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lightweight cast iron wok

How to Prepare New Wok Star Cast Iron Wok!

October 13, 2022 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

Just to be CLEAR, if you purchased my WOK STAR KIT, your new cast iron wok is ALREADY SEASONED!

Wok Star Kit to help you succeed
Wok Star Kit with everything for your success!

However, first you need to remove the top layer put on to prevent rust on its month trip from China. This will REVEAL your already SEASONED wok under that layer! Ta da…

Fun fact: at the time of taping the process, I didn’t realize the woks were SEASONED under the layer of shipping coating, so after frying the onions, I immediately saw the beautiful sheen of the SEASONED WOK, yay! The sales rep didn’t know there was a shipping coating added and insisted she had sent the seasoned woks like my sample.

There’s two short videos I posted on Instagram showing how I did the 3 Step Process AND there’s written instructions below as well.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Eleanor Hoh, Event Producer (@wokstar)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Eleanor Hoh, Event Producer (@wokstar)

It’s ESSENTIAL YOU DO THE FOLLOWING PRIOR TO USING…

A 3 STEP PROCESS…

  1. WASH 
  2. DRY
  3. FRY 

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

Stainless steel scrubber (only time you use it)
Dish soap
Rubber gloves
Avocado oil (handles high heat 520F)
Paper towels
1 onion chopped. (Onions, scallions, chives, ginger all help to eliminate taste of metal and any discoloration. Use a combination or an onion will do.)

HERE’S 3 STEP PROCESS

Step 1: WASH

Use full strength dish soap and squeeze onto stainless steel scrubber.  Put your back into scrubbing your wok till there’s no discoloration coming off when you swipe the wok surface with your finger. Rinse off soap with hot water. 

Step 2: DRY

Use several paper towels and wipe dry completely. Next, put wok on stove and use medium heat to dry completely. When you see the first whisp of smoke, switch off heat and let wok cool. 

Step 3: FRY

Squirt Avocado oil onto a paper towel NOT directly into wok and wipe the entire inside of wok in quick strokes. Zing heat on medium HIGH. 

Add 3 rounds of avocado oil from squeeze bottle, add in chopped onion. Use your lovely spatula and push onions up the sides and all round the wok. 

Fry till wok is nice and black and onions are thoroughly browned. If wok looks dry, squirt more oil in and keep frying. Throw out onions. Use paper towel to wipe off any residual onion and oil.

You’re ready to start your WOK STAR JOURNEY!  

If you’ve stumbled on this post and
READY TO BE A WOK STAR…

READY TO BE A WOK STAR?


Filed Under: blog, Cast Iron Seasoning Woes, cast iron wok Tagged With: "Wok Star Kit", lightweight cast iron wok, seasoning a wok, seasoning cast iron wok, wok, wok seasoning, wok seasoning video, Wok Star Eleanor Hoh

Induction Wok Stove, Greatest Invention Since Fire!

November 15, 2019 By Eleanor Hoh 13 Comments

As a wok cooking teacher, I’ve solved the issues of wok cooking AT HOME with these four ESSENTIAL elements so you’ll have success: a good wok, the right technique, quality ingredients and most importantly, HIGH HEAT.

For the past 20 years,  I’ve recommended the 12K Iwatani butane gas stove. It is the most efficient and practical heat source for wok cooking AT HOME and the best value. Setting the gas stove on top of your electric cooktop with your wok and you’re ready to GO!   A light, portable gas stove also comes in handy during hurricanes, power outages but has MANY OTHER GREAT BENEFITS highlighted here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciu5SWKjMSE

However, there are issues to using an open flame gas stove. Some condo buildings prohibit their use (open flame) and you have to remember to order refills so you don’t run out in the middle of a stir fry.

My experiences with different heat sources…

GAS

I’ve used both residential and commercial gas stoves. I’ve found four main issues:

  1. Many residential gas stoves still don’t generate enough high heat, typically 7-10K BTU.
  2. The burner rings are too wide since they are designed for flat pans. The heat is not focused at the base of the wok like the Iwatani butane portable gas stove so flames are leaping up the sides of the wok and handles become hot.
  3. Gas lines are expensive to install, told about $10K.
  4. Industrial, high end gas stoves cost upwards of $4-6K.

Electric Glass Flat cooktops

These are the most common stoves installed today.   Their “modern and clean” design might be the reason for their popularity, but for me this was NEVER an option.  The surface contact area between the round bottom wok with the flat cooktop is too small to transfer enough HIGH HEAT.   The propensity of the wok to scratch the glass top also makes it impractical and would void the warranty from the manufacturer.  

Why not use a flat bottom wok? Don’t get me started, I mention ALL the reasons why NOT here.

I solved the problem of not enough heat generated by the electric cooktop with my wok by using an Iwatani gas stove ON TOP of an electric cooktop. Photo: Yanni Georgoulakis

INDUCTION…

Induction means generating a magnetic field which causes the wok to heat. No outside heat is applied to the wok. The heat is generated within the metal.  If there’s no wok on the stove, no heat is generated.

NOTE: I was NOT paid by Nuwave to write this post.  

I’ve followed the induction technology over the past 20 years. Cost and size were the biggest obstacles to the technology becoming a consumer item.  The units I experimented with were heavy and bulky (took up too much counter space), noisy (extraction fan),  power challenged (220 voltage required), and expensive (all units priced $1-4K).

CookTek commercial Induction wok stove

Now, there’s a perfect unit for the home kitchen…the Nuwave Mosaic Precision Induction Wok Stove!

It meets ALL my requirements…it’s light and attractive and retains high heat, up to 575. My 15” cast iron wok fits the unit perfectly and together they have such a small footprint that it’s always out on my counter top.  I’ll post how to actually use this induction stove in another post.

Image

My setup at home, I’ll explain in separate post
how to use the induction stove and
why you need the wood chopping block
if you set on top of your electric stove!

Image

Wok Star’s 15″ lightweight, cast iron wok fits perfectly in
Nuwave Mosaic Wok Induction Stove


I believe so strongly in this stove, I want to figure out some kind of partnership and offer it as an option with my WOK STAR KIT BUNDLE. 

I know many of you have been waiting for this review,
so share your concerns and ask any questions in comments below.
 

CONCLUSION:

The wok cooking experience is the same whether you’re using the NuWave Mosaic Precision Induction Wok Stove or Iwatani Gas Stove.  I like having both heat sources because a portable butane gas stove is a reassuring backup for emergency situations like hurricanes and power outages. 

When I said, “the induction stove was the greatest invention since fire,” I wasn’t exaggerating because many people aren’t allowed to have open flame stoves in their buildings, so induction would be their only choice! 

Here’s my Amazon affiliate link to purchase a
Nuwave Mosaic Induction Wok Stove!
(it does come with a heavy, unseasoned carbon steel wok, so keep that as a backup)
And still get my WOK STAR KIT HERE.
Now, you’ve really got the best of both worlds!!!

I’m trying to figure a way so you can have the one-stop shop experience. I’ll keep you posted.

NOTE: I was NOT paid by Nuwave to write this post.  

Different ways I’ve used Nuwave Mosaic Precision Induction Wok Stove…

2 cheese, scallion omelet
Wok Star recommends an induction wok stove
Stir Fry Vegetables
Steaming tamales
Blanching Yu Choy
Add in onions and tomatoes
Chicken Curry
Stir Fry Medley Vegetables

Filed Under: blog, induction stove, stir fry stove, wok cooking Tagged With: "high heat", best wok for induction, cast iron wok, induction stove, induction stove for wok, induction wok stove, lightweight cast iron wok, nuwave induction wok stove, nuwave mosaic precision induction wok stove, wok cooking, wok for induction stove, wok induction stove, wok on induction stove

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