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Just received an enameled, cast-iron wok (Staub) for Christmas. I've never even used a wok, let alone ANY cooking utensil as nice as this. Can anyone give me a quick starter guide on what to cook tonight?
Does anyone know the difference (other than 1 is a little larger than the other) btwn the wok and the perfect pan as they look exactly alike?-3821720
Just received an enameled, cast-iron wok (made by Staub) for Christmas. I've never even used a wok, let alone ANY cooking utensil as nice as this. Can anyone give me a quick starter guide on what to cook tonight?
Perfect wok
First and foremost, I've read through the FAQ. Despite seeing the cast iron section, I didn't see anything about cast iron woks. I've done some research on this sub and some others, and there's a lot of information regarding cast iron woks, enameled woks, high-temp stove tops, "seasoning" the wok, etc etc etc.
Frankly, it's all a little overwhelming. Especially given the fact that I'm a newbie, relatively speaking. Parts of it are scary, too. I've seen a lot of posts and comments basically saying that a cast-iron pot is "wasted" or "worthless" on an electric stove, and that would really suck, since this was a ~ $250 gift from my boss.
So, as the title suggests, I just received a very nice Staub enameled, cast iron wok for Christmas. My girlfriend and I want to "christen it" by using it tonight. It's big, brand-spankin' new, very expensive, and way fancier than anything I've ever cooked on.
I also read that because its enameled and cast-iron, it can store heat better than a carbon metal wok. But it takes awhile to heat up since I'll be working with an electric stove like a peasant, and thus, I should preheat it for 10-15 minutes so it can get "close to mimicking a wok in a real Chinese cuisine kitchen."
All of this is flying over my head. I'm overwhelmed, frankly, and I don't know what to do. Can anyone give me a quick, crash-course on how to cook up a meal for tonight using this wok? I'll be on my computer for the rest of the afternoon, so if you need me to answer any questions (or take pictures, give model numbers, whatever) I'll gladly do it.
EDIT: Taco-phone imgur album of the progress!. The lighting is bad (4:30 sunset in Vermont!) but the enameled exterior is a beautiful deep-forest green. I'm still unsure how big the thing is. 7 quarts, maybe? 5? I'm bad with measurements, and the instruction manual didn't say.
However! It worked like a charm, and your instructions were PERFECT. No fires. No angry landlords. Smoke detector went off a couple times, but I yanked those batteries out reallllll quick. One concern is a lack of "pop" with the veggies and meat. The flavors were all bland. I'll need to experiment with different amounts of oil, seasoning, etc. This time round, it was just peanut oil, orange and yellow peppers, zucchini, spinach, carrots, and chicken...with ginger and garlic tossed in at the end. No other veggies on sale at the market, and I was too busy dancing and sizzlin' to think of adding spices or anything.
Bottom line: Thank you all sooooooo much. I can already tell, I'm gonna have lots of fun with this baby in the future. And I'll definitely refer back to this thread and try out some of the more advanced ideas, like making my own oil and sauce, seasoning rice, using it to saute meats, etc etc etc.