Cleaning A Wok?

[kellynolan82]

I have a variety of friends who are coming over in a few days time. I have a wok that I use to cook meals in. I am sometimes a bit slack cleaning this wok and I know that using soap in it is a BAD idea. I have looked up a variety of videos on YouTube on how to clean a wok but none suggest how to rid it of allergens.

Any good ideas you may have would be much appreciated?

[GlutenFreeManna]

What is it made out of? If stainless steel you can just scour it really well, if it has a non-stick coating you may not be able to save it. Gluten from all those soy sauces has most likey steeped into the scratches in the non stick coating and you will only be making contaminated food in it.

[kellynolan82]

What is it made out of? If stainless steel you can just scour it really well, if it has a non-stick coating you may not be able to save it. Gluten from all those soy sauces has most likey steeped into the scratches in the non stick coating and you will only be making contaminated food in it.

It's a cast-iron wok. Everything (to the best of my knowledge, anyway ) that's been cooked in it has been gluten free, though we have someone coming over who is allergic to soy and dairy as well and we have used Tamari in it in the past. The wok seems to be really heavily coated in oil (and possibly cooking spray (which contains soy lecithin)) so I was just wondering what the best way to go about it would be. They seem to be quite hard to clean. Perhaps I should use a scourer and scrub all the oil off of it and then re-season it with pure sunflower oil just to be sure.

[kareng]

Not sure if it would fit. People "bake" cast iron in the oven during the oven cleaning cycle. Then re-season it. Olive oil and back in the oven. Not sure the temp. Hub is out fishing in the rain. He could tell me what temp he uses. Maybe someone else knows this?

[kellynolan82]

The sooner I know the better, as I simply do not see anything *anywhere* on the internet about this topic and I need some urgent answers... Thanks guys

[GlutenFreeManna]

It's a cast-iron wok. Everything (to the best of my knowledge, anyway ) that's been cooked in it has been gluten free, though we have someone coming over who is allergic to soy and dairy as well and we have used Tamari in it in the past. The wok seems to be really heavily coated in oil (and possibly cooking spray (which contains soy lecithin)) so I was just wondering what the best way to go about it would be. They seem to be quite hard to clean. Perhaps I should use a scourer and scrub all the oil off of it and then re-season it with pure sunflower oil just to be sure.

For cast iron you will need to reseason it in the oven like Karen said. This involves just baking it at a high temp until the seasoned surface is baked off. Then you start over making it seasoned with oil. Do a search on how to reseason a cast iron pan and I'm sure you will find a step-by-step somewhere.

[lovegrov]

Scrubbing off the old seasoning and re-seasoning would seem to be the only answer.

richard

[kellynolan82]

Scrubbing off the old seasoning and re-seasoning would seem to be the only answer.

richard

So basically if I'm going to a restaurant and I order a gluten free meal and it's fried in the same wok as everything else, it doesn't matter that it's washed and cleaned - my meal is contaminated????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :angry:

[Fairy Dancer]

You can't wash a wok? I won't eat from something that has not been cleaned between meals lol

[love2travel]

The sooner I know the better, as I simply do not see anything *anywhere* on the internet about this topic and I need some urgent answers... Thanks guys

I season cast iron in the oven at about 400 for a good hour, re-rub with oil and put it back in the oven for another hour (you can place a sheet pan or aluminum foil below it to catch any drips).

[kellynolan82]

You can't wash a wok? I won't eat from something that has not been cleaned between meals lol

Apparently washing a wok with soap is bad practice, as it retains a small amount even if rinsed. As described above, it sounds as though the best way to go about cleaning it is to put it in an oven and wait 'till all the old oil turns into carbon and then rinse out and then re-season.

[kareng]

The wok or pans at many restaurants are stainless or aluminum. They should be easily cleanable in the industrial dishwashers. Apparently, her home wok is cast iron which is porous.

[GlutenFreeManna]

So basically if I'm going to a restaurant and I order a gluten free meal and it's fried in the same wok as everything else, it doesn't matter that it's washed and cleaned - my meal is contaminated????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :angry:

Most restaurants are not using cast iron. They are usually stainless steel (which can be scoured clean) and will get a clean pan for each meal they make. But, yes if a restaurant were to use cast iron or a non-stick with scratches OR to grill your food on grills previously used for glutened food your food has a big risk of being contaminated.

[Bubba's Mom]

i've read that you can burn off any gluten or other contaminents by baking a 500* oven for an hour..or on your oven's cleaning setting.

I ran across a blog recently by a guy who cooks with cast iron and is celiac. He has tons of info on his site along with a lot of good looking recipes. Maybe you could send him a note with your question?

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