Joyce Chen 23-0003, 11.5 inch Lightweight Cast Iron Stir Fry Review

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I only used it for one month. I coat it with oil before and after each use, it still gets sticky after one month. The dark "natural seasoning"comes off as small pieces, then mixed with my food. After their "natural seasoning" comes off, the pan became very sticky like a stainless pan, and it's not stainless, it's rusty. I'd go back to Starfrit's cast iron pan, even though it costs little more.

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I bought this wok to use it on the inner rings of my flat surface stove so than the range hood can suck all the smoke while i am cooking. The size is perfect. The bottom size is 6", which fits the ring perfectly. The top size is perfect too, though i can use a 12" one too. The wok is solid and heavy and can hold up heat. I have used very cheap cast iron pots and cabon steel pots. They are either too heavy or too light. This one is great.

The only thing i dont like is that it seems to have a coating. After we used it the first time, the coating was burned off. I guess it is the seasoning coating. Hope it is harmless.

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This wok stays cute on my oven top, suitable for 2-3 person. It is light weight, easy to clean and maintain. It heats up quickly and can get very hot. The vegetable it cooked looks fresh and with good taste. With meat, it did stick a little bit at the beginning, but I think for cast iron it takes time, the more you use it, the less it sticks. For those who have 4-5 people to serve, I would suggest you to try that 14" one. Before buying this one, I was struggling between a carbon steel and light cast iron, finally I decided on cast iron, because a friend shared that she had both of them, both get heat quickly and not stick, but carbon steel more easily gets the vegetable steamed, with more water come out, while cast iron makes food come out dry and still taste juicy.

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Many people would say nothing beats carbon steel woks. I tend to agree if you have a gas stove top that can handle rounded bottom woks. But for electric top, I encounter problem with a flat carbon steel wok: it loses heat as soon as you lift it up to toss food (losing direct contact with a heat source). I did some research and found that iron cast retains heat better than carbon steel, but iron cast takes longer to heat up. However, this wok overcomes those problems. It heats up quickly and retains heat when I toss food in the air. It is surprisingly light for iron cast, yet very well built. However, don't expect carbon steel lightness here. It is still an iron cast. The handle feels nice and sturdy. Its large flat bottom increases contact surface with heat source. It also comes with 25 year warranty, and the quality seems to last even longer. The wok is pre-seasoned, which save me from doing the work. But as with every steel wok, you need to season it regularly. If you never use wok before or use only stainless steel cookware, you should do some research before buying iron cast or carbon steel woks. They need proper care and maintenance.

In sum, Joyce Chen cast iron wok is a great wok for electric top. I never use it on gas but I bet it performs equally well. I would recommend this wok for those whose stove tops are flat, either gas or electric. If you have the top specially designed to take a wok, then you probably already know what you want anyway.

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I recently purchased an induction burner (Max Burton 6200 1800W) which I love, but the problem I ran into was finding a cooking vessel that could take advantage of its heating potential. After some experimentation with various pots and pans, I found that the ones made of carbon steel and cast iron work the best....by far.

I was really happy to find a cast iron wok that didn't weight 75 lbs and was the perfect design (wide bottom). I got it yesterday and was blown away by two things; how light it was and how hot you can get this wok. I used a thermal gun on it and got readings above 800 degrees. Even my carbon steel wok didn't get that hot.

This wok comes pre-seasoned, looks to be well constructed, is priced right and definitely does what a wok is supposed to do...."get rocket hot". If you are looking for a good gift set for that vegetarian cook in your life, get this wok and a good induction burner (they aren't expensive). They'll love you forever.