Clean A Wok.