Cooking with a wok on an electric stove may seem challenging, but fear not! With the right techniques and a few adjustments, you can create delicious stir-fries and Asian-inspired dishes in the comfort of your own kitchen.
By using a flat-bottomed wok, preheating it properly, and adjusting the temperature as needed, you can achieve the high heat and quick cooking that woks are known for, even on an electric stove.
Whether you’re a seasoned home cook or just starting your culinary journey, this guide will help you master the art of using a wok on an electric stove.
Can You Use a Wok on an Electric Stove?
A wok is no different from a regular pan and great for cooking Asian food. You can use this pan to stir-fry, sautéing and braising, steaming or deep-frying.
If you want to use a round bottom wok on your electric stove, then you need to purchase wok ring which will elevate the height of your round pan to pass uniform heat.
But if using a wok on a gas stove, then there are no worries as the burners serve you the purpose of stability. But I would suggest going for a flat-bottom wok made of highly durable material like cast iron, stainless steel, or carbon steel.
Among all these, carbon steel will save your money as it is rustproof, lighter and conducts heat faster than cast iron, which is again too heavy to make many scratches on your glass stovetop. Avoid stainless steel wok as they rust easily and have a shorter lifespan.
From ancient times, cooking any type of food we have used fire along with utensils, be it earthen pots, pressure cookers or frying pans. There are many people who have a passion for cooking.
Gas stoves that run on gas flame are now replaced with electric glass stovetops that use electricity and save fuel. Every stove has its own limitations, as regular gas stoves don’t require electricity and can be used for cooking in any corner of your house.
Woks of any shape, round or flat, are ideal to set on this type of stove. On the other hand, electric stovetops need electricity to get started.
If there is power cut in your area, then you have to stay hungry. Moreover, wok is not that suitable to use on an electric stove due to its shape and heat limitations. The gas flame produces more heat than electric stove coils.
Woks are updated utensils that are easy to handle and heat quickly. It is no less than like a regular frying pan whose bottom is flat to adjust on any contemporary gas stove. Ancient wok used to have round bottoms and wider tops with higher walls.
There is no doubt that professional cooks and home cooks are comfortable using a round bottom wok for frying. But you can’t deny the benefits of using a flat bottom wok that works both on an electric stove and ceramic stoves.
They get heated very fast to prepare your dish with absolute quality, ensuring all the vital nutrients are preserved in the right way. Save your time by preparing various dishes when looking to host a party.
They are ideal cookware for those who are health conscious and love to cook Asian food. Enjoy your food prepared in wok as it doesn’t need too much oil.
Can You Use a Wok On a Glass Top Electric Stove?
Glass top stoves having smooth surfaces are trending kitchen essentials that have made our task of cooking easy. A wide range of utensils is perfect to use on this electric stove.
Though these stoves are easy to operate and quickly heat, they have a few limitations when you need to use utensils like a wok. A round bottom wok would not stand on this type of stove, but a flat bottom wok can get your work done.
However, today there are rings available on the market for a round bottom wok to place on your stove, but not worthwhile while cooking. As woks absorb high heat there is a possibility of a high risk of scratching on the glass surface of your electric stove.
Well, there are a lot of advantages to using a wok for cooking. One needs to consider which type of wok from the round and flat bottom eases your culinary skills. It is advisable to choose flat-bottomed woks as they are perfectly suitable for cooking on glass-top stoves.
Enjoy eating food prepared in wok that tastes good and keeps your dish healthy. Saves time but requires continuous stirring as it absorbs heat very fast. Mastering the art of seasoning a flat-bottomed wok is a must for glass top ranges and ceramic stoves.
Electric glass top stoves have taken their place in modern contemporary kitchens. If you are looking to use wok for cooking your favorite dish, then it is advisable to choose a flat-bottomed wok which serves your needs.
They are safe and easy to handle on glass top stoves without the need for tension for scratch. On the other hand, if you opting for round-bottom works, then there is risk of scratch on your cooking surface as they are hard to manage.
Round Bottom vs. Flat Bottom Woks: Which is Electric-Friendly?
Well, to help consumers ease their cooking, the cookware manufacturers have come up with the best solution to use wok available in two forms: round-bottom wok and flat-bottom wok. Based on the design of their stove, customers can use this cookware to enjoy cooking on both electric stoves and ceramic stoves.
However, there are a few limitations to using it on electric stovetops. As everyone knows, electric stoves run on electricity and through electric coils they produce heat. These stoves don’t have burners like the regular gas stoves.
Therefore, a round-bottom wok is not recommended to use on electric stovetops as they are not steady while cooking and need extra support like rings which cause disturbance in even supply of heat.
Whereas the flat bottom wok makes your task easy due to a flat surface at the bottom that makes the wok stand steady. So, according to me, flat bottom wok are much more electrically friendly than the round bottom wok.
The wok doesn’t make direct contact with both glass and electric stovetops. There is a slight disturbance in the heating element which restricts uniform heat throughout the pan or wok.
The heat produced by coils doesn’t reach properly around the bottom wok as there is a gap between the stove and utensil when using wok rings to make them stable. The heat temperature is low and leaves your food uncooked or takes more time.
Thorough seasoning of wok is essential for a longer life span. You need not worry regarding heat damage if you choose your glass stovetop from trusted cookware manufacturers who have designed them with fine quality material to handle extreme heat temperatures.
Woks are available in 2 forms: round and flat bottom shaped. When using a round bottom wok it is essential to use a ring without which it is not stable on electric stovetops.
As the electric stovetops run on electricity, the heat distribution through electric coils is not manageable to reach properly throughout the wok as they require ring support to stand on glass stovetops, leading to high risk of scratch on your glass stovetop.
Based on the above information, the flat bottom woks are a viable solution for electric stoves with minimal risk.
How to Use a Wok on an Electric Stove: Step-by-step Instructions
When using wok for preparing meals on your glass top electric stove glasstop, it is recommended to use a flat-bottom wok instead of a round-bottom wok as they are easy to handle and manage.
Another best feature of choosing a wok for your electric top stove is that it gets heated quickly, so consider preheating your wok to keep your meals healthy.
On average, a wok requires 10 – 15 minutes to preheat based on the type of contemporary stove you are using. Avoid adding oil to the wok until the smoke is released to preserve the taste of your dish. Stay healthy and fit as dishes prepared in wok don’t require much oil for cooking.
As we know, electric stoves are fast. Make sure you add a sufficient amount of oil and spread it evenly on your wok then add the food ingredients as they may get burned or sticky.
Electric glass top stoves start working with electricity with a single touch of a button on your stove. Here you can’t see the fire flame but can adjust the temperature based on stove settings.
The regular gas stoves emit gas flame. The heat level of both varies based on their usage and surface. The electric gas stoves provide minimal heat whereas the regular stoves produce more heat.
When heating wok on an electric stove, make sure the temperature at the start is mild, and you increase the temperature gradually. In this way, you can increase the life span of your wok to serve you better.
When seasoning your wok on an electric stove, make sure you choose the right seasoning ingredients to lock the flavor and taste of your dish. Always ensure to cook in a pre-seasoned wok rather than ready-made.
Maintain hygiene when buying from a store by washing the cookware before using it on your stove top. However, if you look for a wok for stir-frying on an electric stove, then preheat the wok at medium temperature and then increase the heat amount gradually.
After proper heating, you can add your preferred olive oil or sesame oil. Next, add the vegetables to stir-fry at high temperature until they are well cooked, leave them in the wok for some time.
Generally, chefs use woks to make Manchuria and noodles as their basic ingredients are well cooked before adding them into the wok for stir-frying.
Nowadays, there are plenty of options for choosing your cookware based on its materials. Many kitchens have both collections of cast iron and carbon steel.
However, if you are looking for additional cookware to complement wok then you must use carbon steel on your electric stove. This cookware material absorbs heat better and faster and doesn’t affect your cooking when it changes in temperature.
Hence, a better choice for electric stove tops but requires seasoning twice to increase the lifespan of your carbon steel wok to make it rust free. You can use a flat-bottom wok that has a flat surface and thick sides and high-sided pans to hold your ingredients well while stir-frying or cooking vegetables.
Can a Wok Ring Solve the Electric Stove Challenge?
As we had already discussed above, wok for glass top stoves are available in two forms. The round-bottom wok is a classical and traditional type of cookware which is easy to place on old gas stoves that run on gas flame.
On the other hand, the flat-bottomed wok is ideal to use on contemporary electric stoves that run on electricity. But to ease the task of cooking, now rings are available on the market which you can use to place a round-bottom wok on both of your electric stoves and ceramic stoves.
We know that these wok rings have eased our task of cooking on an electric stove, but one disadvantage is they might offer scratch on your electric stove’s smooth surface. Therefore, it is highly recommended to use a flat-bottomed wok rather than a round-bottomed wok on your electric stove.
An electric stove generates heat with electricity. The electric stove works through resistive coils which send heat to different coil panels to eventually heat your pan and food inside. As every burner on an electric stove has a separate circuit, the heat generated is not constant.
Overheating can ruin your recipe when using a ring on electric coil burners. The vegetables may not be evenly cooked and sometimes are left on one side to burn due to unstable heat distribution. There is also the possibility of food dripping under the coils making your stove messy to clean up.
A wok ring is a metal circle that is easy to fit on the gas burners of a regular stove. They are highly beneficial to use for round bottom utensils or wok to generate constant heat as they are not stable left alone.
Although it is useful for wok on an electric gas stove, it has its own side effects. They are not ideal for round bottom woks due to the elevation of ring height, which forms a gap between the stove and cookware and restricts uniform cooking temperature of the burner. Instead of a round-bottom wok it is advisable to use a flat-bottom wok to avoid this problem.
