Reddit reviews Lodge Pro-Logic Wok With Flat Base and Loop Handles, 14-inch, Black

Meanwhile...you also asked about a wok. Woks seem to have their own holy ground, with some cooks saying cast iron (again) makes the best wok, because you can heat it to blazing high temperatures; while others praise carbon steel woks for more precise temperature control. The most popular place to go online for a genuine Oriental wok at a decent price is The Wok Shop, which will sell you woks of both kinds. If you go looking for a wok in the real world and not online, look for one with a curved bottom; some so-called woks actually have a flat bottom, which negates the whole idea of having a special hot spot right at the center of your pan for cooking. Some of the better woks will have a curved bottom and a flat base to place on your stovetop, while the traditional Oriental woks usually require you to get a separate wok ring in order to place the round-bottomed wok on your stovetop.

One thing I can't recommend highly enough for your wok is a wok turner, also called a wok shovel. And that's exactly what it is: a utensil shaped like a shovel, which works perfectly in a wok. It's so easy to turn your stir fry around with this utensil, you can actually feel the difference between this and a usual spatula or spoon. You absolutely must get a wok turner for use with a wok -- and it must be shaped like a traditional Oriental wok turner. Most of the "turners" they sell in grocery stores are just spatulas that aren't shaped right for a wok.

Again, my bias for cast iron is speaking here, and you can skip this part if you want: I used a generous Amazon gift certificate last Christmas to get the Lodge cast iron wok, a heavy duty monster of a wok that I absolutely love. I use it at least once a week, often more, and it's well seasoned by now. The best thing about this heavy-duty wok is the way it stays firm and solid on the stovetop, so that I don't have to hold the pan with one hand while I stir my food in it. The bare cast iron lets me use a metal wok turner without worrying about scratching or damaging it. If there's a wok that would best suit /r/BuyItForLife, I'll gladly nominate this for the award. (A less expensive but still heavy-duty cast iron wok can be found here: the Cajun Cookware 12-inch wok with handle).

These were the things I initially bought when gathering cookware.

Enameled cast iron dutch oven

Cast Iron Wok or a carbon steel wok.

Stainless steel cookset

Pressure Cooker

Cast Iron skillet

Stainless steel roaster

*Pyrex Bakeware

You could try out a heavy cast iron wok. Let it heat up on medium until it's evenly hot, then crank up the heat and get cooking. The pot holds a lot of heat, so the temperature of your dish doesn't fall to lukewarm every time you add an ingredient. Still not perfect, but better.

The one on the left does not look like cast iron. At any rate, the real value of cast iron is in heat retention which comes from its heavy weight and thickness. The one on the left looks really thin - which completely defeats the purpose. The Walmart review ratings are quite bad as well - 1.6 out of 5.

I have a cast iron wok which is handed down the generations - it is certainly thicker than the one on the left but its thickness and weight is midway between the extreme lightness of a carbon steel wok and a regular cast iron skillet.

My suggestion would be to go with the carbon steel wok. Just make sure the bottom is as flat as possible and it has as much depth as possible (should be fairly high). You want maximum contact area with the circular heating element in your glasstop, and you want your wok to be fairly high so you can toss things around without it falling off.

If you are okay with the higher price, you could also get something like the Lodge Logic cast iron wok - it has a flat bottom, will take its time to heat up, but when it does heats up properly, it will sear like a champ as it will have all this retained heat. But it is heavy and cumbersome and more difficult to clean and i guess more expensive than a carbon steel wok - so that really is the tradeoff.

tl;dr - do not buy that carbon steel one on the left. Either buy the one on the right, the carbon steel one, or buy a good quality cast iron wok. And if you are buying the one on the right, make sure the handle is sturdy as that is what usually ends up breaking or failing.

My mouth has been watering over this monster for months.

Unfortunately, my cast iron purchase (16 inch frying pan) eventually pulled my pot rack full of about 20 pots and pans out of the ceiling and onto my lovely 17 inch macbook underneath. Needless to say it's acquired a few dents. The pots are OK, though.

Cast iron wok?

I agree, I can actually whip up my favorite meal in half the time as macaroni and cheese. I will take some cheap fish like Tilapia, dust it with whole wheat flour and toss it in the olive oiled pan. Cook 3 minutes, add sauce (which sizzles and caramelizes from the sugar). Serve with short grain sushi rice on the side with japanese rice seasoning (not soy sauce).
Great!

Stir fry pro-tips

Pre-heat the pan with no oil, on high.

Add oil to hot pan and them immediately add ingredients.

Give raw meat a minutes head start.

Add sauce at the very end and immediately remove from heat, stir.

Make real teriyaki sauce from real soy sauce (not hydrolyzed soy protein) and mirin(sweet japanese rice wine). I get it from asianfoodgrocer.com. Add a squirt of chili sauce,a pinch of ginger, and a tablespoon of sugar.

Also, my lodge cast iron wok is the best pan I own.
http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Pro-Logic-14-Inch-Cast-Iron-Handles/dp/B00063RXQK/ref=sr_1_1?

This is correct, and also why most would-be stir fryers would benefit from purchasing a cast iron wok

Lodge has a couple other woks that might be better for you since they are larger: P14W3 14" Cast Iron Wok, and LC12SF 12" Stir Fry Skillet. I've got both as well as a traditional carbon steel wok. I've done more cooking with the steel wok than the cast iron, but I do think the steel wok is a bit more flexible because it heats and cools much more quickly than the iron wok. I also steam lots of stuff with the steel wok and lid, but I don't think cast iron is really the right tool for steaming. Moisture tends to promote rust, but maybe it'll be better once my iron seasoning is more solid. The iron wok is great for serving at the table because is stays warmer so much longer.

A hundred times, yes. I have the 10" and 12" on the stove top at all times! Do yourself a favor and get the LODGE CAST IORN WOK. It's amazing!

I'll just list everything that I can, how's that?

The bakers rack on the left is This

The left most skillet is an AUS-ION
They're made in Australia and so smooth. Some nice touches of the piece are the very detailed cut-out of Australia on the handle and another nice engraving on the bottom.

Then there's the Stargazer. My first expensive piece. It's also very smooth. It's had a hard time keeping its seasoning, and I've admittedly been babying it by seasoning and seasoning it with flaxseed oil and a Crisbee puck.

Then there is the Finex group. It starts with the 10" grill pan. Then there's the 12" and 8". I just love the different geometric shapes of them.

All the way to the right is the Lodge Sauce Pot

I haven't used it a whole lot other than to make a few dips.

Between the big hanging skillets are some Lodge 4" and 5" skillets that I thought just looked cool and rounded out my collection.

The griddle is just a double sided griddle from world market. It's my go to pancake tool.

Then there is an A1 Chef pizza pan that I honestly don't use very much. I tend to just use some cheap aluminum pans with holes on the bottom because they're easier to form the crust on.

On the middle shelf from left to right are my 10" and 12" lodges. The 10" was my very first cast iron skillet. They've both been stripped and reseasoned and are much smoother than factory. I don't see myself giving up my first two skillets. I still use them a lot.

In the middle is the 10" grill pan from Lodge. I honestly hate cleaning the grill pans and have found that the lines in the meat aren't really worth the scraping. There's also some cheap fajita skillet that I don't think I've ever used.

And on the right is the Lodge enameled dutch oven but in the light grey. I love this thing, and got it for a song on Amazon one day.

On the bottom shelf on the left is the Lodge Wok I have definintely not used it. It seems like it would be better on a gas range, which I don't have. This was an impulse buy, and I don't know how to really cook any asian food, so who knows.

Then last but not least is the regular Lodge Dutch Oven
Many a roast has been made in this. The drip spikes on top does the basting for you. I just got a sous vide setup, so I'll probably be using it less and less, but sometimes I know I'll want the smell of a roast wafting through the air all day on a cold Autumn day.

Bonus pieces Kitchenaid Stainless Steel cookware set on top with All clad non-stick pans to the right of those.

Then there are some Lodge Stonewear on the other bakers rack

Go for a cast iron one. It'll last forever and nothing cooks like cast iron.

There is, indeed, such a thing!

I really just wanted to point out that if you want to buy a wok and buy:

a cast iron wok it will be 11.4 pounds and probably not what you are expecting.

vs.

a carbon steel wok which is probably what most people want.

https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Pre-Seasoned-Flattened-Bottom-Sautees/dp/B00063RXQK

The wok stuff can be tricky on electric but my range is an ex-top of the line 50's unit, so gets mega hot still. It also helps I use a wok with a flat bottom purposed for electric. But still I know I'm missing something without those btu's coming up the side of the pan.

Protip for good wok cooking when you don't have an adequate range. This includes gas ranges too, as I've seen gas ranges whimper pathetically compared to my own electric. Anyway, just get a cast iron wok.

Get yourself a Lodge cast iron wok. Plenty of heat capacity from the cast iron so your temps won't drop as drastically as with a pan when you drop something in. It's nice and deep too.

https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Pro-Logic-P14W3-Black-14-inch/dp/B00063RXQK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469144855&sr=8-1&keywords=lodge+wok

Then if you want more heat and control I found an inductive hob both produces more heat than my electric stove and offers immediate response to changes in the heat setting,