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! :-)

Bought this one because it's supposed to work well on glass top stoves. Not true. My 2 other steel woks would distort when heated and not sit flat. The first time I heated it up the center started to bulge out about 1/4" and made it not useable. The strange part is when it cooled down it was flat again. The quality looks great but I can't use it on a glass top.

I just got this wok. It was absolutely perfect, no cracks etc. There are several of these new light weight cast iron woks on the market now here and on e-bay. I wanted a flat bottomed wok because they work best on a western stove. With a flat bottomed wok you don't need a wok ring and you have more surface area near the flame so you can get enough heat to do a proper stir fry. I also like the long wooden handle instead of a plastic one. It is also preseasoned so that you don't have to go through the hassle of seasoning it, although it really is pretty easy to do on these new cast iron woks. This new cast iron is as much stronger than the thin traditional cast iron sometimes used in chinese made woks and much lighter than the heavy thick cast iron woks that are widely available. Just don't try to wash it when its hot as reportedly they can crack. I have worked with both thick and thin traditional cast iron and this is clearly the best. With the thinner cast iron you can make more rapid temperature changes than you can with heavy cast iron. There are several other kinds of materials used in woks.I also like the new thin light weight cast iron better than carbon steel because usually those are not preseasoned and I often struggled with keeping them seasoned. Whatever you do don't get a nonstick coated wok as the coating is damaged and comes off at high temperatures required for stir frying. Also avoid stainless steel woks as meat tends to stick so you need to use a lot more oil. You can't develop a seasoned coating on stainless steel. In my opinion, stainless steel woks are good for steaming but not for stir frying.

I don't write many reviews, but wanted to give this one to assist others who may be trying to choose the right wok. This is definitely a well crafted wok, however its performance on a western gas stove of 12,000 BTUs is inferior to the carbon steel flat bottom 14 inch American made wok from the Wok Shop, which has a thicker "core" or base area at the bottom, or as another reviewer stated "it has a heavily 'padded' bottom of steel." I've stir fried with both woks and can say without reservation that the carbon steel wok referred to here is the better choice for a standard western gas stove. The Joyce Chen cast iron wok is actually thinner at the base area than the carbon steel one (the carbon steel wok weighs 4 pounds compared to the Joyce Chen cast iron wok at only 3 pounds, 11 ounces), causing it to lose heat rapidly when adding the liquid ingredients, and then it takes longer time to recover than the carbon steel wok, which is not what you want in a stir fry because it will turn it into a braise instead. Other considerations: The 14 inch carbon steel wok mentioned above also has a smoother transition from the flat bottom area to the sides than the Joyce Chen cast iron wok which has a more abrupt "turn" from the flat area to the sides. The carbon steel has more of the feel of a round bottom wok when stir frying with a wok spatula or "wok shovel." Also the carbon steel wok seems to preheat slightly faster than the cast iron in spite of its heavier weight, as well as recovering faster after adding liquid ingredients, or sauces. Another slight advantage to the carbon steel wok is that there are no rivets to contend with on the cooking surface. The carbon steel is also less finicky in that you can wash it out while it is still fairly hot. I have to agree with Grace Young that the carbon steel is the best bet. I hope this review is helpful.

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.

After doing some research on lightweight cast iron, I was under the impression the entire wok was cast iron. It appears that it is just a thin layer. As you may know, cast iron cannot be washed like other pots. Unfortunately, within the first week a well-intentioned family member scrubbed the wok, not knowing it was cast iron because it is so light. That destroyed the seasoning and it is continuing to peel all over the inside, not just the bottom which was initially scraped off. This is a great size and very lightweight. I am open to helpful feedback about how to save this wok.

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.

UPDATE: The coating applied at the factory started bubbling and peeling off. It got into my food. I don't know what it is, but I presume is the same basic coating Lodge uses on their cookware, which is some kind of edible oil. I guess I wasn't that worried about it from a safety perspective, but the flakes did get into my food. Still it was unsightly, so I stripped it down to the bare metal. Unfortunately, you can't season this thing in an oven because of the wood handles, so I did it over my charcoal grill. It worked well enough. As far as cooking goes, it definitely works OK with charcoal or open flame, but is quite miserable with surfaces that are electric, including induction. Only the very bottom gets hot--the sides, less so. I'm changing my rating to one-star because of the limited cooking uses and the peeling. It does what it says, is relatively easy to clean, and is light. I don't think it distributes heat well, though, especially on electric, induction, or glass-top ranges. Very hot on the bottom, very cool on the sides. I'm sure it would do much better on gas. I'm going to try it on my outdoor grill as soon as the temperature gets better.

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.

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.

The recommended lid doesn't fit well at all. It's unstable and falls over if you look at it wrong. It isn't 14", it's more like 13.5". If you have a 14" lid, it will not fit. The handles are very difficult to take off, so if you want to season it in the oven you'll need to deal some damage to the wok in order to take the handles off. On its own it's a fair piece of equipment, though considering all the downsides it is very far from worth this price tag. Again, it is NOT 14". It is incompatible with a standard 14" lid.

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.