The Wok

The obsessive mastermind behind one of the decade’s best-selling cookbooks returns with the definitive English-language guide to the science and technique of cooking in a wok.

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s debut cookbook, The Food Lab, revolutionized home cooking, selling more than half a million copies with its science-based approach to everyday foods. And for fast, fresh cooking for his family, there’s one pan Lopez-Alt reaches for more than any other: the wok.

Whether stir-frying, deep frying, steaming, simmering, or braising, the wok is the most versatile pan in the kitchen. Once you master the basics – the mechanics of a stir-fry, and how to get smoky wok hei at home – you’re ready to cook home-style and restaurant-style dishes from across Asia and the United States, including kung pao chicken, pad Thai, and San Francisco-style garlic noodles. Lopez-Alt also breaks down the science behind beloved beef chow fun, fried rice, dumplings, tempura vegetables or seafood, and dashi-simmered dishes.