Does anybody on the board own a wok?

I was in Vegas the weekend before last and stopped by Williams and Sonoma on the Monday after the football games. I bought a hand crafted wok made from pounded carbon steel. The directions say I need to use extremely hot water and soap to wash off the packing oil and then I have to season the pan with one of three different recommended oils. I'm not to use a scrub pad. So that I don't burn my hands in very hot water, I will either use gloves or get a soft cloth wet and use something like tongs to manipulate it.

I generally like to barbecue, but I'd like to start stir frying vegetables and proteins like beef, chicken, and seafood.

I also bought a special spatula for the wok.

Does anybody own a wok? What are your experiences with it?

The oil that your wok was packed is not going to come off with hot water and soap. If you have a wooden handle remove it. You can do one of two things. Use one of those flame throwers gardeners use to burn grass and heat up the wok or crank up that gas grill and use that to heat up the wok. You need to work in sections and expose the wok to the hottest points of the flame and you will see the steel change colors . You are literally burning the oil off. After the wok has cooled wipe the cooking surface with vegetable oil. Its like curing a cast iron skillet or dutch oven. Treat it the same way. After cooking with it, wipe it clean and boil some water in it to get off any food residue. You usually do not use soap and water. Hope this helps. https://chinesefood.about.com/cs/cookingbasics/ht/seasonwokhowto.htm

The way I did mine was to season it like you do cast iron. The initial cleaning I used Dawn soap and a scrubber sponge. The heat and treat with cooking oil. Since you have the hand hammered one, you should be able to beat it up nicely in the oven or on the grill.

Make sure you get the sides as once you get it seasoned, you can start putting the veg on the sides to warm while you cook foods in the center.

Cleanup is a breeze, use that brush or some paper towels and loads of scalding hot water. Wipe heat on the stove and re-oil. Let set until cool and wipe off the excess oil.

90wt axle greese will whip that wok into shape in no time.... j/k

I owned a wok a long time ago and I seem to remember after doing the heat treatment,I finished the seasoning by heating the wok(not too hot) add a few drops of sesame oil, take a clove of garlic and rub it over the inside of the wok. I don't remember the source of this tip,may not help, but it sure didn't hurt any. I used to make some pretty tasty grub with it. Hmm, wonder what happened to that thing, might have to dig it up.

J