What kind of wok do I have?
Just bought a cheap wok that has 2 little handles and the inside looks like a bad paint job (black in Color)that looks like swirls.
on the bottom it has Chinese lettering which I don't understand. It is very lightweight. Any clues?
Best Answer
Types of woks:
Stainless Steel
- Heavy, expensive and well, shiny like stainless steel. Unlikely that this is it.
Cast Iron
- They're usually pretty heavy. It'll be black, but due to your weight, I'd guess that this isn't it either. Lightweight cast iron woks exist but they can be pretty brittle.
Carbon Steel
- Lightweight and cheap. Will be black if it's seasoned/pre-seasoned. These are manufactured a number of ways (hammered, stamped or spun on a lathe). Depending on what you mean by "swirls", it could be a result of the manufacturing method, the "bad paint job", could be the some pre-seasoning (ie: bad seasoning job?)?
- This would be my guess as you said it's lightweight and cheap. The Chinese lettering would also make it more likely as this is one of the more popular traditional types.
Teflon, Aluminum, other...
- You can also find them in various other materials, but these should be pretty obvious, and you're unlikely to buy one randomly I would guess.
TLDR: I would guess it's machined/turned carbon steel.
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