JOYCE CHEN Professional Series 12-Inch Carbon Steel Stir Fry Pan with Phenoli...

Had an expensive non-stick pan and it started to stick after a year so looked for alternative and found carbon steel seemed viable so gave it a try. The pan is very good quality with medium weight steel and good, balanced handle. It has a flat bottom so it works well on my gas stove. The seasoning process took about an hour, but one thing that I did not expect was how much it smelled and the amount of smoke it generated. My kitchen and whole house smelled for 3 days afterwards. I probably used a bit too much oil. After it was seasoned, I tried stir frying some chicken with vegy and wow it made a huge difference. It used to take about 12 minutes to cook over medium heat using the non-stick pan (because high heat destroys the non-stick surface). With this carbon steel pan I was able to cook on high heat and it only took about 6 minutes and it was much more flavorful! It's deeper so fits more ingredients and very easy to flip. A 3 course dinner took about 15 minutes to cook. Is it non-stick? Absolutely! After cooking I rinsed it in hot water and scrubbed with brush then put it back on the stove and heat for a few minutes to dry it up then coat the inside with a few drops of oil. For seasoning the pan, I would suggest using just enough oil to "coat" the pan and not so much that oil sits at the bottom otherwise it would turn into black tar. Just lightly coat it and burn for like 7-8 minutes until it starts to turn brown, not black. I have seen reviews where others do the seasoning on an outdoor bbq. Overall, very good quality pan and truly non-stick when properly seasoned and a healthy alternative to non-stick. From what I have read, it's supposed to last a life time :) Edit: After a few uses the seasoning came off and it started to stick so I re-seasoned it and re-seasoned it until it got completely black from too much burned oil. Wife hated it and made me throw it away. I scrubbed it as much as I could with steel wool then re-seasoned. I think I have finally found the right way. Forget the instruction that came with it. Here's what you do and it will take some time. Drizzle a tablespoon of oil in the pan and wipe it with a paper towel inside and out. Heat on stove until it starts to smoke then remove. Don't burn it. If it burns and turns black it's burned and you need to scub it out. Repeat the process about 2-3 times a day for at least 7-8 days. Then it will have a nice coat of seasoning. Now my pan is dark brown inside and black outside. I can fried an egg and make hashbrowns with minimal sticking which I use a spatula and it comes right off. YOU WILL NEED TO USE MORE OIL THAN NON-STICK PANs otherwise it will stick. I absolutely love my wok love love love!

I bought this pan, because it assured me that it would work on the Duxtop magnetic stove top, & it does work great, I usually prefer stainless, but I cannot complain. It cooks the food easily & quickly. The temperature is displayed accurately while using it & since I make mostly vegetable stir frys & at times, I make French fries, it serves me well. But when I make spagetti, it takes away the slipery surface, & after I cook another stir fry, its back to normal. I can even make popcorn in it without hurting the pan, I am really glad that I got the lid with it. I did add three machine screws on the ridge of the rim, of the lid, which keeps the lid securely flat upon the pan, so that it does not tilt into the pan. I bolted them on , & the ridge holds them well. My son is a chef & believes that a wok is for stir fries, but I like it because it is big enough to cook everything. I will use a stainless pan that my son has, for sandwiches, eggs, hamburgers & sausage. But this Uncoated carbon steel pan is great for every thing else. I have had some practice using this pan, I still cook popcorn in it, on #3 setting, . I finally started using it to stir fry again, I have mixed vegetables & home shredded vegetables that can be cooked in the microwave with a little butter on top. But when I add sweet potatoes, I need to thaw everything in the microwave for 5 minutes, & then stir fry with a little oil, on #3, on the Duxtop. I cook it until the food gets little brown tips.Sometimes I add garlic to the mixture,for medical reasons, That is when I need to put in catchup & chili powder, to make it taste better, usually after it is cooked. Ive had the pan for over a year, & will occasionally cook eggs on it too. I do not wash it with soap, but I will wash with water & dry it with a towel. I keep it as one of my favorite three pans.

This wok gets better with every use. Seasoning is a must before use and a high heat flame outdoors is recommended. I used a butane burner to do mine. The wok became slightly warped on the bottom but it doesn’t affect its performance or the way it sits on the burner. Overall, I really enjoy using it.

This is the best wok I've ever owned - if you're planning on buying one wok and using it for years, this is your best option by far. That being said, you won't be able to make a good stir fry with this wok right out of the box. It takes a while to season and break-in before you reap the full benefits, so only buy this wok if you know you'll be using it a lot for a long time Carbon steel woks like this one have to be "seasoned" which is a fancy word for superheating cooking oil in the wok which creates a chemical reaction with the steel and making it better for cooking. A well-seasoned wok has a smooth, black interior (after starting out silver and shiny, it becomes more matte and black) and has natural non-stick qualities. You can't wash it with dish soap, cook with vinegar inside it, or scrub it intensively with a copper brush, but it is the best possible cooking surface for stir fry cooking. This wok has a tough shiny coating on it when you first buy it and you'll need to scrub it intensively (almost sand it, with how intense you have to scrub) in order to bring it back down to metal. Then, season it 3-5 rounds using either an oven (preferred) or oil on a stovetop (might want to open a window for this method, will produce a ton of smoke). The first 1-2 stir fries you cook in the wok after seasoning might not be entirely clean (little bits of burnt oil) but after its seasoned, the wok is excellent. It's best to wash with water, no soap, then dry with a paper towel, then store with a thin coat of oil wiped on the whole wok using a paper towel. In short, great professional wok, requires you to treat it right.

Great wok for smooth top stove. You can fix the pan if the bottom bows. I bought this wok based on owning a Joyce Chen pan purchased 10+ years ago. The old pan had a bow in the bottom that made the wok spin around on smooth top stove and lessened the contact surface to stove. I bought this one in case trying to fix the Mrs. older wok failed (i.e., I didn't want to potentially explain how I trashed her wok). The bowl is near identical to the older pan. The mount for the handle is an improvement with heavier hardware and the phenolic handle is preferred over wood as it holds up better when put in an oven. Before trying to "fix" the old wok, I seasoned this one. The bottom was bowed right out of the box. After carefully banging the bottom with a hammer, I flattened it out. While seasoning, the bottom bowed again. More aggressive hammering and the pan is now ever so slightly concave even after repeated use and now sits flat on smooth top stove. I also fixed the old wok in a similar manner. The wood handle was damaged years ago and I called the company that makes this brand wok and they sent me a replacement handle for free - great customer service. Given the extensive use of the old one which is great with the new handle, I expect this wok to last for many years. The bowing of the bottom is disappointing for a new product but now corrected, it is an excellent wok. Once it develops a rich patina, it will be perfect.

After only a few uses, the black carbonized seasoning began to flake off. Completely ruined one meal - had to throw it all away. Looks like this pan is going into the trash as well. Such a waste. I seasoned the pan correctly - following all the guidance (using avocado oil). Don't understand why the seasoning would not adhere. Pan was throughly cleaned prior to seasoning, and only washed with warm water. I would return it if I could but the 30 day window has passed.

Years ago I used to stir-fry quite a lot. Recently decided to do that again. Looked a long time for a pan, wanting carbon steel, for sure. Discovered this pan. Was impressed from the quality the moment I opened the package. Great weight, thick gauge, and not too heavy for use. Took the time to properly season and developed a great non-stick surface. Works really well, price was great and value certainly worth it. Looking forward to many great years of use. Love it!

I like this wok. To all the reviewers disappointed with the rust or the warping, this is to be expected with a flat bottom, carbon steel sheet metal pan. It is a compromise between the traditional design, and what will work in a western kitchen. In my opinion, for the cooktop that I have (electric coil burners) it is probably the best compromise. The other options are cast iron or tri-ply stainless, but I think these are too different from the original wok design. In any case, western cooktops produce only a fraction of the heat that woks traditionally require. To get the traditional wok results in the traditional way, you need to use at raditional wok with very hot flame, much hotter than what is available on a western cooktop. Rocket stoves or propane brewer/turkey fryer burners work much better. I just got this for the convenience cooking on the stove in the kitchen instead of having to go outside and improvise. Taking this into account it works as well as can be expected and does much better tasting stir-fry's than my tri-ply saute pan. To make it work well you have to season it thoroughly (watch some youtube videos on seasoning a wok), keep the heat on high, avoid putting too much cold meat in at once, and turn it frequently. I pre-cut everything then cook it rapidly in small batches, moving them to hot-holding until I have everything done, then plate it up. This is the only way my electric burner can keep the temperature up, and THIS is the reason why I think a thin carbon steel flat bottom wok will work on best this type of burner: The tri-ply and cast-iron woks will conduct more of the heat to the sides of the pan, whereas this pan is just thick enough to be sturdy and avoid hot spots, but thin enough to transmit the heat as directly as possible from the burner to the food, so that in the middle, the temperature is as hot as it possibly can be. I seasoned it over a Coleman camp stove. The flame makes it easier to heat the curved side to the temperature required to season it, but they don't really need to be that hot during actual cooking.

Estoy muy contento con este wok. Hay que sazonarlo bien. Me tomó más de una hora hacerlo correctamente. Después, nada se pega y no hay óxido. Muy buena calidad de calibre pesado.

I chose this work because - the metal is nice and thick (2 mm), so I'm less worried about it warping - I like the 12 inch size. I found 14 inch woks to be a bit too big for me, a home cook cooking for 1-3 people in a small condo on an electric range - it's flat bottom so I can use it with my crummy electric range - it's carbon steel. So after going down a rabbit hole of watching carbon steel seasoning videos, i'm totally on board with it. - it's not not stick (until you build up your own seasoning) - the handle is removable I like this work and have been using it constantly for the last couple days. For my initial seasoning, I did a couple coats of peanut oil in the oven (1 hour for the first coat, 2 hours for the second) and then friend up a bunch of ginger and scallion. Only thing that may concern you as a buyer but are totally ok with me are: The work seems shallower than others you may find of the same diameter. I put it side by side with my old non-stick wok and it was 1cm shorter in height. I guess that's why they market this as a "Peking pan", or maybe it's so the weight isn't unwieldly. The handle is plastic. It seems really tough and durable though so probably no big deal. It's removable anyway for doing an oven seasoning.

Well build and very good balance. Feel solid in hand and the handle strong enough to hold flipping. $35 for such a wok is a steal.

We received a used wok when we ordered! Unacceptable! DON’T BUY!!!

Absolutely love it!!!