Six reasons why your cast iron wok gets smoky and how to tame it! I’m only referring to the lightweight cast iron woks that folks have purchased from me, so you’ll know what to do. No cause for alarm.
Here are possible reasons why smoking can happen…
1. fermented ingredients like tamari when it touches the wok and caramelizes
2. anything that’s sweet like onions can caramelize
3. any food particles that are stuck to your wok if not washed properly
4. if you use oil that can’t handle high smoke point (another post to discuss oils) but coconut oil is one that is supposed to handle high heat but can get smoky, turn it down a bit!
5. if you use a wok whose material is not a good conductor of heat
6. if you use teflon (NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER use on high heat! I’ll post something about this horrible material in another post!)
When nos.1-3 happens, they caramelize and or harden and forms a crust. If you don’t scrub off properly and cook with the crust stuck to your wok, it will make your wok smoky and it will form a thicker and thicker crust. This makes it difficult for the heat to reach your food. So, please scrub off any hardened crusts completely. Dry off with paper towels and then just zing on your stove on medium heat to dry off completely.
Check out my short 2:34 minute video that shows you exactly how to clean the crust and restore your cast iron wok! It’s easy and takes a few minutes. Please do it so you’ll have a superb experience when cooking.
For no.4) I’ll be posting oils good for high heat cooking and their temperature chart soon.
I hope this helps, let me know in comments if you have any questions, had other smoky incidents or zing me an email.
wok cooking
Easy Weeknight Soup Made in a Wok
If you’re stumped with what to make for dinner on a cold, balmy night, this easy, weeknight soup made in a wok came together in less than 30 minutes! Stir frying your veggies and meat give them flavor, texture and retains the bright colors. Get the scoop below how to make soup in your wok…
I purposely took a photo of the clock on my stove so you can witness the time lapse! The actual frying and cooking time took 15 minutes, the washing and chopping 10 minutes. Total, 25 minutes! The only caveat is for new Wok Stars, it’s not a good idea to use your new wok to make this dish till you’ve built up some patina in your cast iron wok.
For this meal, I used Strauss organic ground beef from Publix, it was very good. Because beef is for a soup, I fried in one batch. The veggies were mostly leftovers from my cooking class, zucchini, yellow squash and bell peppers. You can sub out any kind of meat or veggies you have in the fridge.
By the time my hubby got home and cleaned up, the soup was on the table, he couldn’t believe it was so fast but was so happy. This is one of his favorite meals, so win win!
Here’s how I did it, Wok Stars, you know the drill…
- Fry your veggies with garlic and ginger in some grape seed oil, and sprinkle tamari and sherry, set aside.
- Fry beef (no marinade needed), add veggies back in.
- Add chicken broth to cover, I use fish sauce instead of salt to give it a umami flavor then added Flavorgod Everything Seasoning Spicy but you can use any of your favorite spice seasoning to give this broth some oompf!
For more soup ideas, try this super fast shrimp and bok choy soup or turnip and pork soup which takes a bit longer. Enjoy!
Share some soups you’ve made in your wok from your part of the world!
Easy Weeknight Soup Made in a Wok
If you’re stumped with what to make for dinner on a cold, balmy night, this easy, weeknight soup made in a wok came together in less than 30 minutes! Stir frying your veggies and meat give them flavor, texture and retains the bright colors. Get the scoop below how to make soup in your wok…
I purposely took a photo of the clock on my stove so you can witness the time lapse! The actual frying and cooking time took 15 minutes, the washing and chopping 10 minutes. Total, 25 minutes! The only caveat is for new Wok Stars, it’s not a good idea to use your new wok to make this dish till you’ve built up some patina in your cast iron wok.
For this meal, I used Strauss organic ground beef from Publix, it was very good. Because beef is for a soup, I fried in one batch. The veggies were mostly leftovers from my cooking class, zucchini, yellow squash and bell peppers. You can sub out any kind of meat or veggies you have in the fridge.
By the time my hubby got home and cleaned up, the soup was on the table, he couldn’t believe it was so fast but was so happy. This is one of his favorite meals, so win win!
Here’s how I did it, Wok Stars, you know the drill…
- Fry your veggies with garlic and ginger in some grape seed oil, and sprinkle tamari and sherry, set aside.
- Fry beef (no marinade needed), add veggies back in.
- Add chicken broth to cover, I use fish sauce instead of salt to give it a umami flavor then added Flavorgod Everything Seasoning Spicy but you can use any of your favorite spice seasoning to give this broth some oompf!
For more soup ideas, try this super fast shrimp and bok choy soup or turnip and pork soup which takes a bit longer. Enjoy!
Share some soups you’ve made in your wok from your part of the world!