Wok for Electric Stove
Woks were unheard of until Chinese cuisine reached the west. Today, the wok is among the essential cooking appliances everywhere – it can be found virtually in every kitchen. Not long ago, when you owned a gas or propane stove, you would place your wok on any cooktop for deep frying as it operates perfectly on it. So let’s know full information about how to use a wok on an electric stove
Today, however, the electric stove is replacing the gas/propane stove, meaning you have to think of remodeling your kitchen to use the wok. So, the question now is, can you flawlessly use your wok on an electric stove? Can you use a wok on an electric stove? One straight answer to these questions is – YES.
It is less troublesome cooking with a wok on an electric stove than on a gas stove. Keep reading to find out more on how to use a wok on an electric stove and some additional information.
Does the wok stand out?
Best Nonstick Frying Wok Pan is like regular frying pans made from different materials such as cast iron, aluminum, non-stick metal, and aluminum. They are perfect for cooking techniques such as frying, boiling, smoking, and steaming. Often with two handle types, stick or loop, this frying pan helps you prepare meals more easily without burning your hands.
How many types of woks are out there?
Before you learn using a wok on an electric stove, you need to know the available. Just two types of this appliance exist. One is round-bottomed while the other is flat-bottomed. Both of them feature slightly different looks but offer virtually the same cooking experiences except for a fistful of variations.
Before we embark on learning how to use them, let’s glance at each of the types and the differences between them.
1. Round-Bottomed Wok
This type of wok is treasured for its excellent support for diverse mixing capabilities. Also, its ability to distribute Heat evenly has won it a place even in professional kitchens. However, you still have to make a few necessary adjustments to a round bottom wok on an electric stove if you want it to be perfect for your kitchen.
For example, you will need a special metal wok ring that will allow it to sit on an electric stove. You can obtain a wok ring for electric stove in your local kitchenware store or make your own from a simple wire. Alternatively, a wok stand for electric stove can be used in the place of the ring.
2. Flat-Bottomed Wok
This sort of wok is the direct opposite of the above type – it comes with a flat bottom. It is the best wok for electric stoves as you don’t need extra accessories to use it. If you want to use a wok on an electric stove, choose a flat-bottomed wok.
Can you use a wok on an electric stove?
Even though you may feel that it is the best for your kitchen, a traditional round-bottomed wok is not meant for flat bottom electric stoves. That’s why the majority of experts will recommend using a flat bottom wok for glass cooktop. The only problem with doing so is that such a wok could easily scratch the stove’s surface since it sits directly on the cooking surface.
If, however, you insist on using the vintage-style wok, you can do so with the help of a wok ring for glass top stove. However, since a greater part of the wok’s rounded bottom won’t be in direct contact with the heating surface, you most likely won’t achieve great heating results.
Can you use a wok on a gas stove?
If you’ve been wondering whether you can use a wok on your gas stove, the answer is YES! With the right type of grid, the wok will sit in place without wobbling. Even if it wobbles a tad, you can still use your free hand to steady the wok.
In the event that your stove’s grid is not designed to handle woks, you can consult your stove manufacturer to find out if they produce “wok attachments”. These are specially-designed attachments that will hold your wok to prevent it from moving. You also have the option to purchase an affordable wok ring, even though it places the wok at a distance from the flame.
How to Use a Wok on an Electric Stove
Great, now let’s take a look at the basics of using wok on an electric stove. But first, how many types of electric stoves do we have?
Types of Electric Stove
All-electric stoves aren’t the same. You need to understand that we have two types of them out there – one that utilizes an electric coil to heat the wok and another that uses a glass-ceramic. However, there’s no ideal wok electric stove – both are great for the utensil.
1. Using a Wok on an Electric Coil Stove
If you have an electric coil stove in your kitchen, you should choose the flat-bottomed wok because it is much easier to use. All you need to do is place it on the heating coils and embark on cooking immediately.
This way, Heat will easily spread in the wok’s bottom – evenly – and help you cook food fast and adequately. You better choose a carbon-steel wok – it’s the best.
The other (the round-bottomed one), the electric coil stove is not the most convenient electric stove for it. That’s because you will have a hard time keeping it standing steadily on the cooktop (more on this later).
As such, you would need to hold it during the whole time, something that can steal the joy out of your cooking experience. Only use a wok on the electric range when necessary.
2. Using a Wok on Your Glass-Ceramic Stove
Can you use a wok on a glass top stove? Absolutely. If you own a glass-ceramic electric stove, it would be more effective to use an electric stove wok with a round bottom. But before this, you do need to put a wok ring over the cooktop to help the wok remain steady on the cooktop.
Besides this obvious function, the wok ring also serves to maintain a gap between ½” and 1″ between the cooktop and the bottom part of the wok. This can help prevent scratches on the base of your wok.
This is the actual reason why you can’t use your flat-bottomed wok together with glass-ceramic stoves. Still, the glass-ceramic stove is a perfect wok ring electric stove.
Moreover, glass-ceramic stoves are a better option for your round-bottomed wok because they’re usually made of heavy solid material great at handling extreme temperatures without breaking.
This, however, doesn’t mean it can withstand just anything else – it will still crack if you drop a heavy object on it. Therefore, you can’t use the carbon/steel wok on a glass-ceramic stove.
The carbon-steel wok is a bit unique and deserves special care when used on any electric stove. Bear these rules in mind when using it on a glass-ceramic electric stove:
- Find the correct burner: On some electric stoves, the largest burner (can be larger than the wok base) usually is the friendliest and the less likely to warp your wok
- Heat the wok gradually: Electric stoves are different. Some must heat up quickly, because you may need to do, say, five minutes on very low heat, five minutes on a low-medium level, and five minutes on medium before the wok clicks into the correct temperature.
- Avoid power boost: If you own one or two of that popular power boost stuff and have one on your stovetop, do not use them on your wok. They are designed to speed up the Heat, which might ruin the wok in the long run.
- Watch the temperature: Some electric stoves go to 7 – 7.5/9, rarely to the maximum. You will probably be cautioned by the manufacturer of your wok to never go past moderate Heat. It’s worth noting that moderate Heat on any efficient electric stove is still good enough for your stir-frying.
- Cool by air: After you are done, give your wok some time to cool off on its own, right there on the stove. Never take it into the sink right away – a sudden stream of cold water tends to shorten the lifespan of woks no matter the construction material.
Preferred Heat for woks
Regardless of the kind of cooktop you fancy, you should preheat the wok for not less than 10 minutes in every case. After that, proceed to add the oil and let it boil for a few seconds.
Then whirl the oil until the whole wok is coated with it. Ensure the oil is hot enough before adding all your food ingredients according to the recipe. Keep stirring to fry.
At the start, be moderate with heating, letting the wok start on a low note. Then gradually escalate the temperature to about 3000-watt or slightly more. Trying to apply maximum heating temperature at the very beginning may cause the wok to warp – you don’t want that to happen.
Temperatures in the range of 145°F – 300°F can be used to cook different kinds of foods in your wok.
Seasoning
You will be surprised with the number of cooks who forget to season their woks before use. is an important procedure that every brand-new wok, or even a regular pan, must undergo before cooking the first meal. This means that seasoning can only be done once.
Why should you season the wok?
It has something to do with rusting and removing chemical residues left on the surface during the manufacturing process.
To remove any chemical coating from your new wok, scrub the utensil from inside to outside using liquid soap and a new stainless-steel scrubber.
- Put the wok on a burning stove and leave it to dry sufficiently high Heat.
- Look for black spots at the bottom. A gunmetal grey normally accompanies these spots. You know the wok has been heated perfectly when you see these two.
- Let your wok cool in a corner
- Add some little heated oil in the wok to form another thin non-stick coat.
- Go on preheating your wok. Pour 2 tbsp of oil and spread around it.
- Add a few cubes of chopped ginger as you fry it for about 15 – 20 minutes. This stage is meant for removing the characteristic metallic smell often found on new pans. You can be sure your wok will not rust once you complete this treatment
- Remove the seasoning mixture from your wok, take the wok out, and let it cool for some time
- Complete the seasoning process by washing your wok with a clean sponge. The wok will be ready for preparation after that.
Pros of Using Woks on Electric Stoves
- Both flat-bottomed and round-bottomed have varying benefits that may suit your cooking according to your choice and the type of stove that you use.
- Washing can be relatively easy, all you need is fresh water and dish soap to prepare the wok for the next cooking session
Cons of Using Woks on Electric Stoves
- Woks usually come with one major problem when used on electric stoves – the tendency to fool you with seemingly high heat, despite having low temperatures. The resultant under heating makes the food more boiled than adequately fried.
- Again, electric woks usually demand between 1000 – 1600 watts produce the needed heat for cooking. This is more likely to bloat your energy bills.
- To understand more helpful massage don’t miss Pros and Cons of Hard Anodized Cookware
To understand even better, check out this video:
In a nutshell
Perhaps you asked yourself at the start – can I use a wok on an electric stove? In a word, the answer is YES.
That’s all you needed to know as far as cooking with the wok on an electric stove is concerned. In truth, using a wok on an electric stove should be a breeze. An electric stove is, however, more preferable for woks than gas stoves.
You don’t need to learn how to cook with a wok on an electric stove if you know the types of works and electric stoves. However, you ought to figure out how to use an electric stove wok ring for the best results when cooking with a wok on a flat-bottom electric stove.
And now that you know how to use a wok on an electric stove, you have the answers to some of the most common questions in cooking forums – can I use a wok on a glass top stove, or – can you use a wok with an electric stove?
