Whether you’ve developed a new passion for Chinese food and started experimented by cooking Chinese food at home, or you’re thinking about diversifying your cookware, buying a wok is a smart decision. It gives you a lot of variety and flexibility in terms of how you cook, and even though you don’t need a traditional wok to create Chinese meals, it does make a difference.
The Wok is a bowl-shaped cooking utensil that gives you some unique advantages when you’re cooking traditional Chinese food. They are renowned for evenly distributing heat throughout the entire pan when you’re cooking and is also great for deep-frying. If you’re scouring the market for woks that can be used on gas stoves, you’ve come to the right place.
In this guide to the best woks for gas stoves, we’re going to go through why there’s nothing better than a carbon steel wok when it comes to cooking delicious Chinese food. We will also review the top 6 woks for gas stoves along with a buyer’s guide featuring all the things you should look at when buying a wok.
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Our Pick
Our top pick for the best woks for gas stoves is the Craft Wok Traditional Hand Hammered Carbon Steel Pow Wok. The best part about it is that it doesn’t cost you much, and the pan has a rounded bottom with a long handle for a comfortable grip. It’s a great wok for stir-frying but can also be used comfortably when you’re cooking different types of foods and trying new Chinese recipes.
The large size of this traditional wok is ideal for deep frying food and preparing various kinds of soups. You’ll also love the fact that you can use this wok over an open fire, but the only downside is that you’ll need to season the wok yourself. However, It’s not recommended for use on induction or electric stove.
One of the biggest selling points of the Craft Wok traditional carbon steel wok is that it’s popular among professional Chinese chefs and recommended for use with gas stoves.
Best Woks for Gas Stoves Comparison Table
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Woks for Gas Stoves Reviews
Buying a decent Wok for traditional Chinese cooking at home shouldn’t be too complicated a task, but you’ll be surprised at how easily you can get confused with so many options on hand. Shopping for cookware shouldn’t be this hard, but it’s tough to know which one’s are the best suited for the type of cooking you intend to do in the kitchen.
We’re going to make things a lot easier for you in this guide by sharing all the details and information you should know about the various types of woks on the market today. From copper to aluminum and stainless steel, we’ve thoroughly researched all the best woks for gas stoves on the market today and reviewed their features from the weight, warranty, capacity, diameter, and material used. So, without further ado, let’s check out the reviews of the best woks for gas stoves:
The Craft Wok Traditional Hand-Hammered Carbon Steel Pow Wok is one-of-a-kind and is the top choice for professional Chinese chefs. Its reputation among professional chefs is hard to overlook, which is why it’s the first wok we chose to review in this guide. A traditional Chinese rounded bottom wok pan, it is designed specifically for gas stoves, but you will need to season it.
The wok has been hand-hammered by Chinese professionals in Guangzhou and features a steel helper handle that remains cool and won’t burn your hand when you fry over extreme heat. The wooden handle allows you to maintain a tight grip when you’re stir-frying, and it is an authentic carbon steel wok.
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The T-fal specialty nonstick 14-inch jumbo wok features a nonstick interior and exterior for faster cleanup and easier cooking. It is the perfect tool for cooking up delicious and healthy family-sized meals. One of the best things we found about this wok was that it is ergonomically designed and has an even heat base that allows for easier cooking.
This wok is dishwasher safe and comes with a limited lifetime warranty, ensuring that you get maximum value for your money. Made from durable aluminum and traditionally shaped with a narrow base and wide top, this gently curved wok heats evenly and quickly, sealing in the flavor of any dish. The PFOA-free nonstick coating on this wok allows for healthier cooking, convenient cleanup, and effortless food release. It is ideal for stir-frying, and it’s versatile enough for braising, boiling, making soup, deep-frying, sautéing, searing, steaming, or roasting nuts.
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The Lodge Pro-Logic Cast Iron Wok is another solid option for those looking for a wok for gas stoves and features a contemporary style with curved lines, and renowned cooking performance. This 14-inch cast-iron wok is the perfect size for cooking large quantities of your favorite stir fry recipes. This wok’s cast-iron properties ensure even heating and superior heat retention so that your food is cooked properly.
It is designed with 2 assist loop handles so that you can grip it safely and securely. The wok’s unique flat-bottom allows you to use it on a gas stove without needing a ring to hold the wok. This wok is perfect for those looking to deep fry food and the best part is that it is made in the USA. It has been seasoned with a natural, easy-release finish that will improve with use.
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The Carbon Steel Wok for gas stoves is a great option as well and is a 12.5-inch flat-bottom wok that can be used on gas stovetops and other direct heat sources. It features a gorgeous and unique printed hammered texture and is made of carbon steel but without any coating on the material. That means you’ll need to season this wok yourself. With the wok, you’ll also get a stainless-steel spatula, a wooden lid, and a video user-guide on YouTube.
The video guide will teach you how to properly season, clean, and care for your wok so that you get years of great use from it. The Carbon Steel Wok is brought to you by Souped Up Recipes, a popular YouTuber who has nearly 400,000 subscribers on her channel. The carbon steel material used for the wok merges the benefits of stainless-steel and cast-iron woks without their negatives.
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The Calphalon Contemporary Wok is an excellent choice for those looking for a wok to stir fry food over a gas stovetop. It has a hard-anodized exterior and a nonstick interior combining performance and durability with convenient cleanup and easier healthy cooking. The heavy-gauge aluminum construction allows for even heating, and the interior has 3 layers of nonstick coating.
The long brushed stainless-steel handles are designed to keep cool when you’re stir-frying over the gas stovetop, while the pans and covers are oven-safe. It has been adapted from a traditional round-bottom wok and has a wide cooking surface that makes it perfect for gas stovetop cooking. The domed cover of the work makes it ideal for simmering soups and steaming delicious foods. The 10-inch stir fry pan is perfect for easy stir-frying vegetables, meat, and fish without any complications.
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Our last option for the best woks for gas stoves is the Joyce Chen Pro Chef Flat-Bottom Wok, which is a 14-inch carbon steel wok that comes with a heavy-gauge carbon steel body and stay-cool phenolic handles. Joyce Chen is a professional chef who opened her first restaurant in 1958 in Cambridge, Massachusetts after she couldn’t find quality Chinese cookware in America.
That led to her designing her line of professional Chinese cookware, and now Joyce Chen products are sold all over the Pacific Rim. This 14-inch carbon steel flat wok has a professional weight of 2.0 mm, but you will be required to season the wok yourself. The loop on the handle is ideal for hanging storage, and the additional helper handle simplifies and stabilizes transport.
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Best Woks for Gas Stoves Buyers Guide
For centuries chefs have used skillets and woks and swore by its usage and skills, particularly when it comes to Asian cooking. Woks are regarded to be the best for preparing Asian food, and nowadays, they are used for a variety of cultured cooking due to its substantial benefits for healthier cooking. One of the best parts about cooking with a wok is that it eliminates clutter in the kitchen because you don’t need other pots and pans when you’re cooking with the versatile wok, which can do it all.
You can also try different kinds of cooking with a wok from sautéing to deep frying to steaming. If you’re cooking healthy and want to cook up a healthy dish, the wok is the best option as it uses very little oil, and the reduction in oil improves the texture of the food. One thing that can catch you off-guard when you’re shopping for a wok is the price.
Make sure that you create a budget and then stick with it irrespective of the quality you want in your wok. It’s important to do your research before you buy and try to stay under the budget if you can by surveying all the various options in the market. One of the biggest concerns people faced when buying woks is that there are a lot of features that can trip you up on your search for the best wok. We’ve considered that and highlighted the features you need to consider when buying a wok.
Features to Consider When Buying the Best Wok
Before you go ahead and buy the best wok for your gas stove, you should be aware of all the various features and choices available to you. That’s something not a lot of people have time for, but that’s where we come into the picture, and you can bet we have covered all the features you should consider when it comes to buying the best wok for gas stoves. Here’s all that you need to know:
The Material
One of the most important features to consider in a wok is the material it is made out of, as that ends up making all the difference at the end of the day. There are several types of materials used in woks, with the most common ones being carbon steel, aluminum, and stainless steel. If you’re going down the traditional route, the best choice would be carbon steel. It’s not only lightweight but is extremely effective when conducting heat and not only retains heat but heats up the food quickly.
Cast-iron woks are highly rated as they have no match when it comes to heat retention, but they are heavier than a carbon steel wok. The great thing about a cast-iron wok is that they are pre-seasoned, meaning there is less work for you at the end.
Stainless steel woks are a combination of carbon steel and cast-iron woks, but they are lighter than cast-iron and take longer to heat up than carbon steel. Aluminum woks are a great option as well since they have great heat conduction, but because they are thinner, they tend to get damaged faster.
The Weight and Size
The weight and size of the wok make a massive difference to your cooking experience, as the weight of the pan and its capacity influence the way you can cook. Therefore, when shopping for a wok consider the number of people you’re going to be cooking for and the type of dishes you’ll make for them. If you prefer a lightweight pan, you should opt for a carbon steel wok for great maneuverability in the kitchen.
The Cooktop
One of the best things about woks is there rounded bottoms, which makes them ideal for cradling food and creating a big hot spot in the middle for even heating. However, choosing the cooktop can be complicated as you’ll need to choose between a flat-bottomed wok or a wok ring.
Keep in mind that both options are solid. So, you can’t go wrong with either of them, as it mostly comes down to preference and cooking style. The cooktop will also depend on whether you have an electric induction stove or a gas stove.
Nonstick Coating
Most of the woks that we reviewed in our list where nonstick woks, but whether the wok has a coating of beeswax or hard-anodized aluminum, you’ll get the same results when you season it. Buying a wok with nonstick coating does cause problems when you’re trying to reach that high-heat sear you have always wanted in your cooking. If the wok has a nonstick coating, it won’t manage to get that elusive high-heat temperature you require for stir-flying.
The Handle
When you look at woks from a traditional standpoint in history, you’ll notice that most of them had two handles as they were quite heavy. However, we have reviewed both single handed and double handed woks, which are very handy when it comes to stir-frying.
Deciding to choose either option won’t make a huge difference unless you’re looking to be skilled in a specific cooking type. If you want to toss, stir-fry, or create wok, you may prefer a single handle, but if you want to cook in large quantities, you will need double handles for that.
The Lid
Another important feature you may want to give attention to when it comes to buying woks is the lid as it makes a big difference to your cooking style. Whether you opt for a vented lid for stewing or steaming or you want a tempered glass lid, you must make the right choice for the lid.
FAQ’s
We know that there are always going to be questions asked by users about cookware sets, as not everyone has great experience in buying cookware sets. We’ve made things easier by highlighting some of the frequently asked questions by people looking for the best woks for gas stoves.
If you’ve got any questions we haven’t answered, please let us know in the comments or reach out to us through our email. Here are the most frequently asked questions for best woks for gas stoves:
Are gas stovetops better than electric stoves for cooking with a wok?
Deciding between an electric stovetop and a gas stovetop mainly comes down to personal preference, but you can gauge in different features like the material used in its construction. A standard gas wok will absorb high heat and cook quickly due to its superior heat retention.
However, electric woks don’t require any seasoning, which is a significant advantage when it comes to preparation in the kitchen.
How do I prevent rusting on my wok?
All woks are susceptible to rusting over time, and there’s not much you can do about it once a wok starts catching rust, except to buy a new one. You can slow down the process by seasoning your wok and cleaning it regularly. Proper maintenance will prolong the life of the wok and prevent rusting.
What’s the proper way to store a wok?
Storing a wok properly is the best thing you can do to prolong its lifespan. Ideally, you want to promote airflow across the surface by allowing plenty of gaps around the covering or lid. Therefore, it’s recommended that you store your wok upside down to prevent dust collecting on the surface.
Do round-bottom woks need a wok ring?
The new woks on the market don’t need a wok ring, but the traditional round-bottom shaped woks will need a wok ring when placed on the gas stovetop. The wok ring isn’t required, but it does help generate more heat as there is extra air flowing between the wok and the flame.
Final Words
Ultimately, the best woks for cooking on gas stoves for you depends on your preferences and how much you are willing to splurge on cookware. For those of you looking for affordable, yet quality woks that are perfect for use over gas stovetops, the best option in our view is the Craft Wok Traditional Hand Hammered Carbon Steel Pow Wok.
Other woks in the market are just as good as this one, but we believe that speaking purely in terms of value for money and overall quality, it is the most well-rounded wok for gas stoves set out there.
As always, check out all reviews and details about any cookware set you’re buying and only buy it after you feel like you’re well-informed and can safely spend money on a cookware set without regrets.
