Do you like stir fried food and want to cook it at home with minimal equipment? Are you afraid of trying out stir fry recipes because you don’t own a wok? Do you hate cooking with a wok, because the smoke sets off your fire alarm all the time? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this article will be very helpful to you.
No matter whether searching on the internet or browsing through cookbooks, the word “wok” will jump out every time. Everyone seems to claim it’s necessary to own a wok and that using a wok is the only way to cook good stir fried food. Well, I really doubt that.
Don’t get me wrong. I grew up in China and my family uses a wok to cook every day. I know how to use a wok and I do like to make stir fry with it. However, I prefer to use my heavy bottom nonstick frying pan to cook most of the stir fried dishes on a daily basis. Below are the 10 reasons you should use a frying pan to make stir fried dishes instead of a wok.
1. You don’t need to buy a wok and extra equipment
A wok might not be expensive. But why buy it and take up space to keep it in any case, if you can create stir fried food with the kitchen wares you already have? You should also consider the extra equipment you have to purchase with the wok, which includes a metal turner, a wok lid, and a wok ring (if you use the traditional round bottom wok).
2. You don’t need to take extra care to store the wok
A standard cast iron wok will get rusty if you don’t use it over time. You have to rub it with oil regularly to keep it in good shape. Chances are, when you finally decide to cook a stir fried dish and go to the garage to fetch the wok, it is already unusable.
3. A frying pan can generate great stir fried dishes, too
I won’t say you could replicate 100% of dishes using a frying pan to get the exactly the same result, as you’d get using a wok. But you can make delicious and authentic stir fried dishes with a frying pan. If you look at the black pepper steak or fish fragrant eggplant, you will find that a frying pan can create authentic Chinese stir-fry easily.
4. A nonstick frying pan uses less than half the oil a wok does
You will only need half or even one third the oil if you’re cooking stir-fry with a nonstick frying pan. Believe me, even if you heat the wok very well and follow all the instructions from the cookbook, certain items will still stick to the wok and get burnt. Moreover, not all stir fry requires a super high oil temperature. You could easily handle with them with a non-sticky frying pan and use much less oil. Try to cook vegetable and ham fried rice with a wok, and you will be surprised how much oil you’ll need to use to keep the rice from sticking to the wok.
If you’re worried about safety issues surrounding teflon material, I have some good news for you. New nonstick frying pans have progressed a lot. They can stand very high heat (most of them can be heated up to 500 degrees F, while most stir fried dishes require 400 F heat or less). They can coat with oil better and last a very long time.
5. A frying pan can do what a wok cannot
Believe it or not, a frying pan actually can do more than a wok. If you look at sweet and sour tofu or mapo tofu, you will find that a flat bottom pan can easily deal with tofu without breaking the pieces apart.
6. Easier for beginners
You need to heat up a wok to very high heat no matter what dish you’re cooking, and cook it within a very short span of time to achieve good results. If you look at the real chefs who work in Chinese restaurants, you will be surprised that it only takes a few seconds to sear the meat or mix in the sauce (You will also be surprised at the huge amount of oil they use). A frying pan will take more time (for example 30 seconds VS. 10 seconds) to completely cook meat/veggies and is thus easier for beginners to learn and get used to.
7. Safer for beginners
If you’re not familiar with cooking with a wok, the temperature of the oil will quickly get too high to handle. Again, you have to be heat up the wok very well before cooking, even for some food that doesn’t require high heat. The heated wok will get out of control if you don’t adjust heat constantly, and most of it requires experience and is not listed in the recipe.
8. A wok doesn’t work well on an electric stove top
A traditional round bottomed wok is not designed to cook on an electric stove top and you need to get a wok ring. However, a wok ring does not hold the wok as steadily as a flat one. Moreover, the wok will be too far away from the heat source, so the upper metal of the wok won’t heat up well enough. A flat wok is an alternative, but it requires more cooking oil and the upper third still won’t heat up so well. On the other hand, you don’t need a high power gas stove to cook with frying pan and it will heat up very well.
9. Easier to clean up
Even a heavy frying pan is still lighter than a wok and can be easily cleaned up in a dishwasher. If you use a nonstick frying pan, you should not put it in a dishwasher, but it is much easier to clean because of its material.
To clean a wok, you have to do it immediately after cooking, while it’s still hot. You cannot use detergent with a wok, and you cannot soak it in water (the cast iron will get rusty). If you accidentally burn the food or don’t clean up the wok on time, you’ll be in a lot of trouble.
10. A frying pan won’t set off your fire alarm so often and make your house unlivable
If you use a wok to cook stir fried dishes properly, it will get so smoky and will set off your fire alarm constantly. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do, because wok hei (“wok air” by direct translation) is the only reason a wok works and makes the food taste so good. Wok cooking is so smoky and smelly, which is why Chinese families don’t have open kitchens (we turn on the exhaust fan, open the kitchen window, close the kitchen door, and the living room still smells like a restaurant). Cooking with a wok every day in your big open kitchen will cause you to have to repaint the walls every 3 months and the connected rooms unlivable. No kidding.
I admit, to stir fry with a frying pan generates smoke as well (in order to make better food). But the smoke is not as abundant as with a wok and you can use an exhaust fan to solve most the problem.
Final thought
A wok might be nice to have, as long as you like cooking Chinese food and want to prepare it authentically. It requires some practice and getting used to, but you will be amazed by the great smoky flavor of the stir fried dish that cooked with a wok. On the other hand, if you only cook Chinese food occasionally, only have electric stove at home, or want to use less oil in your cooking, I recommend you to invest in a high quality frying pan. Besides stir fry, a heavy bottomed frying pan could help make almost all your dishes taste better.
Now it’s your turn…
Do you prefer to use a wok or a frying pan? Leave a comment below to share your experience with us!
Thanks for your content. I am so confused to buy Carbon steel wok. Then I am confident to buy this product. Waiting for other resources.
I simply got into cooking pan change of state and it’s quite challenging! I make sure preheating my pan over medium heat for a minute before adding in any oil. Thanks .
This article seems to have been written and commented upon about 2014. Three years later, I run across it and I guess I am the exception. I started using a wok as my main and my only pan in college. I had no idea what I was doing but it seemed to handle everything I needed to cook. It was a soup pot, a steamer, a frying pan, a smoker, and so on. I learned more as I got older and as I learned more, I respected woks and wok cooking more and more. I use and love several woks but my main pan is a 14″ carbon steel. It along with a 3 quart pot and a pressure cooker are really all I need in the kitchen to make wonderful meals. I make crepes, soups, stir fry, oven roasted chicken, omelets, fried anything, deserts, and so much more in my wok. I can see the reason to recommend a skillet to beginners but if you use – and I mean really use a wok like the Chinese rural population does, it can be about the only tool you need.
When my husband and I were dating, 28 years ago, we saw an ad for a wok from China. It is not made of cast iron, but a thin metal. It was our first purchase together. We have used it all these years on a gas stove and have enjoyed the results, but I agree that it takes a lot of oil to do fried rice. It came with utensils but we have since purchased better quality ones. I’m intrigued by the frying pan method and may give it a try.
Hi Estella, I’m pretty sure the one you used was a carbon steel wok. I enjoy using carbon steel pan a lot too, because it becomes nonstick once you developed the patina. In fact I’m using one now in my kitchen, only the bottom is flat. I use my nonstick pan to make fried noodles and rice so it uses less oil. I switch to the carbon steel one when I want to sear chicken and steak very well. Definitely try out the frying pan method, but I think a wok might work just well for you if you have a gas stove at home 🙂
Thank you so much for the information! I just purchased a small nonstick fry pan, the first ever, and am amazed at how wonderful it is to cook in. I am excited modern Chinese cooking. there are many recipe.
Highly value and appreciate this candid perspective born from experience, skills and most of all, credibility given your Chinese upbringing. I absolutely love authentic Chinese stir fry. Despite being passionate about food preparation and cooking, and having these skills, your article has led me to change my plan to purchase and attempt stir frying via wok. I’ll stick to what I know/ do well. And get my stir fry from the experts — local Chinese restaurant chefs! In the process, avoid the excessive oil and smoke. Thanks much!
Hi Maggie,
Looks Delicious! Thanks for sharing your tips. I get more ideas from it. I love wok and am looking for best wok to buy.
Dear Maggie,
Thanks again for this post, you confirmed my initial thoughts about the newer generation of PFOA-free non stick pans. I have ultra conservatives trying to tell me otherwise regarding chinese stir frying and cooking with high heat.
SO glad I happened to come across this post. Our household has been having a debate about the differences between a wok, a skillet and a frying pan. Some very interesting ideas have been thrown on the table, but I’m still none the wiser. Unfortunately we have an electric stove that has four hotplates, each with a different personality!! 😉 One is angry and very hot, one is angrier and hotter, another is angrier and hotter than the first two and then there’s the ‘I think I can be’ hotplate, but actually cannot. It’s very frustrating. I purchased an electric frying pan but I’ve caught splatteritis … oil goes EVERYWHERE! If anyone has any tips/tricks, please share. I also came across this link on how to prevent splatter should anyone else be frustrated like moi. Cheers from New Zealand. 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rtkFArCT9Y
Stir fry using a large wok is easier and produce better-tasting food.
Sauting with a frying pan means you have to careful not to push the food outside the pan. With a large wok, you can relax and don’t need to worry.
Traditional stir frying involve a shevel-like spetula that turns food up side down often, which sauting cannot do. The large amount of motion of stir frying makes food evenly-coated with oil and evenly cooked. The stir-fried dishes definitely taste better than non-stir fried ones , which I think most Chinese cook would agree.
What brand of frying pan would you suggest. I can’t season my work, there is to much smoke & end up scrubbing the burned black Mark’s inside. Besides I have an electric stove which I do not like cooking on but have no other choice. I need a good recommendation from you who knows how to stir fry without such a mess. I love Oriental food, but have so much trouble with the wok. I would also like to start with some easy recipes as I’m a beginner & trying to cook healthy dishes for my family. Please help with a frying pan recommendation & starter recipes for a new beginner. Thank you for your time & patience. Diana
I appreciate your article, I wanted a wok & now I don’t, you saved me time & $. I realize for my needs, I really don’t need one ! Thank you !
I really really hate this post, not because it’s not good information but because I recently decided to spring for a wok which, as you mentioned, costs money and takes up space, needlessly, in my small kitchen. I wish I had seen this post before I bought my nice new wok. Oh well, perhaps I will keep it and use it on a charcoal or hickory wood fire grill during the summer months.
I got the idea that I should buy a wok and am so glad that I came across your article. Your are right–real wok cooking is way over my beginner skill level. Thanks for saving me money and cabinet space!
I have been inspired to try cooking with a wok. But I only used it once before in foods class in highschool. I there’s a lot of things I never considered tho. I’m only beginning. I guess in the future I’ll get on if I end up making lots of Asian foods.
Ever since i pick-up a round bottom wok, I’m beginning to find my frying pan extra items that take up too much space.. So i threw all away and kept 2 small ones for frying eggs, pan cakes, and less important cooking like re-heating.
I discover wok cooking is much versatile than frying pan, and uses less oil. I use a cast iron and another is a carbon steel. The heat is very much ideal for my cooking style and timing was great. It helps when i need to stir fry for 6-10 members at home. I practically cook everything on my wok now, even steaks. Maintenance is not as difficult as many parts it, and it’s everlasting and i find the cost of ownership is an advantage. For any person who lives alone or in pairs, i think a wok would not be necessary. However, i do have a friend who lives alone, but enjoys cooking in a wok.
what about an electric wok like Breville?
I’ve never used one before so I cannot really comment on it. Judging from the description, it says the temperature goes up to 425 F, which is not quite hot enough for my own preference. However I do see a lot of positive comments so maybe it’s worth trying?
Maggie, I know I that this thread is years old, but I just wanted to say that I appreciate your thoughts. I went into this article a sceptic, but as I read it, I realize that you are right.
I use my wok every day, usually twice. The idea that a non-stick could be better than a wok seemed about as rational as a serrated 菜刀.
Reading your article, I see that you are absolutely right. I use nearly all carbon and cast iron cookware, and I know how to use a wok well. Someone who was only used to stainless or Teflon truly would have a tough time getting even the most basic things to stir fry well. Things that seem so natural to me, like the Chinese “marinade” to help meat separate or the splash of 料酒 at the edges require knowledge that a couple lot of people don’t have. In any case, your insight has been very helpful to me, and I appreciate it.
My biggest challenge when stir frying in a fry pan has been finding the right spatula. A wok spatula fits the contours of a wok. A pancake flipper or fish flipper is good for flipping food in the center of the pan, but not for scooping and turning food that gets stuck to the vertical side of the frying pan.
Here is a good wok spatula: https://amzn.to/34f8zgt
Had the same problem. Finally started using two flatish ended spatulas, one in each hand, to pick up and move the food. Works better than anything else and keeps the food in the ballpark.
Thank you for schooling me! I had no idea what’s involved with using a wok – I’m gonna stick with the classic frying pan 👌🏼