An iron pot with a round bottom requiring a metal ring to hold it steady if placed on modern ranges.

The wok is one of the most practical utensils devised by man. It is an all-purpose cooking pan, with which many foods can be easily prepared-from stir-frying to braising, stewing, deep frying (tsa), steaming (jing), smother-cooking (munn), red cooking (hung shu), casserole steaming (dun), poaching (chung), toss cooking (chao), boiling (bo), and light frying (jeen).

The wok heats over the wok's entire bottom surface. Some woks are made of aluminum or copper. The round bottom provides flexibility in exposing portions to be cooked and allows the sauce and oil drain to the center where the heat is concentrated. The wok's combined thinness and rounded bottom permit the quick cooking and concentrated heat employed in most Chinese recipes. Stirring is extremely simple. Heat is radiated quickly and is evenly distributed, and the wok's large cooking area is convenient for toss-cooking (in which ingredients are actually tossed), or cooking odd-shaped foods (a whole fish with head) .

The wok's size depends upon the amount of food to be cooked (sizes range
for from one to ten servings). Diameters range from 10 to 24 inches (the latter commonly used in restaurants). A 14-inch wok most often is recommended
for the American kitchen. Some 12-inch woks feature a frying-pan-type handle.  Attachments include a cover (usually aluminum) and a deep cup for steaming or long cooking.  When purchased, the wok should be seasoned before it is used. Wash with hot water and soap, grease over the entire inside surface with peanut oil or any other kind of cooking oil, place over a high heat for about a minute,
then rinsed with hot water, and the process repeated several times. Seasoning
the wok with peanut oil seals the pores of the metal. This prevents the ingredients from sticking and avoids a metallic flavor in the food. After seasoning it should be washed carefully with hot water only. Any excess oil on the inside should be scraped or scoured, without soap. Scouring here is defined as rubbing with salt on a paper towel. Most often, residual gravy is scraped with a stiff brush and washed away in hot water. Gradually, as it becomes seasoned, the appearance of the wok changes from that of a shiny metal to black. It is then ready for use, after which, because it is made of iron, it should be dried immediately over heat, after rinsing, to prevent rusting.  A cast iron wok is preferable to any other.