# The Wok Shop.



## boomchakabowwow (Jun 10, 2018)

Im fortunate to live relatively nearby. Had to drive into SF to get a yellow fever vaccine. Wife and I made a day of it. Ate some old comfort foods from our youth. 

I wanted to see if the wok place had two things. CCK 1303 and/or a Cen Wok (they are closing shop in shanghai) I have been in the Wok shop four times. I have yet to feel compelled to drop a penny there. The two workers are so surly. Never a hello. I even gave them my best Cantonese good morning and hello. Nope..nothing. 

The place needs a serious dusting. Its full of cool inventory, but its like a hoarders bounty. Crap is everywhere. Prices are a tick higher. 

They had nothing I was interested in. I left. I found a store with CCK around the corner. But only stainless steel versions. Im holding out for the elusive #1303. 

We ate some fun food. Saw the Anthony Bourdain tribute line out the door at Swans oyster bar. Complete w news crews. 

Im not a fan of that wok store. I didnt even get an egg tart from golden gate bakery. They opened late Friday. What a bummer.


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## youkinorn (Jun 10, 2018)

I ordered stuff from them online a number of years ago and had a really good experience, but haven't even been in person.


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## bahamaroot (Jun 10, 2018)

Bought a carbon wok from them a couple of years ago, it sucks. Seasoned it a few times exactly by their instructions with flaxseed oil and it always just flakes back off.


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## daveb (Jun 11, 2018)

I bought a hammered round bottom wok and small cleaved from them about a hundred years ago. PIF'd the cleaver but still have and use the wok. Later was in SF and went to the store - what a chithole. I would buy again on line but not going back on a bet.


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## parbaked (Jun 11, 2018)

My favorite Chinese restaurant (Capital) is around the corner so I stop in to kill time if I'm early for dinner.
They have a good selection of Kiwi knives but not much else...


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## apicius9 (Jun 11, 2018)

FWIW, I came for the same conclusions with the caveat that I was last there about 9 years ago. Underwhelmed a bit and not a very inviting place, even though I do like small cramped straditional stores. Bought a wok that I never used for lack of a decent burner.

Stefan


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## Paraffin (Jun 11, 2018)

bahamaroot said:


> Bought a carbon wok from them a couple of years ago, it sucks. Seasoned it a few times exactly by their instructions with flaxseed oil and it always just flakes back off.



You should be able to salvage that wok by burning off whatever gunk is on there, and season again with a different method. Any steel wok should be salvageable if you can take it back down to bare metal.

FYI, wok seasoning when used on an appropriately hot burner isn't a thick, built-up coating like seasoning on a cast iron pan. It's usually just a very thin darkened film on the steel surface. There shouldn't be anything thick enough to come off in flakes.


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## ramenlegend (Jun 11, 2018)

Interesting, they were always super friendly when we were there. The guy was always giving super cheesy wok demos, it is somewhat of a tourist novelty shop. The only thing we ever bought there were moon cake molds and gold dragon scissors tho. Try Eastern Bakery next time, the girlfriend and I were always pleased with it.


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## panda (Jun 12, 2018)

the name screams 'tourist trap'


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## Grunt173 (Jun 12, 2018)

bahamaroot said:


> Bought a carbon wok from them a couple of years ago, it sucks. Seasoned it a few times exactly by their instructions with flaxseed oil and it always just flakes back off.



I bought a carbon wok from the wok shop and it is a nice wok,heavy duty.It arrived minus the wood handle so a phone call with the nice lady had me one here asap.
I have three different woks,one is over 30 years old and has been restored to perfect condition.Although the wok shop recommends flaxseed oil to season with,I read somewhere that flaxseed oil is bad,don't remember where though but I have always used peanut oil with my seasoning method with great lasting results.You should be able to restore your wok very easily.I restored one for a friend one time and had to sand it down to bare metal,not hard,and brought it back to new life with a good seasoning.


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## Noodle Soup (Jun 12, 2018)

I think I have bought three woks off of Wok Shop now and I'm happy with all of them. Anyone complaining about how cluttered the store is has never been in a real Chinese shop in Chengdu etc. In most you can barely squeeze down the isles for all the stuff on both sides of you. They make maximum use of any space available.


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## bahamaroot (Jun 13, 2018)

Grunt173 said:


> I bought a carbon wok from the wok shop and it is a nice wok,heavy duty.It arrived minus the wood handle so a phone call with the nice lady had me one here asap.
> I have three different woks,one is over 30 years old and has been restored to perfect condition.Although the wok shop recommends flaxseed oil to season with,I read somewhere that flaxseed oil is bad,don't remember where though but I have always used peanut oil with my seasoning method with great lasting results.You should be able to restore your wok very easily.I restored one for a friend one time and had to sand it down to bare metal,not hard,and brought it back to new life with a good seasoning.


The wok is well made and heavy duty I just can't get the seasoning to stay on the bottom half of the inside of the wok. It looks great when I first season it but it just comes right off the first time I use it. I'm going to strip it down and try a different oil and see what happens. Usually pans eventually will season just through use but not this one.


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## daveb (Jun 13, 2018)

Usually flaking means too much oil is being used. A little dab will do you. Then wipe the dab out. Then go for the heat. Repeat.


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## Paraffin (Jun 13, 2018)

daveb said:


> Usually flaking means too much oil is being used. A little dab will do you. Then wipe the dab out. Then go for the heat. Repeat.



Flaking can also mean the heat source isn't hot enough to meld just a small film on the surface of the metal, which is usually the case if you don't have serious burner BTU's. It's very different from seasoning cast iron pans.

I bought a Yamada 14" carbon steel wok recently to add to the 16" carbon steel wok that I've had for 10 years. I wanted something a little smaller and easier to wash for side dishes. I used this method, except repeating that last step with the oil about 5 times before the first time I used it for cooking:

[video=youtube;UGXGJD2xTzQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGXGJD2xTzQ[/video]

My wok burner isn't THAT hot, but it's 30k btu, which gets me close enough. The seasoning on both my woks is very thin, and sometimes I'll even scratch down to bare metal if I'm being aggressive with the metal utensils, but it always come back to a slick black (and very thin) coating with more use. It's a completely different "seasoning" than the baked-in coating on my cast iron pans.


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## bahamaroot (Jun 14, 2018)

Look at this YouTube pro

[video=youtube;HtFA7hx72xQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtFA7hx72xQ[/video]

What a ******* mess.


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## bahamaroot (Jun 14, 2018)

I'm probably not getting enough heat. I forgot I have an outdoor propane burner for a fryer, I need to try that. I know it has the BTUs to get it done!


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## niwaki-boy (Jun 14, 2018)

Charcoal can also work &#128293;


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## Mucho Bocho (Jun 14, 2018)

I have on found one burner on the market that has proper woking power. The most important aspect of a proper wok burner is that the flame forms a concentrated jet in the center of the burner. Rings, no matter how powerful won't cut it. 

There's a huge difference in a hot pan and a hot wok. Also, a flat wok is not really a wok, its a pan with round sides.


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## Bill13 (Jun 14, 2018)

Mucho Bocho said:


> I have on found one burner on the market that has proper woking power. The most important aspect of a proper wok burner is that the flame forms a concentrated jet in the center of the burner. Rings, no matter how powerful won't cut it.
> 
> There's a huge difference in a hot pan and a hot wok. Also, a flat wok is not really a wok, its a pan with round sides.



10-4 on that


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## boomchakabowwow (Jun 14, 2018)

When warming up my seasoned wok; the center over the heat gets super hot. I can watch it go from black to gray in a hurry. I suspect my seasoning is going up in smoke. I just start cooking. I find food sticks if the pan isnt hot enough. Usually a boost in btu will release the food. Its like playing chicken with the damn thing. See who flinches first. 

I like cooking outdoors. It just works for me. Besides a wok is a messy vessel.


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## Paraffin (Jun 14, 2018)

Ditto on the messy vessel, although some of that is just practice. Right now I'm trying to adapt to making fried rice on the new 14" wok instead of my main 16" wok, without throwing fried rice all over the place.
:biggrin:


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## Mucho Bocho (Jun 14, 2018)

Boom, The burner we have must be used outdoors (at least they recommend it). The fire that come from it reminds me of the move Dragon Slayer, when the dragon would inhale and blow onto the Slayer only being protected by his dragon scale covered shield.


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## boomchakabowwow (Jun 14, 2018)

Mucho Bocho said:


> Boom, The burner we have must be used outdoors (at least they recommend it). The fire that come from it reminds me of the move Dragon Slayer, when the dragon would inhale and blow onto the Slayer only being protected by his dragon scale covered shield.
> 
> View attachment 39712



Yea, Im outdoors. That grease plume; no way that ends well indoors. 

Hey Mucho; I made friends with a guy that owns a plasma cutter. He agreed to cut a hole in a stainless steel work table to nestle my wok burner in. The table is $85 on Amazon. Should improve the setup. I hope. I had to paint the top rind with black bbq paint. It was rusting fairly quickly.


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