Wok Seasoning Tips

I hope that you have seen the link on how to season a Wok, thanks to Pauline from Michael Wan’s Mandarin, Blackpool. If you prefer to do this step by step following a written guide, read below:

Please note that when you purchase one of our Woks it has a clear lacquer coating that will have to be removed the best you can. This is to help stop the Wok rusting prior to purchase. As with all steel it will rust, there can be a little on your Wok, but don’t worry as this can be rubbed of quickly with a scourer.
Your Cooker ring can be used on full heat for cleaning and seasoning, this will not ruin your Wok.
In the Video Pauline says how the Wok will start to change colour. This is actually the Lacquer coating burning. After a while the coating just burns off to show the steel underneath (a lighter colour).
The wok will go brown (coating burning) then it will go back to steel colour. (Coating has been burnt off.) Try to put the sides of the Wok over the flames to burn the coating from all of the Wok bowl…
Once this is done you can let the wok cool down, and then give the bowl a good scrub to clean off all the remains of the burnt coating. Now thoroughly dry your Wok. You can just heat it up again until all the water has gone.
You are now ready to season your Wok. Pauline is showing you the safe way by using a cloth soaked in cooking oil and then using a Ladle to move the oil soaked cloth around the Wok. This way there will be no burnt hands. It’s the oil that seasons the Wok.
During this process you will have a lot of smoke from the burning lacquer, (it’s a bit like burning varnish, but food safe, tests available) you are also burning the oil. So extractor fan on and windows open.
The oil is actually sealing all the steel. And helps to stop the food sticking to your Wok, and also helps to stop it rusting.
You can also scrub the lacquer off, the Wok is filled with hot water and left to soak to soften the coating, pour the water out after 10 minutes and then the scrubbing can start. Use a steel scourer and any scouring powder and a little water. It will take some time to do this, and you will only know if all the coating is off when the Wok is returned to the stove to heat up before seasoning. As what coating is left will turn brown when heated. You do not need to get all the coating off as it is safe. It can come off in the food you are cooking but it is harmless. Re-fill the wok with hot water and continue scrubbing.
We are sorry about using the coating but it is the only way to stop the Woks from going totally rusty prior to purchase.
Please note that seasoning is very hard to do on any cooker other than gas, it is always better to season as much of the Wok as possible.
With Electric, induction or Halogen cookers the heat is concentrated at the bottom of the Wok only and no real heat will transfer up the sides of the Wok bowl. Therefore it would be ideal if you can get someone with a gas cooker to season for you.
This is what a well seasoned wok can look like: