What’s Cooking In My Cast Iron Wok?

Welcome to the “What’s cooking in my cast iron wok?” series.

This is a series of recipes I make in my wok. I am new to this, so I will share the good and the bad.

Hopefully, I will have more good than bad and can give you ideas on dishes to make.

I will also share tips I have learned along the way.

Are you new to cast iron wok cooking too? Or do you have tips and recipes you can share in the comment section below?

Cooking in a wok is mainly healthy because you use lots of vegetables and a small amount of oil.

It usually includes eggs and leftover rice. And often seafood or meat.

So, let’s get started.

Table of Contents

What’s Cooking in My Cast Iron Wok?

What’s cooking in my cast iron wok is a series of recipes I cook in my wok as well as tips I have learned. I make every recipe and share my experience. Today I am making Fried Rice. Fried Rice is a traditional wok dish that has been made for centuries. It goes back to China during the Sui dynasty (589-618 AD). Fried rice is typically made with leftover rice, eggs, and whatever vegetables or meat you have on hand.

Getting Your Wok Ready

Getting your wok ready is a tip I learned from Tak’s YouTube channel, Wok With Tak.

It’s seasoning your wok right before you cook, and it’s pretty simple. Tak calls his method spot seasoning.

Other methods involve seasoning the entire wok, which seems unnecessary since you are mainly stir-fryingo on the bottom. So only the base needs consistent seasoning and nonstick properties.

As long as your wok came preseasoned with a natural seasoning (usually oil), spot seasoning is the easiest way to keep it nonstick.

To get started, add 3 Tbsp. of oil to the bottom of the wok, and turn the burner on high.

When it starts to smoke (usually 2-3 minutes), immediately reduce the heat to low for 15-30 seconds.

You are now ready to add your first ingredients.

Watch the video below for a more detailed explanation of Tak’s spot seasoning method.

Spot Seasoning: Seasoning Your Wok in 5 Minutes

Easy Fried Rice With Frozen Mixed Vegetables

This recipe is quick and easy. It’s easy because there is no need to chop up vegetables, and it only uses salt and pepper and one sauce.

However, you can change it up whenever you want. Before cooking the eggs, your could saute garlic or onions. Or you might decide to add additional seasonings such as turmeric, cardamom, paprika, or chili powder. Or how about oyster sauce which is also popular.

It’s essential, though, that your rice is cooled and has had a chance to dry out. The best is rice that’s been in the refrigerator for several hours, preferably 1-2 days. Because freshly made rice has too much moisture and will often make your fried rice mushy.

If you don’t have any leftover rice, you can spread fresh rice out on a baking pan and let it dry and firm up. I’ve also heard you can speed up the process by allowing a fan to blow on the spread-out rice or sticking it in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.

Ingredients

2-3 Tbsp. oil of your choice
4 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups leftover rice
1 package frozen mixed vegetables (no need to thaw)
3/4 cup thick-sliced pepperoni, cut in fourths
Soy Sauce, to taste

Directions

Get all your ingredients out
Put the oil in the wok and turn the burner on medium-high. Heat until it begins to smoke, 3-4 minutes
While the oil is heating, whisk four eggs together and season with salt and pepper
Once the oil starts to smoke, turn the burner down to low, wait 30-45 seconds
Add the eggs to the wok, cook, and break-up, 30-45 seconds
Push the egg to the outside forming a whole in the middle, add the rice
Break up the rice (with a meat chopper if you have one), mix the rice and eggs together, 15-30 seconds
Add the frozen mixed vegetables and the pepperoni, stirring constantly, 30-45 seconds
Add soy sauce and stir until well-coated

Quick Fried Rice With Frozen Vegetables

My Experience

I really enjoyed making fried rice in my cast iron wok. It was quick and easy.

Fortunately, I had made rice two days earlier, so the leftovers had been in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

The first thing I did was get out all the ingredients. Then I put the oil in the wok and heated it to smoking.

Approximately one minute after turning down the heat, I added the four eggs I had whisked together and seasoned.

It was fun to see the eggs cook immediately. After breaking them up and creating a circle around the sides, I noticed all my oil was gone, so I added a little more. I don’t know if I needed to, though.

Next, I added the rice, broke it up with my meat chopper, and mixed it with the eggs.

It was now time to add the frozen vegetables. So I quickly mixed them in and added the pepperoni.

Using my wok spatula, I stirred continuously for a couple of minutes.

And I finished by adding soy sauce and mixing it all together.