Joyce Chen Pro Chef 14-Inch Unseasoned Carbon Steel Wok

by Joyce Chen

Product Features

• 14" Flat Bottom Wok with Blond Wood grip and helper handle
• Heavy weight 1.8 millimeter Carbon steel body
• Once seasoned, these professional carbon steel pans will render superior cooking performance for life
• Designed for rapid, even heating and cooling
• Made for use on gas or electric burners

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 14.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B00004RBTK
• Item model number: J20-1115
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #93,349 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Stir-fry fanatics, step right up! With its stout material and flat bottom, Joyce Chen's 14-inch carbon steel wok is compatible with electric or gas stoves and doesn't require a wok ring. The reinforced blond wood handle, while not traditional on woks, stays cool for better control during cooking and serving and has a stout ring for hanging. The wide comfortable helper handle allows you to pick up the wok with both hands for easier balance. Large enough for a heap of bok choy, this deep pan helps keep oil splatters inside the wok--even at the high heats preferred by wok users. Not intended for the dishwasher, this wok delivers the best results with attentive seasoning and care. Care instructions are included. --Emily Bedard

Product Description

Part of the Carbon Steel Wok Series by Joyce Chen, the 14" Flat Bottom Wok is a heavy weight at 1.8 mm of carbon steel. It is made for use on gas or electric burners and the pan's heavy weight carbon steel body is designed for rapid, even heating and cooling ¿ a must for any stir-fry. Its generous size will enable you to make delicious Asian meals for your entire family. Once seasoned, these heavy weight carbon steel pans will render superior cooking performance for life. This pan is perfect for creating such authentic Asian-style recipes as curried shrimp with lemon rice and Szechwan beef stir-fry. This pan features Blonde wood grip and helper handles. The flat bottom sits securely on stove tops and two handles make it easy to use. These wood handles are designed to stay cool on the stovetop, so you can easily remove the pan from the burner without using potholders. Joyce Chen's slogan "Eastern Cookware for the Western Kitchen," reflects her focus on providing high-quality, versatile tools and products that have Asian flair, but can be used in a western kitchen. Today, Joyce Chen Products come from all over the Pacific Rim to bring the best of Asia to you. Joyce Chen opened her first restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1958. The restaurant flourished, and in 1973 a larger Cambridge restaurant was opened. Chen also began writing Chinese cookbooks and in the 1970s began hosting a cooking show on public television. She found that the selection and quality of Chinese cookware in America didn't live up to her high standards¿ so she developed her own.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great wok even for gas ranges, August 23, 2000

By 

G. Powell (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joyce Chen Pro Chef 14-Inch Unseasoned Carbon Steel Wok (Kitchen)

This pan is a wok of art. I really like using it to cook oriental dishes. I've owned one for years. The previous one I owned didn't have the wood handle, and I'm glad I have it. It makes serving from the pan much easier.

Flat bottom vs round. I used to have round bottom pan, but the gas stove I have now recommended not using a wok ring. Least ways not one which retains the flame/heat. After having used both for a while, I can say it doesn't seem to matter much. By having a flat bottom pan, its one less thing to thing to hassle with. The pan is less tippy while cooking. Also if you have an electric stove, you have to have a flat bottom pan, the radiant heat from an electric burner just doesn't get the pan hot enough for a round bottom pan.

I had looked at the Lodge cast iron woks, and decided that this pan being a bit deeper would be better. I had thought about non-stick, but I after cooking in it for a number of years, the oil/fat deposits have left a nearly non stick surface. Also at the high tempetatures I cook things at, it seemed like a non stick surface wouldn't hold up. (At least not the previous non-stick finishes that were available then.) Also price factored in, this pan is about 1/5th the cost of the good non-stick pans.

Why a wok? The idea is to use a small amount of oil to cook at high temperature food and seal in the juices. This process splatters the oil a lot and the deep bowl of a wok keeps it in the pan. Also by having a small bottom area where the oil is being blasted by the heat, it keeps the temperature of the oil up, as you finish cooking things you push them up the side of the pan.

Why rolled steel? The temperature gradant of the material is severe. Its really hot on the bottom of the pan, and much less so up at the edges. Makes it easier to control the cooking.

This isn't a first fry pan for a kitchen, at least not mine. But its a great addition.

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Consumer Reports Best Buy, June 23, 2000

By 

"mansc" (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Joyce Chen Pro Chef 14-Inch Unseasoned Carbon Steel Wok (Kitchen)

I purchased this wok because it rated well in Consumer Reports. It cooks very evenly and is large enough to keep all your food in the wok. The helper handle is absolutely wonderful because on other models, the bracket adjoining the handle to the pan can get very hot!

68 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars High carbon steel, well made, flat bottom, this does it all, February 14, 2001

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joyce Chen Pro Chef 14-Inch Unseasoned Carbon Steel Wok (Kitchen)

1. High carbon steel seasons well (a process by which you impregnate the steel with a layer of oil.) Follow the directions. 2. Never wash a wok with detergent or put it in the dishwasher. We scrub ours out with coarse salt and follow with hot water, a swipe of a paper towel and then a bit of cooking oil. 3. The flat bottom isn't traditional but if you have an electric stove, it's required (the wok ring and round bottom don't work as well on electric stoves. To cool the wok, remove from the electric element; for gas, just adjust the gas level.) 4. The handle is also not traditional but handy and well made.

In short, you can't find a better wok. High carbon steel WON'T rust if you take care of it according to directions. And it cooks better than non-stick surfaces, which should not be heated as hot.