How to season a stainless steel wok in 3 minutes using the spot seasoning method
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Published 2020-08-25
The seasoning developed on cast iron and carbon steel woks is often considered to be associated with the patina, a brown deposit found on the surface of these woks. Since the patina is not found on the stainless steel woks, this is another reason why most people assume that stainless steel woks could not be effectively seasoned. However, over the years, I have questioned the validity of equating the patina with the seasoning of the woks. In this video, I discuss the reasons that the patina is not responsible for the seasoning on the surface of the woks. In fact, the seasoning is invisible.
Stainless steel woks are seasoned in the same way as cast iron and carbon steel woks. The heating of the cooking oils to the temperature near their smoking points causes the oil to bind together (polymerization) to form a plastic-like layer on the surface of the woks. This oil layer penetrates into the microscopic pores on the surface of the bare metal. The size of the pores is in the order of cast iron, carbon steel, and stainless steel. The larger size of the cast iron and carbon steel allows deeper penetration of the oil into the surface of cast iron and carbon steel giving them greater permanency, making them more resistant to being washed away with water. However, washing them with soap/detergent readily removes the seasoning.
All Comments (21)
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Dude... You're a lifesaver. For people who can't watch the whole video here's a summary: -put oil in wok on high heat -wait till oil starts smoking (for 15 seconds straight. Can be a lil longer but 15s is the minimum) -turn the heat to low temp -wait till pan cools down a little And now it's non stick for this coocking session. I tried it with my 30cm cristel wok and am amazed! Thank you Tak! 🙏😊
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OMG I’m calling you uncle from now on! You saved my wok 😂 I was ready to fling that thing out the window like a frisbee, it was so frustrating. But this technique was spot on. Thank you!
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All the people who say this video is “too long” or “clickbait” have no interest in actually learning. If you want an answer within 30 seconds, watch a shorter video. You can see how long a video is before you click on it. This was a great video that explained stainless steel seasoning perfectly compared to cast iron and carbon steel. And he even says how to do it (for those of you complaining he didn’t)
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What I like about you is that you speak as a wise grandfather who like to teach his grandsons from his wisdom that he get from his long years of experment. Thanks you so much for the valuable informations that u share with us
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I don't yet own a stainless steel wok, but tried your spot seasoning method in a small stainless frying pan. It worked perfectly! Thank you.
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This is just the kind of logical thinking we need in cooking! :D Love this guy!
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With my stainless steel pans, I’ve always done the Mercury test …. I let the pan heat up and drop a couple drops of water in the pan … if the pan is hot enough, the water will turn into little balls and roll around the pan, I know then I can add oil and my pan is 100% non stick. I hope that is insightful. Love your channel ❤️
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Mr. Tak is like a teacher, he give so many useful informations about wok. Thank you.
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The reason for seasoning a pan hundreds of yrs ago is to help cast iron to not rust. Good stainless will not rust.!! Great video !!
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Watched this entire video from start to finish, thank you for the knowledge🙌🏾
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This good sir explains it so brief and clear. Thats how good people explains what to do not tells you only what to do but explains what happens. Thank you sir!
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Don't listen to the haters, those of us who actually want to understand, are happy to invest the time and learn a bit more, and appreciate your stories. 👍
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Thank you for sharing your ideas. Painting with oil colors, I use drying oils for pictures. During drying, oils polymerize. If it is not complete, the picture still looks wet, and the layer sticks if I try to glide my finger carefully on its surface. With time, oil paintings starts to yellow. Using carbon steel, I found that seasoning my cook dishes behave like oil on an oil painting. To do the test, I remove any excessive oil after seasoning. A very thin layer remains. I let my cooking dish cool, and try to glide my finger above its surface. If I can glide my finger freely above its surface, I assumed that the seasoning is complete. If it sticks, I assumed that seasoning is not finished. Thank you for your videos. I am glad to see how you try and experiment, and find authentic solutions. Happy cooking.
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Tak is an excellent communicator.
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Thank you very much! I'm glad that I watched your video before using my wok. I appreciate your help. Best regards ❤️
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This is the best video on this subject. Complete understanding of how to manage this wok. Awesome. Thank you.
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i just saw a video where a person seasoned a stainless wok like a carbon wok. I'm glad I listened to your video.
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Thank you! I just opened my Cuisinart wok. I put a little oil in it and heated it up just like you said, then dropped an egg in there and it worked great! Nice sunny-side-up egg sliding all over the place!
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Thank you for your thorough explanation. I will follow your instructions to clean and season my wok.
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just got myself an all clad stainless wok and plan ti use this method.. your vids mad me want to get one and once I found out all clad made a 12 inch I got one with lid.
