J. Kenji Lopez-Alt Explains Why a Wok Is the Only Pan You Need

This book focuses not only on dishes cooked in the wok, but also on pantry items and other dishes that accompany wok-cooked meals. Can you talk about that?

I started off restricting it to just wok-cooked dishes but as I was writing, I realized that if people are investing in a new piece of equipment they may or may not be familiar with and a bunch of new pantry ingredients, it also makes sense to know other things you can do with them. What I love about the wok is how convenient and practical it is—you have this piece of equipment and you can make a huge variety of dishes. 

What makes the ideal wok?

I always recommend carbon steel. It’s tough and lasts a long time. It builds up seasoning and gives food a flavor you can’t get out of stainless steel because of the way the food interacts with the metal. Cast iron is really heavy for something you’re going to be maneuvering (and it’s also thicker and thus more brittle than carbon steel). Nonstick just won’t last because you’re constantly going in there with a spatula and heating to super-high heat.

If you live in a city that has a Chinatown or a large Asian population, go to a local Chinese supermarket or restaurant supply shop. You’ll be giving the money direction to manufacturers and woks are virtually all the same as long as you have the right thickness and dimensions. I recommend 14-inch diameter, a flat bottom, and 1.5 to 2 millimeters thick (14 gauge). 

Can you talk through why a wok is good for various cooking techniques such as…

Stir-Fry:

The term stir-fry is actually a misnomer, because it’s more of a toss-fry. You can stir-fry with just a wok—you don’t need another utensil. You’re tossing the food up and down and letting it cascade over itself. The essential process of stir-frying is throwing it up in the air and moving it around the pan. It’s similar to how on a hot day, blowing a fan across you cools you faster. Whether it’s cooling things down or heating things up, those reactions take place faster the more motion there is and with stir-frying, the movement and the air encourages evaporation, constant contact with hot air, and rapid cooking. With vegetables, you’re able to cook them through while still retaining a really bright color and get meats to cook through while still staying juicy.