Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions
Showing 1 of 2 conversations about:
SCANPAN Woks
Naftoor
291
Jan 15, 2019
A wok, with a non-stick coating? ...Has noone at SCANPAN been outside in the last several years and A) realized that not everything in life requires a non-stick coating and B) That a non-stick coating, which often don't play well with high temperatures, depending on what type it is (SCANPAN likes it's ceramics, which should be ok, but traditional non-stick burns at the temperatures you need for stirfrying which at best is bad for health and at worst is downright lethal for pet birds sharing your home.
Seriously, the chinese have been stirfrying for hundreds of years in the current form and thousands in theory, at this point it's a pretty concrete science. If you have a range that can put out the power, go get a cheap carbon steel wok for 30 bucks from amazon and have at it. If you don't then you can buy the wok, a decent stand alone wok burner and a respirator so you don't immediately die from lung cancer for about the price of this drop.
Jinnd319
27
Feb 25, 2019
NaftoorNon stick really helps with woks though. Specially if you don't want to drown your food in oil and deal with seasoning.
(Edited)
Naftoor
291
Feb 25, 2019
Jinnd319
Fair; however nonstick will vaporize long before you reach the temperatures required for actual wok cooking. If you all you want to do is sear something then grab a cast iron and use that to sear in batches. The whole point behind stir frying is extreme heat and short cooking times. Unfortunately most of our kitchens (mine included...) can't put out the heat required to stir fry properly, so stuff ends up steaming more then stir frying. Beyond that very few of us actually have a heat source that is properly designed to accommodate a wok shape, which requires flames to wrap up the bottom of the pan allowing you to generate a gradient of heat ranges which give you multiple temperature ranges. Most of us have shitty coil or glass top stoves, and even with gas stoves american kitchens normally can't put out a high enough flame to engulf the bottom of the pan.
https://youtu.be/VfxkrrndtMQ?t=358
Keep in mind, 22k BTU tends to be on the low end of commercial wok burners, but is still significantly higher than most kitchens.
I do agree that non-stick has it's uses, an egg pan or crepe pan is a perfect example, but the old teflon based coatings were not designed to deal with extreme heat, and newer ceramic coatings would be questionable when it comes to thermal shock such as adding food to a hot pan.
I'm not going to claim a stir fry requires specialized equipment by any means. I grew up eating stir fry made of those bags of stir fry mix from costco mixed with sliced beef or chicken and bottled sauces. Probably still tastes better then any stir fry I'll ever make, even if the primary seasoning is nostalgia. But that never needed a wok, just a big ol' frying pan. Was it an authentic stir fry? Hell no, but it still tasted damn good.
My point is that a wok is a specialized pan for a certain form of cooking and specific applications, which non-stick doesn't jive with and the overwhelming majority (I have yet to meet anyone with specific wok burner in their range off the internet at this point) of kitchens can't support to make the most of.
Jinnd319
27
Feb 25, 2019
NaftoorThat's true, but given the lack of proper equipment all one can do is approximate. The wok shape is still useful for storing large amounts of food without losing too much. Also, you can convert a portable range to accommodate a wok. Alex from French guy cooking did it. Another thing I've seen people do is get a stand that holds the wok, and then use a propane torch to power it. That seems to heat food far more aggressively than most home ranges can.
Sure, this item isn't perfect, but it should be good enough for the home cook. 500 degrees is a lot for home cooking.
jimbolaya
104
Feb 27, 2019
NaftoorWhat's your opinion of using a cook top (like this Samsung: https://www.samsung.com/us/home-appliances/cooktops-and-hoods/gas-cooktops/36--gas-cooktop-with-dual-power-burner-na36k7750ts-aa/) with a 22K, dual-ring center burner with a carbon steel wok?
I'm planning a kitchen model eventually, and while I'm leaning towards induction, my wife especially likes to stir fry.
Alternatively, we may look into an outdoor, high BTU burner like this 65,000 BTU one: https://www.amazon.com/Eastman-Outdoors-37212-Outdoor-Gourmet/dp/B0002OOMRG/
Four advantages: I can still have my induction cooktop, the smoke (and fish-sauce smell; she loves her fish sauce) stays outside, even higher power, and we can get this independent of a re-model.
Netherhero
11
May 30, 2019
NaftoorTheir "ceramic" stuff is just another type of nonstick anyway. I completely agree, this wok is silly.
AliG
13
May 30, 2019
NaftoorIn the past, non-stick coatings have not been durable enough for high heat wok use but the point of this offering is that Scanpan's coating is not 'just another non-stick', it's safe for high heat, metal utensils, and the pan carries a lifetime warranty for materials. That's the claim at least.
If you're interested in stir fry and dissatisfied with the amount of oil required to stir fry in carbon steel or the seasoning process/durability then you may want to consider this.
Drop Refurbished
Like-new products you can trustDrop Rewards
Get $5 for every 500 points you earn! Learn more
Drop Keyboard Club
Become a member and expand your keycap collectionCollaborate With Us
For Brands & DesignersFollow Drop