Cooking on a wok is a great way to reduce the amount of oil needed and creates a completely different taste to the food you cook. Wok cooking can be fast, fun, healthy, indulgent, whatever you need it to be. Here are my picks if you're looking to start wok cooking.
My favorite choice, from Mamma Fong, is a Chinese Pow-style wok. It has one long handle to shake and flip your food with a "pao" motion. A pow-style wok shape is a better choice than a Cantonese-style shape, a bowl with smaller handles on both sides, because it fits most home cooking styles of lifting, moving, and generally fidgeting with the food.
The Mamma Fong Wok uses carbon steel, which heats very well and is light enough to handle easily. This wok is hand-hammered, which gives it a beautiful look, but it doesn't actually add much in the way of function. Carbon steel seasons just like cast iron, creating its own nonstick surface. Plus, carbon steel is lighter and easier to clean. The Mamma Fong wok is under four pounds, a nice weight for flipping your food. With the wood handle, the traditional hammered look, and the flat bottom, it is better for cooking on any home stove.
A wok can be an incredibly versatile kitchen tool but since they come in many sizes, finding the perfect fit for your home is crucial. The Helen Chen 12-inch carbon steel wok is perfect for a variety of homes. It features a flat bottom that is suited for stovetop cooking, has a heat resistant 2-tone bamboo handle, and since it's carbon steel it distributes heat beautifully. Best of all this option is super affordable, making it a great pick for folks just starting to stock the kitchen!
Ooooh, Mauviel makes a wok. I have a few copper pieces from Mauviel that have lasted me 20+ years and are used more than anything I have. Not a wok, though. On paper, the Mauviel Black Steel Wok might seem like a great luxury upgrade, but I'd warn against some of its key components.
First of all, it is thick and heavy, weighing six pounds. For a pow-style wok in which you'll flip your food, this is too much. The thick steel should hold heat nicely, but it may be harder to get up to temperature, and it won't cool as quickly. Thinner carbon steel cools quickly, so if you want to slow your cooking, you take the wok off the heat. Thicker steel and cast iron don't have this benefit.
That iron handle also worries me greatly. I know that on my copper cookware, the handles can get hot if I'm working with the kind of BTUs needed for stir fry. Iron conducts slower than copper but stays hotter. The only benefit I could imagine is that it's oven-friendly, but you wouldn't finish any wok dish in the oven. I've burned my hand grabbing those copper handles, so it's hard to recommend with a high-heat vessel like a wok.
There are great arguments in favor of the Lodge Pro-Logic Cast Iron Work, but a few big reasons to consider something smaller. First, cast iron is just plain fun. It seasons wonderfully to become nonstick; it lasts so long your grandchildren might use this wok. It looks equally at home on your stovetop or sitting over a campfire, and it would be kind of cool to stir fry on a fishing trip.
You could only use this wok for Cantonese style cooking because it weighs almost 12 pounds. If you can lift it, that's not a bad thing. It should sit perfectly in place and let you scrape around your spatula to flip your food. Cooking in cast iron actually imparts iron as a nutrient into your food.
One major caveat is that cast iron cools very slowly. It is easy to overcook your food in a cast iron wok because you won't be able to bring down the heat as needed. Also, if you don't plate your food or at least remove it from the wok once you're finished, it will just keep on cooking.
Let's Wok and Roll (Dad jokes FTW)
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A wok is a rare cooking tool that more money doesn't significantly improve. A great wok like the Mammafong Chinese Pow Wok uses basic materials and design but nails the essentials to create a pan you'll use for years. I prefer carbon steel for its light weight, and the Mamma Fong wok is less than 3.5 pounds so that it will be easy for beginners and fun for experienced chefs.
A Pow wok should have a long wooden handle that doesn't retain heat and is easy to hold, like the handle on the Mamma Fong wok, and another for easy hanging. I love the Mamma Fong's hand-hammered look that makes it feel premium for such an inexpensive tool. The flat bottom is perfect for all kitchen ranges, whether you have electric or gas or even induction. For an excellent all-around wok, there's no reason to look for something fancier than the Mamma Fong.