Wok suggestions?

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LaVieestBelle
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Re: Wok suggestions?

Post by LaVieestBelle »

cenwok2.jpg
Another from the Newquist Forge facebook page. If I remember right, several long-time members here have Newquist items and speak favorably of them.
gladius
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Re: Wok suggestions?

Post by gladius »

LaVieestBelle wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 10:17 am wokcensubstitute.jpg

So....anyone up for a Cen-inspired wok? I have been going down the wok research rabbit hole thanks to this thread!

Just found a piece in New York Magazine from a few months ago, where The Strategist interviewed chefs about woks. A lot of the recommendations are similar to ones we've seen on this thread, but here is something different. Grace Young mentioned this wok and said it was inspired by the Cen wok and is made by Erik Newquist at Newquist Forge... Sadly it was being sold on Etsy but it looks like it is not available right now. He does have a facebook page. Not inexpensive but thought I would share the picture and the article.

A link to the wok article. I am now on such a wok search.... https://nymag.com/strategist/article/best-woks.html
---
That certainly is a unique wok.

Thanks for the article links. I found this comment particularly interesting:
...at San Francisco’s Wok Shop, the go-to place for, you guessed it, wok shopping. “[Owner] Tane Chan is the most knowledgeable person selling woks in the world,” Young says.
gladius
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Re: Wok suggestions?

Post by gladius »

LaVieestBelle wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 10:24 am cenwok2.jpg

Another from the Newquist Forge facebook page. If I remember right, several long-time members here have Newquist items and speak favorably of them.
---
Are you going to order one?

https://www.facebook.com/newquistforge/ ... 55816353/
Hand hammering a wok. Woks to order 3-4 weeks lead time please.
LaVieestBelle
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Re: Wok suggestions?

Post by LaVieestBelle »

I am such a sucker for things like this. If I succumb, I will let everyone here know!
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Altadan
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Re: Wok suggestions?

Post by Altadan »

LaVieestBelle wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 10:45 am I am such a sucker for things like this. If I succumb, I will let everyone here know!
"If"

Or

"when"?
:lol: :twisted:
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JASinIL2006
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Re: Wok suggestions?

Post by JASinIL2006 »

Altadan wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 1:51 am ARGH!

So I only just see this post now, after having ordered a round-bottom from the WokShop!
First to hear that the hand-hammered is likely not authentic (regarding price, I'd expect one actually could get hand-made stuff from china for much less than one would expect, no?), and then to hear what my wife also suggested (though I didn't ask!) - "Just take a flat bottomed one, and forget about 'traditional'" :geek: :roll: :? :oops:

We'll see how things turn out.
That WokMon steel ring for focusing the flame really caught my eye, and yet it's clearly overpriced. My feverish locked-down mind is busy planning the next prototype (the first one is good, but not good enough, hahaha).

Ray, that 22" monster is making me so jelly!
Maybe your wok will surprise us and actually be hand made. I hope you post up pictures and a review when you get it!
LaVieestBelle
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Re: Wok suggestions?

Post by LaVieestBelle »

Altadan wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 12:05 pm
LaVieestBelle wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 10:45 am I am such a sucker for things like this. If I succumb, I will let everyone here know!
"If"

Or

"when"?
:lol: :twisted:
Oh you know me too well........
Chappychap
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Re: Wok suggestions?

Post by Chappychap »

So this was an interesting suggestion from Food & Wine on a way to make a round bottom wok nestle on a standard gas range close enough to the flame that it actually gets enough heat. Just got back from Home Depot $5.97 lighter and I think that even without the iron ring on top, they may be onto something here:
4ED0EB1F-F926-4777-8526-1EC15FE886DF.jpeg
DACC56E7-0A9E-4DD5-B583-6B5D173CBC07.jpeg
Vs. with the grate:
2192DB5E-8F80-45AB-826B-28B5B743A4DB.jpeg
Tested with my old flat bottom whilst I make the final decision on round. But I'm starting to think it could work.

See about six minutes into the video embedded here to see where I got this wacky idea:

https://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2 ... -tips.html

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Pennington- ... /300067986

And yes, it's cleaning day on Sunday so I know the Tikka Masala is still there :lol:
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jbart65
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Re: Wok suggestions?

Post by jbart65 »

Lot of overthinking on woks here, in my view. It’s a simple and inexpensive tool. A wok made of good spun steel with a flat bottom and a sturdy handle is all most people need for stovetop stir fries. Want more, get an outside rig. Hammered woks look good, but they don’t perform any better.

Round bottoms? Done that. No major difference on most stoves and sometimes a hassle to operate. Besides, I hardly let my food sit still when wokking after l let proteins get some initial crispness.
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Re: Wok suggestions?

Post by LaVieestBelle »

Lol jbart65--I overthink everything! Just the way my brain works, though you are probably right about overthinking woks. Overthinking is one of my forms of fun, especially when stuck inside more these days, due to Covid....

For those who are interested, Newquist Forge just put their woks out for sale this afternoon. I think they do it at 6 week intervals. www.newquistforge.com
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Re: Wok suggestions?

Post by Jeff B »

What I've learned most with my wok cooking inside is to get it REALLY smoking hot preheating before putting food in it and then keep the flame on high of course during the cook. When the wok is too cool that's when you get bad sticking. A wok on a consumer gas stove is a challenge but it is doable.
If God wanted me to be a vegetarian he wouldn't have made animals taste so good.
Chappychap
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Re: Wok suggestions?

Post by Chappychap »

LaVieestBelle wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 3:55 pm Lol jbart65--I overthink everything! Just the way my brain works, though you are probably right about overthinking woks. Overthinking is one of my forms of fun, especially when stuck inside more these days, due to Covid....

For those who are interested, Newquist Forge just put their woks out for sale this afternoon. I think they do it at 6 week intervals. www.newquistforge.com
Very interested in this as I share your weakness/passion for overthinking kitchen-related things. Kinda embracing it as part of the fun at this point :lol:.

Thanks for sharing.
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Re: Wok suggestions?

Post by ronnie_suburban »

Chappychap wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:24 pm
LaVieestBelle wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 3:55 pm Lol jbart65--I overthink everything! Just the way my brain works, though you are probably right about overthinking woks. Overthinking is one of my forms of fun, especially when stuck inside more these days, due to Covid....

For those who are interested, Newquist Forge just put their woks out for sale this afternoon. I think they do it at 6 week intervals. www.newquistforge.com
Very interested in this as I share your weakness/passion for overthinking kitchen-related things. Kinda embracing it as part of the fun at this point :lol:.

Thanks for sharing.
As they say, measure twice, cook once. This is one of my very favorite places for overthinking. And as guy who's about to own 5 woks, clearly, no amount of thinking has been enough! :lol:
=R=
Half of cooking is thinking about cooking.
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Re: Wok suggestions?

Post by Chappychap »

I'm seriously weighing a Newquist after La Vie pointed out they're taking orders. The only thing I'm not sure about is the ergonomics of that handle...
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Re: Wok suggestions?

Post by LaVieestBelle »

Chappychap wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 7:04 pm I'm seriously weighing a Newquist after La Vie pointed out they're taking orders. The only thing I'm not sure about is the ergonomics of that handle...
There are actually three handle options that I found on the site. One has two small "ear" handles. Another has the open handle you have seen, plus a helper handle on the opposite side. A third has the thicker handle, with no opposing handle.
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Re: Wok suggestions?

Post by Chappychap »

LaVieestBelle wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 7:06 pm
Chappychap wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 7:04 pm I'm seriously weighing a Newquist after La Vie pointed out they're taking orders. The only thing I'm not sure about is the ergonomics of that handle...
There are actually three handle options that I found on the site. One has two small "ear" handles. Another has the open handle you have seen, plus a helper handle on the opposite side. A third has the thicker handle, with no opposing handle.
Yeah, it's between the thicker handle (no helper) and the one with the twisty handle. Not keen on the ears option personally. He notes the thicker handle option is heavier and thicker guage so I'm not sure the optimal choice for my mediocre stove, esp. when balancing with ergonomics. I emailed him with my criteria (<4.6lb max, decent performance on home gas stove, handle ergonomic/cool enough to flip without a towel ideally), to see what his recommendation was, I'll share the response back here if it arrives up being potentially helpful to others.
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Re: Wok suggestions?

Post by Chappychap »

LaVieestBelle wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 7:06 pm
Chappychap wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 7:04 pm I'm seriously weighing a Newquist after La Vie pointed out they're taking orders. The only thing I'm not sure about is the ergonomics of that handle...
There are actually three handle options that I found on the site. One has two small "ear" handles. Another has the open handle you have seen, plus a helper handle on the opposite side. A third has the thicker handle, with no opposing handle.
So I actually ended up chatting to Radha at Newquist on the phone just then. Lovely lady. This was her advice, in case it's helpful:

Both 14":
Twisty handle version:
- [ ] 3.14lb
- [ ] Handle stays cooler than pow. Ergonomic enough unless arthritic etc. Little more awkward when full but a towel can help overcome this.
- [ ] Thinner (16 guage) than pow, more responsive and lighter, heats up faster but retains heat less
- [ ] Twisty Is the one she typically uses at home because the handle stays cool and on balance prefers to pow.

Pow version:
- [ ] 4.3lb
- [ ] Handle gets hot, needs sleeve
- [ ] No helper handle
- [ ] Thicker than twisty (14 guage), retention better but less responsive than twisty handle version
- [ ] Recommended this model if upgrading my gas range to higher BTU at any point

3-4 weeks lead time on orders currently.

I think I'm leaning towards the twisty handle, but I'm going to sleep on it and go from there.
Last edited by Chappychap on Fri Jan 15, 2021 8:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
LaVieestBelle
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Re: Wok suggestions?

Post by LaVieestBelle »

And not to make it more complex for you...but.....

For each wok there are a number of size options. Make certain you check this and the the size that is best for you rather than the default version.

A new option is the wok with the twisty handle in a flat bottom design. It also comes with the round bottom, but the flat is new.

Poor Chappy--even more to sleep on!
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Re: Wok suggestions?

Post by Chappychap »

Thanks La Vie - I forgot to add, those are the 14" versions, I edited the post to update. Whoops! I think that's the sweet spot for me though.
gladius
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Re: Wok suggestions?

Post by gladius »

Nice those come pre-seasoned too.
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