How do I prevent my woks from rusting?

Question

I have ruined several woks within days of buying them presumably because i keep washing them. Problem is I cook a lot of curries in them, and i feel I need to wash them after use with soap and water. SOme times food gets burned onto the wok and so i feel i need to soak for a short time, but the wok always ends up rusting or the surface becomes damaged in some way. I bought another one 2 weeks ago and its covered in rust and ruined.

What am I doing wrong?? Please help!!

Answer 1

The reason a wok works for chinese food is because a lot of oil is put into the pan before the food is cooked. Curries are more like stews, and not only can remove the "seasoning" on the pan, but can stick, and make you remove the seasoning when you soak and scrub.

There are actually people who refuse to wash their wok, because they don't want to remove the built-up seasoning. (seasoning helps against sticking).

Here's how to season your wok:
Remove rust by scrubbing with steel wool. Wash thoroughly.

Heat wok on stove until very hot. Add 1T oil. Swish it around the pan, then rub the hot oil into the wok with a paper towel. Rub in small circles, especially in the center of the wok. Keep on heating it until it smokes.

Turn off the heat, let the pan cool completely, then repeat....2x more if you want, then "season" the pan once a month if you use your wok on a frequent basis.

Don't leave the wok filled with water. Don't scrub the wok too hard.

Eventually, through frequent use, the pan will build up a nice seasoning on its own. It will look black and ugly, but so what....you food won't stick.

Answer 2

You have "tempered" them first? OK Now you need to keep them oiled or greased after each meal. You must certainly stop soaking them or buy a non-stick version, which you can wash as much as you feel like!

However, I do not understand your curry cooking reason for washing them...? Do you think it will flavour other food? That is not going to happen if you wipe out the wok really well with a paper towel and then burnish with a little oil. Keep it in a dry place and use it daily. If you feel you are getting curry flavours in unwanted places, then buy two woks. One for curry and one for other uses. A third for fish!?

However, you may be using a wok for the wrong cooking method. Long, slow cooking would be better in a conventional pan with a lid. Cast iron enamel being ideal. Woks are better for the "street cookery" dishes which are more instant and quick. Thai curry included.

If you are sticking/burning food regularly, then you are heating far too much, not stirring enough, not using a lid, or not putting enough fat or liquid into your pan. Stir frying and wok cookery can be low fat, but if you use nothing to "lubricate" the food it will burn at high temperatures!

I suggest you find an Asian restaurant or takeaway where you can watch how the professionals wok cook! Get some tips off the experts! Good luck!

Answer 3

Never ever use soap on a wok. Yes it will appear that food has burned onto the wok and it will turn black inside, this is how it is supposed to be, it will eventually make its own non stick coating. All you need to do to clean a wok correctly, is run it under hot water and use one of those plastic washing up brushes to get the main food off, then dry the wok, put in a little oil (only a spot or 2)and put it back on the heat, rub the oil around the inside with kitchen paper and put it away. The blacker a wok is inside, the better it is. It absorbs some flavours of food cooked in it, making the dishes cooked better and better the older the wok gets. You look at a genuine Chinese wok in a Chinese kitchen and it will be jet back. As long as the main food is washed out of it in hot water it is fine. The oil you rub around it will prevent it from rusting. I have had mine for over 10 years now and it is as black as the ace of spades and nothing sticks to it and it has no sign of rust on it. Mine is not the non stick kind it is the genuine steel Chinese wok.

Answer 4

Those woks weren't ruined. They did need special work done to restore them, but don't throw any more away, okay?

To wash a wok, don't use dish water. Pour water directly into a hot wok on the stove. Use a brush to scour away food particles. Then empty the wok and return it to the stove. Let the fire evaporate the water. Then turn off the heat and pour a LITTLE bit of oil in the wok. With a rag or paper towel, spread the oil over the wok, inside and out. When it cools you can put it away.

If your woks are ruined by rust, steel wool the rust away, wash with dishwater, dry, and cover with oil. Put it in an oven at 300 degrees (f) and let it sit for 1/2 - 1 hour. Woks need to be treated right, but they ARE metal, so they can always be 'fixed'.

Answer 5

It's because you are definitely cleaning them wrong. If you buy a wok with a non stick surface you should only clean them using a plastic dish brush and water, I tend to do mine straight away with very hot water, you then should season them, that is to rub a light coating of oil (can be veg or sunflower etc) over the inside surface using a piece of kitchen towel. You should never use soap on woks or any kind of abrasive ie scouring pads, soap filled pads or wire wool etc as this will only damage the non stick surface.

If you use a wok without a non stick surface, you should wash it in the same way, but dry it thoroughly before seaoning it again, but you can use more oil with it.

Answer 6

Do you have a carbon steel wok, or a cast iron one, or a teflon coated one?

There are lots of woks for different situations.

A carbon steel one can be tempered with lots of salt heated to dry out the surface - as can a cast iron one -

When you have tempered it, food won't stick to it, unless you damage the tempered surface with water.

A non-stick surface wok is probably not worth buying (if you want to do Chinese stir fry cooking) - the non-stick surface can not probably withstand the intense heat you need to get a good stir-fry.

However - I cook with electricity, and this will preserve the non stick finish, and if you want to cook curries will probably do what you want, just don't put a lot in the pan to start, remove it and cook things bit by bit and then add the sauce.and simmer.

Answer 7

After you wash it get vegetable oil and coat the wok with it and put it in a warm oven, around 100 to 200 F to cure it. Do that every time it gets wet.
That is how you care for cast iron which rust just sitting on a counter if you don't oil them, so that should work.

Answer 8

If the food is burning and sticking, your wok is too hot. Use more oil.
Either keep one wok aside and use it exclusively for curry, or...................after washing one, hand dry immediately, rub with oil inside & out and place in a 250 oven for an hour to re-season it. That will prevent the rust.

Answer 9

After washing and drying your wok, coat it in a thin layer of cooking oil, this will stop the rust

Answer 10

I do remember hearing that you should just wipe the wok out when you have finished using it, dry it and then rub oil into it and leave it ready for the next use.