The Wok: Part I

Many cultures in the world have developed cookware very similar to if not identical to the wok. It's hard to say if they were cooked in the same was as a wok is today though.


In China, the metal wok has been in use about 2500 years. It's specific origins, however are vague.


I've read theories about Mongol warriors cooking in their helmets.


Or importing the concept if not the first woks from India.


Another theory indicates the adoption of the wok was driven by its fuel efficiency. Much of the forest had been cut to provide arable land to feed China's population. With wood limited for cooking fuel, efficiency becomes important.


The shape itself is a common shape made in many cultures for baskets, pottery and so on and frequently used for food. It's a logical extension to try the shape in metal once a culture develops that knowledge.

There are certain features of a wok that make it desirable regardless of where the idea came from.

• The dome shape maximizes the volume enclosed while simultaneously minimizing the material needed to enclose it. So it's efficient in material used.

• Its round bottom, while not stable on a flat surface is quite at home in many primitive cooking environments. A tripod of rocks, directly nestled into coals or on the earthen ware stoves with the round opening over the fire. Further, you don't have to standardize the stove hole dimensions as the round shape will nestle stably into a range of different sized holes. Conversely, different sized woks fit in one hole well too without needing different sized holes.

• There is an elegant synergy between the focused heating of the bottom of the wok and the shapes and sizes the food is cut in for cooking. This makes wok cooking fuel efficient.

• It's also oil efficient. You can cook with very little cooking oil. The last time I bought peanut oil, it was about $13.00 per gallon. That's pretty steep. But oil efficient is also good for our health by cutting out fat from our food. Lots of Chinese Restaurant food can be very greasy, but if you're cooking correctly in a wok, your food shouldn't be. Greasy food at a Chinese restaurant is usually a sign of a sloppy cook.
  

Early metal woks were cast iron. This site displays some paintings from the 1840s and explains how it was done at that time. These woks were cast thinner and lighter than the cast iron ware we're most familiar with in the West. This light weight allows the cook to use the pan to toss and throw the ingredients, a handy technique in it's own right.


There are regional differences in cast iron woks with woks to the South tending to use ear shaped metal loops for handles. In the North, they would attach a stick handle and a loop handle opposite the stick handle. These handle preferences reflect cooking preferences. The Northern cooks are more prone to the tossing pau technique where Southern cooks are more prone to the spatula stirring chau techniques.


References


http://www.rachellaudan.com/2008/12/what-do-we-really-know-about-the-history-of-the-wok.html

http://www.staff.hum.ku.dk/dbwagner/wok/wok.html

Breath of a Wok by Grace Young (her site is worth visiting as well)