I purchased a carbon steel wok recently. It says "hand wash" is recommended but no instructions are given on it.
The wok I purchased goes through a seasoning process just like a cast iron pan. Once I am done cooking with a cast iron pan, I simply scrape away any excess food, and then I put a little oil on it. Then, it is good to go!
Should I hand wash my wok by adding water to it every time? After I am done using the wok, I wash it with water. Then, I heat up the pan to get the water off it to prevent rusting. Then, I add oil to it.
I feel adding water to it might hinder the seasoning process and is an unnecessary step. What do you wok experts suggest I do?
Best Answer
If your wok is "good to go" after a scrape, a wipe, and a bit of oil, that means you've probably done a good job seasoning. I would leave it at that. You can use a bit of soap and water, from time to time, to remove tough residue. I find that too much of this removes the seasoning. It's not that big of a problem if you are gentle. I mostly try to avoid soap and water on my carbon steel and cast iron. For tough deposits or burned on bits, I heat the pan with a layer of coarse, kosher salt, then use a straight edged wooden spatula to scrape the salt around...sort of like sand paper. Be careful when wiping the bits out and discarding the salt. The salt retains the heat quite nicely. Then, I hit it with a very light coat of oil on some folded paper towel, which also allows me to feel the surface of the pan and discover any spots I might have missed.