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#1 Posted : Saturday, August 9, 2025 10:17:12 PM(UTC)

I’m about to make the shift to induction cooking for a combination of reasons including indoor air quality, energy efficiency and ease of cleaning. I have a flat bottomed, carbon steel wok. While it will function on induction, how well it will work for wok style cooking remains to be seen. Will the sides heat enough? At the same time, I saw my Costco has a NuWave Induction Wok for sale, claiming 100ºF to 575ºF in 5º increments. It’s on sale for $99; the same setup appears to sell on Amazon for $225. If the entire curved surface heats uniformly, that also raises questions, as one of the benefits of wok cooking is the varying temperature zones of bottom and sides. BTW, the wok that comes with the NuWave looks to be beautifully pre-seasoned — deep black and very smooth. Does anyone have experience cooking with either of these?

#2 Posted : Sunday, August 10, 2025 12:43:22 AM(UTC)

I actually just picked one of these up but it's still in the box, so I don't have much personal experience. But Jon Kung has had one of the Nuwave units for years and has made a couple of videos about it and another option:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDMGXegEXsc


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1UYeVxLTi4


There's another review here that includes an image of some (harmless) metal discoloration on the bottom of the wok that seems to show the size of the coil. Small diameter coils are a common complaint on tabletop induction burners but for a wok it might actually help!


Image of wok marked by induction wok burner

#3 Posted : Sunday, August 10, 2025 4:25:35 PM(UTC)

Thanks for the feedback. Those videos were particularly helpful. I suspect that the model being sold for $99 at Costco is the one in the videos, while the one on Amazon at ~$225 - $250 is a newer model -- the word 'Mosaic' features prominently in the listing, which was not on the Costco packaging. The differences are not otherwise obvious; no increase in power; no obvious interface changes. There may be fewer accessories. 


Thanks also for introducing me to Jon Kung. In addition to watching the videos you linked, I watched one on dumpling making and picked up a number of great tips.

#4 Posted : Sunday, August 17, 2025 1:04:34 AM(UTC)
I bit the bullet and bought it while Costco had it.

In case anyone is interested, in addition to the induction base it came with: the wok (with a silicone wrapped handle); a vented, tempered glass lid; a frying rack (that shelf you put the fried pieces on to drain); and a tabletop stand for serving from the wok.

So far I’ve only seasoned the wok, but it easily smoked grapeseed oil, which is the highest smoke point oil I had on hand. Seasoning in the base was a bit of a chore, as I constantly had to ‘roll’ the wok in the base for the heat to go as far up the sides as possible. Normally I’d season in the oven, but I didn’t know what was the highest safe temperature for the silicone handle sleeve.

I now understand Jon Kung’s preference for the more expensive brand based on interface. The Nuwave is not exactly intuitive, but it does get the job done at a much lower price. From a storage standpoint, it is a bit of a monster. This was not a concern for me as I was already planning on a pantry cabinet for my garage.

I’ll follow up again when I’ve actually cooked in it.
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