When building your essential cookware lineup, a wok may not be the first item to come to mind—but it should. Designed with high, sloped sides and a wide surface area for cooking, a wok is ideal for holding a lot of food at once, especially when stir-frying, deep-frying, and sautéing. While best known for use with Asian cuisines, woks are incredibly versatile in the kitchen—you can use them to make any one-pot noodle or pasta dish, as well as fried rice, shrimp and chicken, and even curries!
Pro tip: Pepper's Wok & Tool Set (which comes with a spider strainer and 12" wooden tongs) is made of stainless steel, which is great in maintaining and evenly distributing heat. But it also heats up much faster than nonstick pans, so be careful not to overheat it and burn your food! And since it is not naturally nonstick, using plenty of oil is important, making sure to swirl it around the entire pan before you add vegetables or meat. Now, let's wok 'n' roll with some of our favorite recipes for making in a wok!