Presto5900 1500-Watt Stainless-Steel Electric Wok

Great works well,

Worked nicely

I was considering buying the Breville EW30XL wok but balked at the non-stick surface scratching issues that I'd read other consumers were experiencing. In all fairness to Breville this is what they wrote me about the non-stick scratching issue people are experiencing:The coating used in our EW30XL is a very high quality coating called Quantanium, made by Whitford. We recommend using wooden utensils and avoiding the use of excessive oil. This product has less than a 1% defective rate currently.I pondered buying the Breville EW30XL but ended up buying the Presto 5900 Stainless Steel Wok. I figured no matter how careful I'd be with the EW30XL it'd eventually become scratched due to my negligence just like the rest of my other non-scratch surface type kitchen pans.I'm sure you wouldn't go wrong with the Breville EW30XL wok given the proper care and attention.A few days after I purchased the Presto 5900 Stainless Steel Wok I tried out one of the recipes that came with the instructions and it came out great (Chicken with Snow Peas, Carrots and Bean Sprouts). The vegetables came out nice and crisp and the chicken wasn't tough or dried out. It was a big improvement over the way I used to cook stir fry which was cooking with a traditional wok, the kind with the ring that the wok sits on while it's cooking on the range. I cooked over a natural gas range that wasn't calorific enough to provide the satisfactory results needed for a good stir fry. This resulted in everything I stir fried coming out lukewarm and mushy.One thing you'll have to pay attention to when you're cooking with the Presto 5900 Stainless Steel Wok, is that you'll have to have all of your "ducks in a row". In other words, you can't be reading the recipe trying to figure out what happens next in the recipe or cutting ingredients while the Presto wok is sizzling away at 375 degrees temp ... you might over-stir fry whatever you're cooking at the time.The Presto 5900 Stainless Steel Wok is a nice unit and I can't wait to try other recipes with it. After so many years I've finally been able to enjoy a hot stir fried meal instead of my usual lukewarm and mushy stir fry. I really enjoyed that.I almost forgot ... the short cord wasn't a problem for me, in fact, if it was any longer I'd have a conflict with all of the other cooking things I have cluttered on my counter top. I'd end up with a tangled, coiled up mess if the cable was any longer. In fact, the length was perfect. That doesn't mean the short cable length will work for everyone as we've read in the other reviews, so, you'd have to see for yourself to make the final decision. A small extension cord will fix any cable length issue so it shouldn't be a problem.Good luck, everyone, regardless of what you end up buying.

I purchased a Presto stainless steel wok to get away from coated surfaces. Overall, the product was a pleasant surprise. First, a warning to those who are leaving older, coated, electric woks; the temperature control on this wok is very quick to respond after preheating. It's almost as quick to heat and cool as a steel wok on a gas stove. Very impressive! If you were used to preheating your teflon wok to 375 degrees for stir-frying, you probably noticed that after you began adding ingredients, the temperature declined and never returned fully to the desired temp. The Presto wok hits the temperature you set and stays there. The company recommends some lower temperatures for such things as seafood and vegetables. Take them seriously. Use the lower recommended settings and reserve 375 for searing beef, pork, and chicken. Be prepared to turn the heat down after that. It will respond quickly. In fact, everything will stir-fry faster than most coated woks, so be prepared to step lively while cooking!One drawback to the Presto wok is a lack of racks for steaming or draining tempura. Presto and its call center are both still located in Wisconsin, and a call to them revealed that the company never gave much thought to these other wok functions. A tempura rack and steaming insert (the simple, perforated aluminum type for 14" wok) are inexpensive and easily obtained online. I recommend The Wok Shop out of New York. The glass cover of the Presto wok is heavy and unvented, a slight drawback to steaming. I simply left the lid slightly ajar to vent, set the temp to just under 225, and used 2 to 3 cups of water. It works like a charm, and I can even steam tamales with the wok.If capacity is a question, I would estimate this wok at 6.5 qts. I don't know of many who have ever tried to stir-fry that much volume in a single recipe, but it can be done. The flat bottom of the wok is the hot zone cooking surface. If you move things up the sides, they are not likely to burn or overcook.Cleanup is usually easy following the company directions. My wife and I love stir-frying. The Presto wok is a great addition to our kitchen.

My new Presto electric wok uses the same temperature setting hardware that Presto used for the pressure cooker that delighted my mother when I was just a child. It works, so why change it into something else?The cord is very short. Be sure to have a grounded extension cord if you need more than one foot from the outlet.The heat offers three rates generated by coils at the bottom. Heat dissipation and control are based on this source. A freestanding steel coil wok is different. Be ready for that.Overall, this wok is fun to look at. It cheers up the room because it is big, round, and shiny in silver and glass.The night before last I left it on simmer while a ate and shopped online. I forgot all about it until the delightful aroma from the ones I had eaten started smelling burned. It was several minutes after that that I was cleaning from cooking and discovered the last two chops, meant for leftovers, quietly simmering in burnt sauce. We saved most of the meat but the sauce… didn’t make it.The sauce was burnt solidly into the Presto Electric wok! Well, turns out my mom is as distracted a cook as I am, so cleaning the burn from a Presto pot is something I’m experienced doing, but could I clean the burn from a stainless steel Presto pot?Before Presto started creating stainless steel cookery, tin was used most often for cooking. When tin burns, that is it. That pot will never cook delicious food again, but stainless steel as an innovation in culinary arts amazed cooks everywhere they are sold.

Well made!Heats up fast and maintains heat where heat should be. Truly serves the purpose of a wok!