JOYCE CHEN Professional Series 14-Inch Cast Iron Wok with Maple Handle

I love this wok!! It works great with my ceramic stovetop, heats quickly, evenly & adjusts to whatever temp I choose (do not use in the oven tho). Arrived without a blemish & is such an asset to my kitchen. (Don't forget to order Joyce Chen's 13.5 lid separately too... wish it came w/ lid, but it doesn't.) I previously had an electric wok that didn't heat up high enough & I suffered with that piece of junk for 25 years not knowing I could find a quality lightweight, flat bottomed cast iron wok that would work with my ceramic stovetop. Problem solved!) It says it's already seasoned, but I decided to do as others recommended in the reviews. Before my first use I rinsed it out with hot water, dried w/with paper towel, then put a small amount vegetable oil covering all inside surfaces & heated it on my stovetop on high for a minute or two. I NEVER use detergent on it & just scrape out any food with the PAO stainless steel wok spatula (recommended in reviews & I would highly recommend it) then just rinse with hot water & dry it well, then wipe inside with a small amount of veg oil before storing it or it will rust & that will deteriorate the cast iron. Don't put into your sink or put cold water in it or soak it .....I heard it would crack cuz temp changes are bad for this wok. You can heat up warm water on stove on high if you want to sterilize it a bit. I just followed a few rules I saw in reviews .... & it's been working like a dream! The wok, lid & spatula came to less than a $100, which seemed like a fair price for a quality product that will hopefully last for years. Now I can start experimenting with more new Asian recipes! No regrets here! Enjoy! Hope this helps others too! :-)

I was so excited to see this wok back in stock. It was the only one we had hear would work with our ceramic stove top. We unwrapped it and it looked beautiful until we noticed a crack in the cast iron near the rivets. Now the wok is no longer in stock, and we can't find it anywhere else. We're pretty heartbroken. Hoping it will come back in stock, because Amazon is unable to replace it at the moment.

My concerns about this product were the weight and whether a six inch heating surface would be enough for cooking at high temperatures. Since receiving it, I have learned that it is more than suitable for my needs. It truly is lightweight, surprisingly so for cast iron, and it heats very evenly and retains heat well, as I have come to expect from cast iron pans. The wok sits completely flat on my glass-top stove, and the six inch burner heats it enough for good searing of meat and quick cooking of vegetables. This item was purchased as a replacement for an electric wok and I am very pleased with the difference in cooking heat and the cooking surface versus non-stick. The cast iron cleans easily with some water and a nylon scrubber. The handles are sturdy and well attached, so I expect this wok to be serviceable for many years to come.

First of all, this is the first wok I ever bought and used. Since I'm a novice, I chose this pre-seasoned wok because I wasn't sure if I could do it perfectly myself. Ever since I opened the package, I have not been using ANY of my other pans.I'm not sure what they do for the pre-seasoning, but just in case, I had seasoned it again after opening it using canola oil and chives. When I was doing this, it did give off a smell of metal or gas, but since then did not give that weird smell again.My stir-fry and Chinese dishes turn out AWESOME after cooking from this wok. I use a gas stove, and the heat goes to the wok so fast, the food cooks suuuper fast. Sometimes I have to scramble to get all my ingredients.I do take good care of this well so that it doesn't rust easily. I rinse only with hot water and wipe gently with a towel. No detergent is used. I then wipe dry every part of the wok to avoid rust, and then wipe a small layer of oil on the cooking surface to give it a non-stick effect. The first 2-3 times I cooked on it, the food did stick, but after a couple more uses, the oil does accumulate and it no longer sticks.The only thing is, since it is cast iron, it's definitely heavier than I'm used to. It's also 14-inches so is actually a little too big for what I need. I'm not very strong, so I can't lift the wok with my food using just the extended handle. I need both hands to lift the wok and (somehow) get the food on a plate. It's a little inconvenient, also makes it so I can't toss my food or wash it efficiently because it doesn't fit in my sink. But then, you could always choose a smaller one.Overall, VERY HAPPY with this.

I really love this Wok. Even though it's cast iron it is much lighter than other cast iron pans. It is a very generous size for stir fries. It has a good sized flat area for stir frying shrimp, veggies, whatever, and the sides have enough slope to push veggies, etc. out of the way while creating a sauce. It gets good and hot and holds the heat so no problem with watery veggies. The handles are really sturdy and easy to grip. This is the best stir fry pan I've ever used and I highly recommend it. I bought one for my daughter after I had this one for a while and I bought her the cover/lid for it also.

Seriously good quality wok. I've used dodgy ones before and it's so damn nice to have a real cast iron one. Now to figure out how to cure these things... :)

I bought this a year ago. This company claimed it's none stick and won't peel off because it's cast iron. It also claimed the woke can stand high temperature. The coating started to come off unless than 6 months after I started to use. Now the coating on the base is almost gone. I can see this company has changed list of the features in this website. I wish I took a picture of the previous list of features and posting in this review, so people can see. They should be truthful describing their product.

Used 3-4 times a week on an induction cooktop.Wok is well made and cooks evenly (allow a few minutes to heat up completely). It's barely heavier than a carbon steel one. No problems with food sticking, even eggs. It is cast iron, so requires a bit maintenance. After cleaning, heat the wok until it's quite warm, add a tiny bit of flax or grape seed oil and wipe it over the inside with a cloth until it disappears.I haven't experienced any on the reported issues with the factory seasoning or warping. Perhaps some are heating the pan too quickly or leaving it too hot too long. Cast iron retains heat, so once it's up to temperature, you need to modulate the heat so you don't burn the food or the pan. On my induction hob, I've never cooked anything at high. Medium high setting gets the pan up past 260C (500F) in just a few minutes. Once it's cooking, I often turn it down to medium.

Nice, heavy duty wok but still light and easy to handle. Heats evenly, and the cast iron is easy to clean and cook with. Care instructions are a little different from traditional cast iron. This wok is intended to be washed in soap and water, and to be seasoned again on an infrequent basis. It's size is ample for a large dish to serve 6 to 8 people.