Accessories

Defective
I wish that I could write a review on this item, but I can't. That's because both the original one and its replacement arrived cracked. The first one looked intact grossly, but when I started scrubbing the heavy black coating it appeared that in fact it had a crack that was covered by the black coat. It was about 2 inches long, running straight down from the rim towards the bottom. Knowing cast iron, if I had tried to heat it for seasoning purposes it would probably have cracked all the way through and split the wok in 2.

I sent it back to Amazon and they quickly shipped a replacement. The 2nd one arrived in worse state than the first. I could tell it's broken even without opening the package, by the rattling sound inside. Upon opening it was apparent that one of the two handles was broken off completely, together with a significant part of the rim. I didn't bother taking it out of the box. I tried to create another return, but Amazon sent me back an email saying that I cannot get it replaced a second time, and instead I should send it back and wait for them to decide what to do about it. I hope I'll get at least a refund.

Heavy but great wok.
I wanted to switch from a thin metal wok to a cast iron one because the mass of cast iron can store a lot of heat. This one works perfectly for me in that regard and is just a good wok once you have it properly seasoned. The only hesitation anyone should have in buying this, is the weight. It is very helpful in building up that heat so it doesn't cool down mid stir fry but may be a bit big for some people. I am a pretty big guy and it is still a two hand kind of wok for me. I can't call that a problem though, since the extra metal soaks up the heat that lets you come close to the type of stir frying that restaurants can do. The price is very reasonable for such a big wok as well.

Very happy with this item
So far, I am very pleased with this item. It is heavy duty, sits flat and works well. It was a little difficult to get the protective coating off of it in order to season it but once I got that done, I was happy. Just a word of caution: Get off ALL of the protective coating or it will smell like you are burning plastic! I had to let it soak first and scrub really hard to get it to come completely off. This product should last a very long time if taken care of properly.

Heavy but love it!
After reading the reviews, I was a bit nervous about buying this wok due to the negative comments. I eventually decided against buying the $50+ wok and went with this one. I received and used my wok on yesterday. The wok is heavy, but it does a GREAT job. It's worth the weight (no pun intended--hahaha). I was a bit concerned when going through the initial cleaning and seasoning process, thinking that I was not getting the gunk off. When oiling it (I rubbed the oil in with a white paper towel), the paper towel turned black. I rewashed the wok twice and the paper towel would still be black. I finally decided to proceed and put it in the oven for an hour as recommended in the instructions. There was a weird smell, but I figured it was the rest if the gunk burning off. After all was said and done, I cooked in it, the food was GREAT, and when I rinsed the wok out and reseasoned it, there was no black stuff. Good wok, good price, and highly recommended.

Love it!
Yes, this wok is heavy but it's worth it...and you're not lifting it while cooking so what does it matter? I could easily cook for a large family because this is a pretty huge wok. It heats up quickly and evenly. I mainly use it for stir-fry meals but I have made Sloppy Joes in it and will try it for soups also. The first wok was totally destroyed during shipping, UPS returned it without even bringing it to the door, but Amazon was quick to send out a new one and give me a little credit for the extra waiting time.