Side by Side Comparison of: Joyce Chen vs HIC Harold Import Co.

LOVE THIS WOK! Follow the instructions carefully, and use a steel wool kitchen scrubber pad when washing this for the first time. I have an electric stove, which works great with the flat bottom. If there's one little thing to note, the wok won't season completely using an electric stove. I'm thinking about taking it down to my local Chinese restaurant and asking them if they'll season it for me over their special wok stoves.

Replaced a teflon wok we had for years with this wok, wanting to get away from using non-stick surfaces in our pans. It has worked perfectly for us. It has discolored but steel woks do that. We've never had a sign of rust or any warping. After using the wok and cleaning it it we always apply a thin coat of cooking oil with a paper towel just like we do with our cast iron and stainless steel cookware. The discoloration makes it look well used as it should since we use it a lot.

I'm loving this pan. The flat bottom is convenient on my gas stove, and the metal is just thick enough to hold the heat without being too heavy. Follow Joyce Chen's instructions on seasoning and you'll be just fine. The discoloration is totally expected! It doesn't harm the efficacy of the pan.But do your best not to boil any water or acidic sauces (like tomato).

Perfect size for 2 or small family. I'm just learning how to cook Asian food in a wok and after seasoning it well as per the instructions, everything I've cooked in it (on my ceramic stovetop) has cooked perfectly. Good quality, not too heavy to lift with one hand. Clean-up consists of soaking in hot water after using, then wiping down with paper towels - no soap! Highly recommend

A bit heavy for me to handle properly at this point, but that's probably due to lack of muscles on my part. I haven't owned a wok in a few years, but this is far superior to what I've used in the past. I seasoned my pan as detailed on the instructions included with the wok and it has been working wonderfully!! I've made some saucy stir fry, a vege pancake, and even deep fried some spring rolls, and they've all turned out great! After each use, I clean the hot wok with hot water and an abrasive scrub pad. I towel-dry the wok, reheat over medium heat with a bit of oil, and let it cool on the stove until my next use.If you're looking for a proper wok, I would highly recommend this one.

Sealer was terrible to get off. Took several cleanings with easy off commercial strength to get completely off. I should have used fine sandpaper. Seasoned as instructed four times to play it safe. Used every day and after about a month of once daily use, it is now the best nonstick pan I've ever had, and the last pan I'll ever have to buy. To clean, as soon as everything is cooked and out of the pan, I run it under hot water and use a stiff dish brush. Dry the bottom of the pan, put it back on the still hot electric burner an add a little oil, swirl it around the pan to cover the surface and you done. I have a flat 12'' universal cover that I use with it. Put cover on and its good for it's next use. REMEMBER no soaps or detergents! Everything slides out, even eggs. I use this pan for larger meals and the LODGE PRO-LOGIC P10S3 10" skillet for smaller meals.

Got this as a gift for a buddy and his wife when they moved into their first home together. They love it! I've been over several times for stir fry, pan fried noodles, and etc. The pan works great on their conventional gas stove, cleans up well, and is keeping its seasoning. It does have the flat bottom, so things tend to stick a little bit more than a fully rounded wok, but for what they needed it is great!

Great quality! I looked at several woks for a Christmas gift. Saw this one in a cooking store for much more than what was on line. I was very pleased with the quality. It has a nice heavy feel to it. Give it a good season and you are good to go! Love Helen Chen's product line! I bought many of the utensils too.

This wok is great. I decided to buy the wok after reading that an expensive wok is not necessarily a good wok.
When the wok came I took my time and scrubbed it getting the manufacturing oil out. To get a good abrasive on the wok and lid, I threw some course kosher salt in the wok with water and then scrubbed. This worked like a charm.
I have had the wok for about a month and have used it just about every day for stir fried vegetables and rice. It is now getting a beautiful black color all over; the wok hei flavor has come!
This is a good wok if you take good care of it. (Do not use soap to wash. Just scrub off any food that sticks and rinse with water. Then put back on high heat to dry the wok. If you leave it wet, rust will come.)

Buy this wok if you want a dependable wok.

I love cooking and this was an add-on Amazon special. I'll admit it was a knee-jerk, spontaneous impulse buy, but truth be told, I'd buy a box of these in a heartbeat and give 'em out to my friends.

I've had a few wooden spoons and they are typically they cheap ones you can find at a department store sold in sets for $10. This one has quickly become one of my favorite, most reached for utensils when I'm cooking. The handle is a nice length and it feels good in the hand. The spoon has a nice tapered edge design and features a pointed edge on one side. I know, we're talking about round edges, but the picture will help you out.

That edge is one of the reasons I use this spoon so much. It's nice for scraping the inside edge of a pot or pan. I'm continually surprised how much I enjoy using this spoon. It's held up well, cleans easily and I only wash my wooden spoons by hand. I've seen people throw wooden spoons in the dishwasher, but they always look beat up and the wood opens up and well, you may might as well run out and grab a branch off a tree to cook with. Take care of your cooking utensils and they'll take care of you. But for the price of a double shot late from Starbucks, you can abuse this baby and buy another one to make yourself feel better.

Very fast shipping. Received 5 days after ordering. It was packed professionally in a well padded and secure box and arrived in perfect, pristine condition.
I followed the enclosed instructions on seasoning and it worked out very well. I followed the advice of several comments by other purchasers and went on-line and Googled "How to season a wok" which brings up a vast number of sites on the subject. I read many of these which makes the seasoning process much easier to understand. There are also many with videos which is helpful as you get a visual of what to expect during the process. Grace Young's video is superb and a must see.
Once seasoned, the wok has been a joy to cook with and the results outstanding. Clean-up after cooking is a breeze. After cleaning with hot, clear water, on a couple of occasions, I intentionally did not apply a thin coat of cooking oil, as recommended, just to see if it would rust and it did not. I am convinced that those who complained of rust did not take the time to properly season. Pay particular attention to placing the wok on the sides next to the heating surface or flame.
All in all, an excellent product. A value at the price and highly recommended.

A little heavy for stir frying, but good materia, thoughl. Stays hot for some time. Great for commecial use

So don't! I burned 2 pans following the instructions that came with the pan. Amazon was super good about replacing them. I went youtube and learned the correct way to season a wok without burning it. Beware, Joyce Chen left out some critical steps for those who never seasoned a pan. My wok now has a "tan" and food slides easily around the pan. The 12" pan is perfect for 3-4 people. I bought the big wok spoon, perfect for serving.

Simple and easy to clean and handle. It is on the lighter side, but that's what i wanted to be able to handle and toss and flip vegetables while cooking. Have had it for about 3 months now without any problems. I will update this review with more information at the 6 month mark.

Great item. Very heavy duty which makes it just a tad heavy but again it is what it says so can not complain.

Great pan for the money. As with any carbon steel pan, there is some maintenance but very much worth it.Scrub it good when it arrives, season as per the directions and keep it dry.My girlfriend set a wet wooden spoon in it while cooking something else and the pan started to show some surface rust. A bit of steel wool and re-seasoned and it was back to new.Just like the Gremlins, don't let it get wet or feed it after midnight :)

This is a great wok. Unfortunately, I was too eager to get started and didn't read the instructions about seasoning it before use. Neglecting that important step resulted in food sticking to the surface. After I scrubbed all the food residue off and performed the seasoning routine as instructed, it has been great and stick free. (I try to avoid the stick-free coatings found on most pans.) The size and ease of handling this wok met my expectations. I recommend it.

I did seasoning as instructed online and it works great. Nothing sticks and stir fried food tastes great in it. However, it was missing dome lid screw. So I can't even use the dome and there's no customer service contact. Don't know where to contact to get the missing screw.Bummed about that.

I love this Bamboo stir fry spoon. It's a great shape and I've used it for multiple purposes. I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars because the front edge and about 1/2 inch down has become rough and porous even though I use Totally Bamboo Revitalizing oil on it. If the manufacturer could fine polish this and seal this area, that would be great. Even so, I do recommend it.

Right handed. Due to the shape of the spoon itself, as well as the shape of the handle, this is a right-handed stirring spoon. It's not too big in your hands (although I have big hands), but if you're a lefty like me, you're going to have some awkwardness. That said, the edge of the tip is "sharp" enough to scrape up little browned bits from the bottom of the pan, as well as not damaging your nonstick cookware.

I've had this wok for about a year now. It's easily been my most used kitchen pan in that time and seen some heavy use, stir frying and deep frying very well. I've used it on a grill to some success as well. If you only anticipate using a wok once in a while, this would most likely suit your needs. If however you use it everyday like I did, you may want to look elsewhere. The bamboo handles do eventually fall apart. I've had to peen the rivets once or twice to get the handles sturdy, the cast ring at the front of the main handle is long gone and I've had to shorten the threaded rod that holds said handle a couple times. It's just worn out. I'd say I probably got my money's worth and will be investing in a new wok soon.

This only problem with this wok is the poor quality lid, but it's a major flaw. The knob on top of the lid is fixed in place by a long screw that comes in from the bottom. However, the plastic of the knob is too weak to hold the screw in place, so the knob isn't firmly fixed on the glass lid (i.e., turning the screw will never tighten to the point where you can't turn it anymore). Since the rest of the lid is heavy glass, the knob came off several times and I ended up throwing out the lid because it was a heavy piece of glass just waiting to shatter on the ground. But I haven't had any problems with the wok itself after a month of using it.

It is made in China so buyers be aware. It is said that Chinese steel is often under par in terms of quality and may contain more harmful metals that can leach into food. But I could not find a USA made steel wok so I am going to keep it. Wish Joy Chen has these woks produced made in the USA because we have the best regulation and a lot of steel workers out of jobs; and if that ever happens, I will replace this one right away. The protective coating is of unknown chemical so make sure have good ventilation when seasoning it. Have not tried using it yet and will update for its usefulness.

Too Big

Great wok for smooth top stove. You can fix the pan if the bottom bows.I bought this wok based on owning a Joyce Chen pan purchased 10+ years ago. The old pan had a bow in the bottom that made the wok spin around on smooth top stove and lessened the contact surface to stove. I bought this one in case trying to fix the Mrs. older wok failed (i.e., I didn't want to potentially explain how I trashed her wok). The bowl is near identical to the older pan. The mount for the handle is an improvement with heavier hardware and the phenolic handle is preferred over wood as it holds up better when put in an oven.Before trying to "fix" the old wok, I seasoned this one. The bottom was bowed right out of the box. After carefully banging the bottom with a hammer, I flattened it out. While seasoning, the bottom bowed again. More aggressive hammering and the pan is now ever so slightly concave even after repeated use and now sits flat on smooth top stove.I also fixed the old wok in a similar manner. The wood handle was damaged years ago and I called the company that makes this brand wok and they sent me a replacement handle for free - great customer service.Given the extensive use of the old one which is great with the new handle, I expect this wok to last for many years. The bowing of the bottom is disappointing for a new product but now corrected, it is an excellent wok. Once it develops a rich patina, it will be perfect.

Seasoning turns out to be a complicated task... The key point is that it gets rusty even after seasoned. But if you know how to season, that'll be good.

Excellent wok. This is how to season it right:1. Make sure to clean it well with steel wool pad and warm soap water.2. Dry it with paper towel.3. Heat it on stove at high/medium high. Tilt the wok to brown it evenly from bottom to side.4. Turn off the stove, add 1 tbsp (not 2 as in the instruction) of high smoking point oil (I used Avocado oil). Use folded paper towl to evenly coat the oil entire surface and turn on the heat to medium.5. Wait until the oil smoke, lift the wok and tilt around to uniformly heat the wok. DON'T BURN THE OIL.6. Turn off the stove to cool down the wok.7. Repeat step 3 to 7 a few more times and you will have a nonstick wok.I made fried eggs, fried rice and fried chicken in this wok with no stick whatsoever. Good luck!UPDATED:After 3 years of use, the wok is still good. However, if you don't use often, it'll rust unless you have to coat it with oil before storing. My wife stir fried beef and veggies but leave food in it over night, and I see rusts around the side of the wok next day. So, I drop the review down 1 star because of it. Bottom line, you need to take care your carbon steel wok or it'll rust like crazy. I don't recommend this to those who don't fry foods often. Get a non-stick/stainless steel stir fry pan instead. Asian restaurants use this type of wok a lot because they use it everyday and never wash the wok ever. Over time, the wok becomes super seasoned and nothing will stick to it. At home, you don't get the same result unless you eat fried foods everyday...I doubt it.

It's sturdy, and healthy. But it's just too hard to keep the seasoning. I seasoned it in oven and on oven-top, but both are not very good. The first few days after I seasoned it, it keeps non-stick. But the seasoning easily come off even I use bamboo turner and only wash it with water. Then it becomes stick. I have seasoned it for three times, but now I don't want to any more, it's a lot of work. It also gets rusted. So now every time after use, I put a little oil on it and wipe with a tissue, so it doesn't get rusted now. But I think it's a waste of time to do all this. I guess I'll get a non-stick wok soon, if I can find some coating that's not very unhealthy.

Disappointed with this wok, I had very high hopes but it's been such a hassle. I followed instructions and seasoned with 4 rounds of oil, cooling between each time. On my first use it rusted and has been impossible to fully get out. I scrubbed the thing so much to no avail. I say screw it and I just leave the rust as is. Then I seasoned it again, this time with 5 rounds of oil. AGAIN it rusted even more. The warranty doesn't cover rusting because it's not a defect. This wok is definitely not worth it.

Since I'm a chef I could always use another wooden spoon. I typically use this with stir fry because of the wide bottom. I did try it on a batch of caramel, but won't be doing that again.... it had a tendency to flake off slivers of bamboo. I will state that doesn't happen with normal use, though now that I've started the flaking off, I don't know how well its going to hold up.

Hand wash.

I purchased the Helen Chen's bamboo spoon and was very happy with it, so I thought I'd get the spatula. However I'm disappointed that the spatula isn't as nice as the spoon. The finish isn't as smooth as the spoon, in fact there was a piece of wood chip that came off the surface. Which makes me concerned about using it (I don't want wood chips in my food). It's also heavier and more bulky than I expected. I considered returning it, but it doesn't seem worth it for what I paid. I probably won't buy any more unless I just wanted another spoon.

The actual wok is fine - it's a nice thickness and heats up well. The bamboo handles are totally awful. Not only are they bamboo - which is like the cheapest possible wood and actually conducts heat so you can burn yourself on them - but they aren't even "solid" bamboo, they are glued-together small pieces of bamboo. This means that they will start coming un-glued during seasoning (especially if you season in the oven - even when you protect the handles w wet washcloths). I've owned this wok for less than a month and already the handles are coming apart and splintering. I don't want to go through the whole seasoning thing again so I'm just dealing with a constant fear of splinters, but if I had it to do again, I might get a different wok that has better handles (preferably removable ones if made from wood).

I love this wok except for the fact that it warped. I have an electric flat top range, and it no longer sits flat. Tried straightening it with a rubber mallet, which works until I heat it again. It warps again even when heating it to below the smoke point of canola oil (maybe 400F)If it didn't warp, I'd love this thing

A little bit too big and heavy. I gave it away and bought the slightly smaller and lighter version.

mine has a loose revet/handle. too bad, I found that out after seasoning the wok.

I dont know what i did to cause this wok to not be flat anymore. It lost its shape and will spin on a counter like a top if you tried. There is only a small surface on the wok that actually makes contact with the cooking surface. Perhaps i got it too hot?.....i have only cooked it on the stove top and i cant imagine a wok having heat limitations being that numerous sources on the net say to heat a wok on high heat and cook for a short time. This review may be revised after an explanation or an attempt to remedy the situation from the manufacture.

Took many washings to remove coating. Hard to season. Burns almost everything. Uneven heating. Larger than stove burner. No cover. Save your money.

I purchased this wok based on other reviews. They seemed to mostly positive. I was a little doubtful when I first unpackaged it. I've not ever seen a shiny wok. I tried to season the wok but it didn't seem to want to turn the right color? I went ahead used it to cook a few dishes. Most of the time the food sticks while cooking. But I will say that it is easy t clean, just not easy to cook in. sonny c.

I am not sure if this is normal for a wok but used the wok ONE time and dried it out after seasoning and using it and now it is rusting. It has a thin layer of rust colored powder throughout the inside. I had thought I dried it very well after reading other reviews about it rusting but evidently I somehow needed to dry it more.As for using it, it worked perfectly fine. If a wok is meant to rust and you need to reclean it alot maybe it deserves more stars but I certainly didn't expect it to rust after one use.

Spoon split at spatula end soon after purchase. Would not purchase again.

Expected high carbon steel and not so much scrubbing before seasoning. Will update after the prep and use. Do not mind seasoning and do this with all my cast iron pans. This so far is not what I expected. Since this was a gift and after looking at several products I choose this. I hope the quality is better than it appears.

My husband is our chef, and loved this product at first. The lack of ribbing on the sides makes it much easier to clean than traditional woks, and it's very large-- all the better if you like a lot of vegetables in your stir-fry.But less than a year after purchasing it, the non-stick coating started to peel off, which now makes the wok worthless. We've had to throw it out. That's a first.Save your money.

Some time ago, I've stopped buying non-stick because the coating always end up wearing off and it doesn't make sense to keep paying for a new non-stick every time. But some foods are just plain sticky and cast-iron or carbon steel just doesn't cut it. So I was expecting based on the good reviews and the premium grade "Excalibur" coating that it would be different this time and I went for it after a long hiatus.I've owned this wok for a little over a year now, and it's now showing signs of the non-stick peeling off. I probably use it more often (cooking two meals a day with it) than the casual cook would. It just doesn't stand up well to heavy use despite being careful in using only a nylon spatula and careful washing. Back it goes and back to carbon steel for me, until some day when they can come up with a truly non-stick wok that won't peel.So I would say go for it if you are a casual cook, as it seemed to stand better than the lower grade non-stick woks out there.

I bought this wok based on the good reviews and attractive design. I've had it for 6 months now and the bamboo helper handle has dried out and fallen apart in pieces literally. Lesson learned - I would recommend buying the plastic handle woks instead of these glued bamboo handles especially if you use high heat for stir frying.It's not worth the shipping for warranty and have it rejected to say that it's been abused due to using high heat, which is how you are suppose to cook with a wok anyway. Additionally, I don't want to bother going through trouble of re-seasoning a new wok again.The exposed helper handle is actually composed of two L-shaped metal pieces with a gap in-between them instead of one solid U-shaped handle. so it loosely rotates a little and is rendered useless without the bamboo wrapped around it - bad design I'd say. For now, I've made a fix by wrapping a makeshift pipe around those two metal pieces to serve as a handle.I would never buy wooden handle cookware, especially glued bamboo types, again.

I received this wok yesterday, only used for once. Look at the gross rust. It's supposed to be in the description if it's a one-time use wok.

Disappointed purchase . It's well made, more of pan and not wok.. handle is more like hollow plastic material and handle connecting is aluminum and through thin metal rod .

The bottom of the pan developed a warp after the second use. It was so severe that the pan would spin on its own on the flat-top surface of the cooktop. This of course meant that it did not heat up effeciently either. Poor poor quality.

I usually don't write reviews, but this one almost forced me to do it.I purchased it because it had such excellent reviews and I regret believing them.I used it only twice for the fried rice and this wok already looks like a trash. I will throw away this wok tomorrow.This is the worst wok in my entire life.

it rusts all the time. no time to re-season it again and again.

It's a good size wok, however almost impossible to season the wok. Cook a couple of times, and finally throw it away.

So disappointed. Impossible to remove the lacquer off of this wok. I will try to find a hammered wok, that is not spun, and is treated with mineral oil, not covered in excessive amounts of lacquer. I want a refund, useless to cook with it, unable to properly season.

Used three times.every time when I finish,I use hot water to clean. There always are some gray stuff come off from the wok , not sure what it is, returned.

cheaply made and thin. I returned and bought a Walmart one at less than half the price and was made of a much thicker carbon steel branded IMUSA. This one even stained my brand new induction Tio from the coating it has. I do not recommend

Returning this, not safe to cook with. Very poor quality, as little pieces of wood are sticking out. Think of cheap chopsticks that you have to rub together to get rid of the tiny pieces of wood sticking out.

I have got this wok couple weeks ago and I don't like it at all. After first cooking there is rust on the wok.

For 2.5 yrs of used not frequently, i must say the down fall i have is my wok i starting to show visible of rust. Not safe to use anymore