Just bought myself a new carbon steel wok in an effort to broaden my gluten-free cooking skills, but I'm not quite sure what to do about seasoning it. Everything I've read suggests using peanut or corn oil, but I hate to contaminate the wok with oils that are so allergenic (I have a friend with peanut allergy, and I'm still not sure if corn is an issue for me). Polyunsaturated oils are not recommended as they can make the wok "gunky" but the oil should have a high smoke point. Soybean oil is also out for me, but maybe safflower oil???

Any ideas, tips, etc. would be greatly appreciated...I've got a Pineapple Fried Rice recipe that I'm trying to modify and can't wait to try it!!!

This may be one of those "myths" that are out there but I thought when you heated peanut oil it somehow broke down and did not bother people with allergies. I never understood this so I always thought it was a "myth".

You do need a oil with a very high smoke point. When you season the wok you get it as hot as possible. I am sorry I could not be of more help. I always used peanut oil.

Hez

safflower is great.

Canola? That's what I used.

Will you post the pineapple fried rice recipe please?

Will you post the pineapple fried rice recipe please?
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That sounds DELICIOUS!!

Peanut oil is supposed to be safe for those with allergy, because the protein has been removed. However, there is always the risk of contamination depending on how the oil was handled during manufacture. Additionally, cooking changes the protein in foods, possibly making them safe for those who would otherwise be allergic. For example, I cannot eat raw almonds due to allergy, but have no detectable problems with consuming roasted almonds.

In practice I found that I could safely consume chinese food cooked in peanut oil, even though I had a peanut allergy (I've since outgrown it), but my allergy was never anaphylactic. Of course YMMV.

Michelle

I used canola. Remember--don't ever use olive oil to season your wok--it gets nasty.

what a great question!!! i used to LOVE my wok before going gluten free. i stir-fried veggies and tofu with soy sauce in vegetable oil, and i thought i was being healthy!! now that i can't have gluten i haven't looked at my wok. i wouldn't even know where to start to make a stir fry. i am yet to find a gluten-free soy sauce and now i can't have soy so vegetable oil (made out of soybean oil) is out too. If you are intolerant to soy than Canola oil is out also. Its safe for me to use peanut oil because no one i know (yet) whom i cook for has an allergy to peanut oil. safflower oil might be a good alternative. hmmm...let me know what you come up with and i woudl love some of recipes, especially that pineapple fried rice!! yummy! i miss my wok

Why is Canola oil not an option for those intolerant to soy?

Michelle

sorry maybe i didn't make that so clear. canola oil is derived from a weed called rapeseed which has similar toxic effects to soy. im very afraid of soy or products that mimic soy. i try to avoid them at all costs. im afraid that if i am intolerant to soy than i could very well be intolerant to rapeseed, "canola" oil. check out this site:

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/canola.htm

I can appreciate you being wary about related intolerances.

I have never heard of rape seed (canola) oil being related to soy or having similar properties as soy. I do know that many cultures have traditionally used rape seed oil in their cooking. Just as with anything health-related, there are some alarmists out there...and web-based information needs to be taken with a large grain of salt. There is an entry at Snopes.com about the "controversy" about canola oil: http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/canola.asp Personally, I'm not concerned about using it, but YMMV.

Michelle

Thanks so much for all your replies...I knew I could count on everyone for some good advice I haven't checked out the article on canola oil, but am very interested as I am also soy intolerant. For now, I'll stick with safflower oil.

As for the recipe, let's just say that it doesn't exactly exist yet I'm trying to reproduce a favorite dish from a local Thai restaurant that I ate at prior to celiac dx. Been surfing online, and here's what I'll be using as a starting point, but I haven't tried it yet. I'm also re-posting the soyless soy sauce recipe that I found here as well. Once I get the wok seasoned and start working on this recipe, I'll let you know how it turns out and repost any revisions. Wish me luck

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice (with Chicken)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Oil
1 tsp Garlic (minced)
1 lb Chicken Breast (cut up)
1/3 cup Onion (sliced)
1/2 cup Carrots (diced)
1 TBS Curry Powder
1 tsp White Pepper
1/3 cup Sweet Peas
1/3 cup Raisins
1/3 cup Cashews
1 cup Pineapple Chunks
1 TBS Sugar
4 cups Cooked Jasmine Rice
4 TBS Soy Sauce (also see Soyless Soy Sauce recipe below)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large wok or non-stick pan.
2. Add garlic and chicken and stir fry until cooked through.
3. Add onions and carrots and continue to stir fry for a few minutes.
4. Add curry powder and white pepper. Mix well.
5. Add peas, raisins, cashews and pineapple, continue to stir fry.
6. Add sugar, continue stirring. Add rice and mix well. Continue cooking until heated through.
7. Add soy sauce. Mix well to coat rice completely.
8. May garnish with green onions and fresh cilantro.

Soyless Soy Sauce

2 cups beef broth (make sure the broth doesn't have soy either)
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon molassas
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Dashes of pepper, onion powder and garlic powder
Combine all in saucepan. Boil uncovered until reduced to 1/2 cup.
Store in refrigerator.

Oops...some of you may have noticed that there's no egg in the pineapple fried rice recipe. I eliminated it (again due to personal intolerance). One beaten egg can be added and scrambled in the wok just prior to adding the rice if desired.

Went to the grocery store this morning to buy safflower oil and almost walked out empty handed. They had one "frou frou" brand that was WAY expensive, and another that had added vitamin E (in the form of soy). I did one more run up the aisle and there is was...Spectrum Naturals High Heat Safflower Oil! It's expeller pressed, specially refined for high heat up to 450 degrees, and not overpriced. Hooray!!!

I use their canola oil and shortening... I the Spectrum products.

WOW!! This is the first time I have ever heard anyone every bring up and intolerance of soy oil and canola. I have never replied to any of these before but i always read them to see if people are having the same symptoms of me. I am severly intolerant to canola and soy oil. I hate it and i have never met anyone else who said they could possably have a problem with it. It took me years to figure out what was making me sooo sick. I eventually because anorexic because of it. I was scared to death to eat anything that wasn't raw and natural. I first figured it was celiac like the docor told me. My symptoms did get better after going gluten free, but i still had problems with gluten free products containging soy and they told me thats commong for people with celiac, so i avoided soy. Well things with soy usually have canola so after i went soy and gluten free i still had problems only when my husband cooked with canola. I finally started to realize that was the ingredient most commonly found in foods i was getting sick to. I hope someone else has this problem to because i get so depressed about it and feel very alone because i think it is very uncommon. I think it has to do with the fatty chain being to big to digest or something. By the way my symptoms are extreme gas and i mean extreme foul gas all day. I get diarrhea and started to get mucous when going to the bathroom, I also have a lot of undigested food. i know it sounds disgusting but i am having a malabsorption problem and i feel like i'm the only one in the world who cannont tolerate canola oil because people think it is so healthy.

I used Spectrum Safflower Oil. I'm not sure where I found this but this is the method that produced the best results. I tried the stove-top method and couldn't get the right patina.

How To Oven Season A Carbon-Steel Wok

1. First, stove-season the wok per the instructions, concentrating on the bottom. Trying to heat the sides over an electric range is ineffective; that’s what the next step is for. I found it works best to pre-heat the wok on medium to medium-high heat, THEN wipe oil onto the inside surfaces with a repeatedly-folded paper towel. Take care that your hand does not contact the pan or the hot oil in the towel; use the paper towel in such a way that your fingers are several inches from the hot surface. BE CAREFUL! This will require wiping more oil onto the pan fairly frequently, but has the added advantage (over pouring, then spreading) of limiting the amount of oil in the pan, so if you over-heat it the flames will be inches rather than feet high and quickly go out.
2. After stove-seasoning, let cool and remove the long handle by unscrewing the hanging eye.
3. Wrap the small handle in a wet dishcloth or wet paper towels, then wrap the wet cloth completely in aluminum foil. This will keep the handle below 250 degrees F or so as long as there’s water left due to the thermodynamics of phase changes.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.
5. Heat the wok on a burner at medium heat to heat the bottom
6. Wipe the entire inner surface with oil, then (USING TWO OVEN MITTS!) put the wok in the oven for 20 minutes.
7. Remove from oven (REMEMBER THE OVEN MITTS!), let the wok cool, rinse the oil out with hot water, and lightly scour the inside with a fine nylon mesh to smooth the rough spots (I used the scrubber on a sponge, but an onion bag works well too).
8. Re-wet and re-wrap the cloth keeping the handle cool — be careful, the cloth will be at water’s boiling temperature!
9. Dry with a paper towel and heat briefly over medium to medium-high heat to remove any remaining moisture.
10. Repeat the oven-seasoning procedure at least 2 or 3 times.