Typically, in order to prevent rust during transportation, a thin layer of oil has been applied. This layer must be cleaned before first use. Adhere to the steps in the following video link:

https://youtu.be/vgu4Fa4vTIE

The seasoning process includes two steps—pre-seasoning and seasoning. Washing the fully seasoned wok with hot soapy water will remove the seasoning. Before seasoning your wok with oil, the wok should be pre-seasoned without oil (also called boiling and bluing).

Pre-seasoning is a high-temperature treatment performed to create a protective iron oxide layer. The layer protects the wok from red iron oxide (rust) but does not make the wok "non-stick."

A new wok is usually pre-seasoned. The black color comes from a kind of iron oxide and has no chemicals. However, you still need to season your wok with oil.

The seasoning method will form another protective layer using oil (patina). The seasoning will improve every time you cook with oil. The longer you use your wok, the thicker the protective layer will be. This layer makes the wok "non-stick." The wok isn't seasoned and not ready to use "out of the box." If it came fully seasoned, the wok would get dirty easily during storage and transportation and for safety reasons, it must be washed before use. Washing the wok will damage the seasoning.

A wok should be re-seasoned periodically. It is to learn how before first use. Check these videos:

https://youtu.be/JzKLXxAxrzw
https://youtu.be/7fosj97lb9E
https://youtu.be/hTnHuOk_mTg

During seasoning, you may get yellow marks on your wok. The yellow marks form from burned cooking oil. It may have happened because of the very high heat during seasoning.

The seasoning process has several stages. The oil first starts to smoke, then thickens and polymerizes (where the color turns from yellow to brown and then black). It is best when oil polymerizes into a very thin layer. The best seasoning is a multilayer polymerized oil (patina). If the marks become sticky, scrub them with an abrasive sponge (use dishwashing detergent if necessary), then re-season. If the layers are smooth, you can use your wok for cooking.

The wok is ideally suited for many styles of cooking techniques such as...

• stir-frying
• braising
• deep-frying
• smoking
• pan-frying
• (even) cooking rice (but a dedicated cooker is best)

Woks are not the same as formal non-stick cookware.

Non-stick cookware is bad for stir-frying because when the juice coagulates from the heat, it doesn't stick to the pan and brown there, producing all those wonderful browned flavors. This is the reason why restaurant chefs prefer to use carbon steel and cast-iron cookware. A non-stick performance level like this depends on users' skills and proper usage. The non-stickiness works in a different way than formal non-stick cookware. Here is an explanation of the process.

https://youtu.be/3sq-H2eULNg

Another video with tips that will help make a wok non-stick:

https://youtu.be/AW9d3T3eEgM

Points made:

• A wok's non-stickiness starts to work when heated, but still needs cooking oil.
• It is important to heat the wok well before cooking and to add oil.
• Use oil with a high smoking point and always get it very hot before adding any ingredients.
  • Olive oil smokes at 325° F (manifestly not good for stir-frying)
  • Butter is destroyed above 350° F
  • Extra virgin olive oil smokes at 350° or higher
  • Seed oils (safflower, grapeseed, etc.) typically smoke at temperatures above olive oil
  • Peanut oil smokes at 410° F
  • Refined peanut oil smokes at 450° F (this is probably the best)
• Cut ingredients into similar sized (bite-size) pieces so they cook evenly.
• Add the ingredients that take the longest to cook first.
• For best performance, use gas burners with power over 14,000BTUs.
• Restaurant wok cooking reaches 700° or higher; it's not possible to reach this at home, but you should always cook as hot as possible. The reason this works and doesn't burn is that a trained chef is seriously cooking at high temperatures, but for very short times.

Stir-frying is not simmering, but cooking at the hottest possible temperature for the shortest (but effective) time. What you're doing at home at lower temperatures makes stir-frying all the harder. Heat your oil as hot as possible, tend toward smaller sizes and smaller quantities (fry in batches) of ingredients so that they cook faster, watch the order in which you cook ingredients and, especially, pay close attention to what you're doing.

Acidic food such as tomatoes, yogurt and lime juice shouldn't be used in a new wok as they dissolve the patina and react with metal.

The longer you cook the thicker patina will be formed. When the patina is good enough you can start using acidic ingredients. But, if you cook with acidic ingredients for a long time (stewing), they will ruin the patina anyway.

Seasoning is key for restoring the patina and protecting the wok. Repeat seasoning when it is required.

Follow simple maintenance rules to protect a wok over long-time use. If done properly, a wok can last for many years and become a family heirloom.

Woks must be cleaned after using once they cool down. If a wok is left dirty or with food in it, patina can be destroyed and it'll start rusting.

Don't use detergent.

Woks must never be washed in the dishwasher.

Always dry a wok with a paper towel or low heat and rub it with a little oil on a paper towel before storage, especially when the wok is new. However, this has a side effect! If stored for a long time, dust easily sticks to the oil and the surface becomes tacky. In addition, the oil will be rancid and the rancid flavor will stay in the wok. You will have to re-season.

If your wok can't be cleaned of burnt food with mere water, maybe a little detergent and a soft sponge, use a spatula and scrubber. If detergent is used, the wok must be re-seasoned before it can be used for cooking again.

To avoid rusting, store a wok in a dry place. If it has rusted, scrub the rust, re-treat the wok at a high temperature, and re-season it with oil.

You may experience several problems with a wok, such as peeling, pitting or rust. Depending on how severe the problem is, it may be necessary to scrub the problem areas and re-season the wok.

A wok in any condition can be restored and without affecting its performance. Here are some videos about restoring woks with seasoning (captions available):

https://youtu.be/tpOrsiXXYyg
https://youtu.be/lEOr8XY6Xt8

Rusting happens only when moisture contacts the naked steel without patina. Once a wok begins to rust, it means the seasoning was eliminated. The patina can be damaged if:

• the wok is new and acid food cooked on it for a long time;
• the wok wasn't washed after cooking;
• the wok was washed with dishwashing liquid;
• the wok wasn't dried after washing; and
• the wok was scrubbed heavily to free stuck food or rust.

Flaking off, or, pitting is a result of acidic food ingredients contacting the iron. It can take place, especially after a long period of contact. For example, pitting is likely if a wok is left dirty after cooking especially when the patina is already very thin. Cooking with acidic food like tomatoes, yogurt, lime juice, and other ingredients will also make a wok more susceptible to pitting.