Special Recipe For Breakfast

There are a number of woks that match these criteria, but our favorite is the Joyce Chen Pro Chef Flat-Bottomed Wok, which sells for just $34 on Amazon at the time of writing.

Joyce Chen Flat-Bottom Wok
It features heavy-gauge carbon steel and a riveted, heat-resistant phenolic-plastic, Northern-style handle, plus a helper handle, and it’s extremely inexpensive. That said, be sure to check that you’re purchasing the 2mm-thick version; on occasion, Amazon sells out of our preferred wok and redirects customers to the Helen Chen 1.5mm-thick wok instead. Unfortunately, that wok does not meet our standards. With repetitive use, the oil you heat in your wok breaks down into polymers that fill the microscopic pores in the metal’s surface, rendering the material completely nonstick. As you break in your wok, the material will gradually change from silver to brownish and finally to a deep black. This is what you are looking for.