So, my wife got me a wok for Christmas. She did some research, but, knows next-to-nothing about woks. (I know just a tad more due to Kenji and this site.)
Some things are good about the wok....14", carbon steel at least, and flat bottom. After inspecting it, I could see the drawbacks. It is stamped steel and very thin. I thought I could make this work....it could be a starter wok to see if I really could make wok cooking work for me.
While doing the initial seasoning, it became clear this wok will probably end up killing me.
It is literally dangerous to use.
While the handle is securely fastened to the wok body, the handle is so thin that even a casual wok-like motion will cause it to bend. I fear it will break after just a few uses. Moreover, the place where the wooden part of the handle is secured to the metal part essentially failed during seasoning.
I am really considering sneakily swapping it out with a quality wok. I don't think she'd notice. I've been storing it in the oven all this week and she hasn't gotten a good look at it. The box it came in doesn't even have a picture of the wok on it.
What could possibly go wrong?
Some things are good about the wok....14", carbon steel at least, and flat bottom. After inspecting it, I could see the drawbacks. It is stamped steel and very thin. I thought I could make this work....it could be a starter wok to see if I really could make wok cooking work for me.
While doing the initial seasoning, it became clear this wok will probably end up killing me.

While the handle is securely fastened to the wok body, the handle is so thin that even a casual wok-like motion will cause it to bend. I fear it will break after just a few uses. Moreover, the place where the wooden part of the handle is secured to the metal part essentially failed during seasoning.
I am really considering sneakily swapping it out with a quality wok. I don't think she'd notice. I've been storing it in the oven all this week and she hasn't gotten a good look at it. The box it came in doesn't even have a picture of the wok on it.
What could possibly go wrong?

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