Helen's Asian Kitchen Wok Set - Wok Pan with Lid, 13.5 Inch Carbon Steel Wok - Nonstick Flat Bottom Wok for Stir Fry - Includes 4pc Accessories - Perfect for Gas, Electric, Induction Stovetops

I bought this flat-bottom wok to use on my Viking induction plate. It is a beauty, with solid and sturdy wooden handles. I believe this is termed a "spun" factory-made wok, because of the concentric circles that are evident in the metal. The gauge is the proper thickness and when I press on the sides with my hands I cannot bend it.If you don't know how to season a wok this one comes with very clear and concise instructions for seasoning. Personally, I think everyone buying a wok for the first time should also consider buying Grace Young's The Breath of a Wok: Unlocking the Spirit of Chinese Wok Cooking Through Recipes and Lore. You will find many helpful "recipes" for seasoning a wok in that book. In fact, if you are new to wok-ing, and not in a big rush to get started, you should buy the book before you buy the wok. It is the best stir-frying cookbook I own, and is more important to a novice wok-er than her newer book Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge: The Ultimate Guide to Mastery, with Authentic Recipes and Stories.I also have a 16" round bottom wok that I use on an Eastman Outdoors 90411 Portable Kahuna Burner out in the yard. (Sorry, I tried to provide a product link, but failed. It is offered by Amazon, though.) The 16" wok is a higher gauge metal (which means it is a thinner metal) and I can bend the sides by pushing on it with my hands. The thinner metal gives me some trouble on the powerful burner, and I am much happier with the thickness of this Helen Chen wok. The long, wooden handle makes it easier to manipulate the wok--it is way easier to work with than the metal "ear" handles of my 16".I love to stir-fry, but I hate the smell in the kitchen. So I try to keep my stir-frying activities out-of-doors. Along with this new wok, I also bought a metal cart with wheels Seville Classics SHE18321 Stainless Steel Kitchen Workstation. Now I keep the induction plate and the wok on the cart and wheel the whole setup out to the porch. I can now stir-fry anytime I want to and not worry about the wind. (The powerful flame of the Portable Kahuna Burner does not mix well with any wind over 5mph.)The only thing I don't really like about this product is that the name "Helen Chen" is wood-burned into the top of the long handle. You can not see that in the picture. I consider it a distraction.

The wok is solid and the perfect size for the average family kitchen. It has a lid which is great. It weighs a mere 3lbs 7.1 ounces. It must must must be seasoned. Carbon steel will rust just like cast iron. Lovers of these types of pots know this and feel it's worth the effort and the benefits outweigh the extra steps. Here's what I did: I chose to season the wok inside and out. Only the inside is really necessary but each coat of seasoning will further darken and protect the surfaces.Scrub the wok with soap and water, and dry completely.Remove the long handle completely and to protect the non-removable helper handle, cover it with a layer of aluminum foil, a damp paper towel and cover the damp paper towel with another layer of foil.Then with a paper towel apply a (very) thin layer of oil to the surface to be seasoned. I use flaxseed oil for its low smoke point but vegetable oil will work fine.Put the oiled wok bottom up in a cold oven and set it to 500 degrees F (260C) or as high as your oven will go.As the oven reaches temp the (very) thin layer of oil will pass through it's smoke point (and smoke! but no worries. open a window...) and the oil will carbonize and darken.When the oven reaches setpoint turn off the heat and let it cool down. You can open the door in a bit to speed up the cooling.When cool enough to handle re-wrap or moisten helper handle if necessary and repeat the process one or two more times; up to six times total if you feel froggy.This method works for cast iron even better. Six coats and a cast iron pan will be black as soot and outlast us all. For the wok i went with two coats for esthetic reasons mostly. It's protected looks cool and will only get more non-stick with further use.The helper handle is permanently attached. The long handle is essentially a wooden tube with an extended wing bolt through the center. You screw the rod into the handle base through the wooden handle using the hanging ring. It's quite solid once dogged down. The handle design allows for an fix to a minor annoyance for me. The acute angle of the upward facing handle end can be irritating with extended use but the can be rotated 180 degrees so the wider angle faces up reducing this effect. As a bonus the handle has "Helen Chen" prominently branded on to the top and it isn't visible when rotated into the more comfortable position.