13" Super Lightweight Cast Iron Chinese Wok

The “EXCELSTEEL 13” Super Lightweight Cast Iron Chinese Wok” is not exactly super lightweight, but it is lightweight for me. Woks must have some weight to it for stability, especially if it is to be used for frying. The construction is sturdy. The rivets are firm. It sits well on the stove and the handle is just the correct angle so that it is easy to pour things out. The 13” diameter refers to the outer diameter of the rim of the wok. It arrived pre-seasoned. The inside surface did have some roughness. Looks like it was machined in a lathe machine and that left some rough edges. I used soap and copper scrubber to scrub the inside well. Then I washed it off well. Then I applied oil and let it sit on the stove for about two hours. This allowed the oil to burn into a layer of black carbon rich residue. I have used it for frying and it was very convenient. I have seen no hint of rust and one will not see it if cared for properly. One must remember, this is cast iron, and one must know how to care for a cast iron utensil. I do not plan on putting it in the dishwasher unless absolutely necessary. For the price, it is a very good wok. Overall, I am satisfied with it. Attached herewith are some pictures.

This is real cast iron (see the fine casting grain on the back of the wok.) The slightly rough spiral pattern on the inside of the wok is from the grinding/cutting tooling used to shape & thin the casting. It leaves a pattern that will hold a buildup of seasoning; I found it easy to apply and bake (325 deg for one hour) on a first coat of seasoning, after giving a hard scrubbing with a copper-clad scouring pad. The interior is now a gleaming black. The relatively thin-walled casting makes a good compromise between durability, heat-distribution, and handling. I'm an old dude with old-man arms, and I have no problem lifting this wok by its long handle. It's much easier to shake, lift, and flip than anything thicker and heavier. Those who complained about black residue coming off on wiping cloths don't realize that was iron oxide from the cast iron, and is harmless. After a thorough seasoning, that oxide will be sealed in place. Now I use a stiff-bristle brush and warm water to clean the interior after cooking, followed with a light coat of peanut or canola oil after warming and drying the wok. I'm able to pick up the wok using the long, tubular handle, and shake/stir food easily. I've not found it to get too hot to handle; perhaps those who complain about the handle are using a larger gas burner with flames rising up the sides of the wok, and reaching the handle. All in all, this is my first cast-iron wok, and I love it. I can turn up the heat, do true flash-heat stir fry and not worry about non-stick coating toxic problems (like my earlier aluminum non-stick bowl-shaped skillets). This was a great purchase and I thank all the earlier reviewers who gave honest, thumbs-up reviews of this product. UPDATE: (23 April 2020) My opinion of this cast-iron wok is even better now that I've used it for a couple of months. I've fixed stir-fry meals, a stew, some frozen heat-n-eat meals, and several diced potatoes and eggs breakfasts in it. I was worried that eggs would stick badly. They didn't. The original seasoning is working well. I cook with peanut oil for high temperature as needed. This wok cleans very easily with a stiff-bristle brush and water, followed by a brief heating and a wipedown with an oiled paper towel pad. As far as the black residue that some folks complain about, there's only the slightest trace of it now with an oiled wipedown, and it is iron oxide, totally harmless. In the good old cast iron Dutch oven and skillet days, folks considered the iron oxide a great source of dietary iron--a benefit. Again, if anything happened to this wok, I'd immediately order another of the same make.

It is a bit heavy, but I love the way it browns my stir fry veggies. I have been using vintage, heirloom cast iron for many years, but found those pans were not good on my glass top range. This one seems better suited, as the bottom is entirely flat, with no ridge. The proportions are perfect for my range, and the sides are high enough to minimize oil splatter, but not so high as to compromise the cook surface. For me the proportions of the flat bottom and the moderately sloping sides is perfect. It is lighter weight than traditional cast iron, and the helper handle is a great addition. I have used ii in the oven to bake puff pancakes, and it worked fine. I treat it like my old cast iron - washing with warm water, a scrubbie sponge and no soap. I always dry with a paper towel and lightly season it with oil while it is still warm from washing.

I am the kind of person who hates to part with my kitchen gear. I finally had to give up the wok I had for many years because the surface started flaking and it didn’t seem safe. I bought this wok after doing a lot of research. First, it would need an ovenproof handle— there were so many times I wanted to put my old wok in the oven but couldn’t. Definitely something to consider. Then I ruled out any with nonstick coating because I don’t trust it, especially around my parrots (the fumes can kill them, and probably not good for us either). I finally settled on this one. It shed some fine particles at first but I kept rinsing, seasoning, and wiping it down. It eventually developed a beautiful non stick surface and cooks beautifully. In fact, it is my favorite all purpose pot. The high sides help reduce grease splatters and allow you to push foods away from the heat. It browns and sears like cast iron. And the oven readiness is so handy for finally preparation, broiling, etc. it’s still in great shape after several years of use. In sum, it’s been a great wok in every way. I recommend a universal pot lid for times you need a lid.

heat up very quick, which is nice. But handles was too hot, but can overcome by wrapping a kitchen towel. After a year, the handle got loosen (only two fasteners, maybe should add one more?), can not do stir fry anymore. Overall, I would recommend it if do not shake wok much, otherwise, a regular carbon steel is better.

This is the second such wok I bought but still not able to make it working for me. First time I bought this wok, after two weeks' use, still see a layer of black staff when I washed it. I thought I probably did not season it well. So I returned the first one and bought another one. When the second one arrived, I seasoned it by frying it with bacon and left the oil in the wok for the whole night. Then I did it again the second day. Then it has been good for a month, non stick, easy heat conduction, I was very happy and was thinking I did the right seasoning job. Unfortunately, I graduately smell some odor from the wok then I washed it using metal mesh then it ruined all seasoning job I did. The black stuff came back again whenever I washed the wok. Wow, hard to deal with it. I gave it up but even worse, I noticed that I am not able to return it any more probably because due to beyond 30 days of purchase.

We are avid cooks of Asian food and have been through several woks over the years. Let’s compare the two best flat bottom woks— this Excel Steel Cast Iron and the Joyce Chen Carbon Steel. First, carbon steel woks are prevalent but not superior. All good woks need to be seasoned and this is not at all difficult. Once your wok develops its natural patina, it will be nearly nonstick and easily cleaned. This is true whether you settle on cast iron or carbon steel. The goal with wok cooking is the restaurant worthy “Wok Hei” cooking effect that adds a roasted flavor to your food. Being cast iron, this ExcelSteel work achieves Wok Hei wonderfully. Get it nearly smokin’ hot and carefully drizzle your oil down the sides—you will notice the flavor improvement. When replacing our old carbon steel wok we first ordered the Joyce Chen. If you settle on carbon steel it’s a great choice but only if you order the 2mm thick version. Although it’s 14” versus the 13” ExcelSteel we were also drawn to this cast iron wok due to its actually larger cooking width space at the bottom. Thus, although the ExcelSteel is not as wide, it has a great cooking capacity! Cast iron’s downside can be weight that’s cumbersome. Not here. You get all the advantages of cast iron at a weight and size that’s easier to handle than the Joyce Chen. When our Joyce Chen frustratingly arrived with a loose handle, we ordered the ExcelSteel and find it superior. It’s cooking beautifully! What about seasoning? Here’s what you need to do with this wok: Ignore the instructions. Use a green scrubby and scrub the full surface for minute or two. Then generously oil the pan on the stove, carefully rubbing the oil all around with a paper towel. Loosely wipe out the oil. After it dries, take another couple of paper towels and wipe off the extra oil on the surface. Do not worry that you will see a bit of darkish color on the paper towel. This is true of any cast iron and does not impart any health or cleanliness impact whatsoever. Which to buy? We love cooking on cast iron and this is the perfect wok! Although cast iron, it’s the perfect balance between weight, size, and overall handling. Don’t soak in water overnight or you’ll get some rust. If that does happen, just scrub, coat with oil and heat up to re-season—no big deal. Hope this too long review has been of some small help. Happy stir frying to you and yours!!!

Within an hour after unboxing this wok, and after washing and drying it according to the enclosed instructions, I made a dish of fried rice with it. The wok performed as nicely as any wok I've ever used. It is much lighter than one might expect from a cast iron pan, yet feels quite sturdy and well-built. It has a flat bottom and worked quite well with my glass cooktop -- appeared to heat evenly and so forth. I was worried for a moment since some of the rice had become stuck to the bottom. However, the stuck rice cleaned up quite easily with hot water and a nylon brush. Pictured is the pan after first use and cleaning, along with the Delson spatula which I ordered to go with the wok. So far I am pleased with my purchase and I will update if there are any issues.

Good quality cast iron wok. I like the size and they seasoned the wok before delivery which saved me time to use the wok right after delivery.

Justo lo que quería y a un precio justo.

This is definitely cast iron; lighter than the typical cast iron skillets but heavier than stainless steel. It's the best choice for an electric range as it retains the heat and cooks fairly evenly. Grace Young has a youtube video on seasoning and caring for a wok. She demonstrates with a carbon-steel wok but it's the same principle. We found the instructions in her stir-fry book from Amazon https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1416580573/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Jocye Chen's angled spatula is shaped for using with a wok, and works great with this. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0009S5O3Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 We've retired our stainless steel woks and use this one daily!

Great for induction plate. Love to make pancakes with it. Thank you.

Lo compré y sólo estuve conforme durante los dos primeros usos, tuve extremo cuidado y segui todas y cada una de las instrucciones y el producto comenzó a deteriorarse inmediatamente. lo tuve que devolver