The 5 Best Electric Woks of 2024

What to Look for in an Electric Wok

Material

As with a stovetop wok, the material an electric wok is made out of makes a big difference in terms of cooking. You pretty much have two options for electric woks: stainless steel, which is heavier and more expensive but holds heat better, and aluminum, which is lighter and cheaper but tends to drop in temperature more when you add food. These are general rules, but different woks come in different thicknesses and shapes, which also affect their performance. We even found one wok made of carbon steel, a material even stronger and better for stir-frying than stainless. (It's also even more expensive, and requires post-cooking seasoning and maintenance.)

Any of these materials may also be nonstick-coated, which is easier to clean and cook with but can't be used with metal utensils and don't last as long as uncoated metal pans.

Size

The distinctive shape is what makes a wok a wok, but the vessel comes in sizes from handheld to several feet across. The electric version is more limited in range, but there are models intended for one or two people and others for bigger crowds. Keep in mind that a small change in diameter means a big difference in capacity: A 15-inch wok is almost 25 percent larger than a 14-inch one. Larger isn't always better, however, as a bigger wok also takes longer to heat up and could be prone to burning small amounts of food. And, of course, a bigger machine will take up more space on the counter.

Power

Wok cooking is all about heat, heat, heat. The more power an electric heating element has, the more heat it can put out, and electric woks usually range somewhere between 1,200 and 1,800 watts. (This is on the same level as the amount of power a home stove burner can put out.) But wattage isn't the only piece of the story: The way the heating elements are arranged and the material the wok is made of also affect performance. Many electric woks have just a round heating element that the pan sits on and can heat the bottom more than the sides, while others have more complex shapes designed to heat the whole thing more evenly.

It's also important to consider how much you can turn down the power, too. Part of the appeal of an electric wok is that it can serve lots of other cooking purposes, at other temperatures, and some units offer more and better control over the heat than others. There might just be a handful of settings from low to high, or you might be able to dial in a specific temperature down to the degree.

Shape

Wok shape matters, too: The bowl-like base and high, flared walls create different temperature zones, allowing some foods to keep warm and others to sear all in one amazing pan. That's why a regular frying pan or skillet, with its large, flat bottom and short sides, is a no-go for proper stir-frying.

FAQs

What’s the difference between an electric skillet and an electric wok?

Pretty much the same as the difference between any skillet and any wok: shape. Electric skillets can be round or rectangular, but their sides are low, with wide, flat bottoms that heat up somewhat more slowly and gently for pan-frying or sautéing. A wok has tall, sloped sides, with a base that's either totally round or has only a small flat area that can get very hot and keep food moving during stir-frying.

Besides that, electric woks and electric skillets work in a similar way, with pans in a similar variety of materials and heating elements and controls that work in a similar way. Because they don't need temperatures as high as woks, electric skillets have a slightly lower power range, typically from 1,000 to 1,500 watts.

How does an electric wok work? 

An electric wok (and really any electrical appliance that gets hot, from a toaster oven to an Instant Pot) works in pretty much the same way as an electric stove: It runs current through a coil of wire in order to heat the coil up. The coil transfers heat to the cooking vessel, and boom: dinner. A downside of electric cooking is that the coil can only be all the way on or all the way off, so electric woks and similar devices have to repeatedly turn on and off to regulate the heat and don't do a great job at maintaining a specific temperature.

How do you clean an electric wok? 

The exact process will be explained in your model's instructions, but the first step to cleaning is always to unplug the machine and let it cool off. Most electric woks have a cooking vessel that separates from the electrical parts and then can be washed in the sink. With certain nonstick woks, you should also avoid abrasive cleaners and heavy-duty sponges, which can scratch the coating. Other woks are dishwasher-safe and have fewer rules about care. If you have food that's burnt on or stuck to the wok, try soaking with hot water for a few hours to help remove it.

How do you cook in a wok?

There are two ways to cook in a wok: tumble- and flip-tossing. When you buy a long- or stick-handled wok, you have the option of both cooking techniques. Most electric woks, however, must remain in contact with their bases to function and can’t be removed while in use. Therefore, the typical handle design is short ones on both sides, which eliminates toss-cooking from your possibilities. Instead, everything you make will need to be tumbled, which is to stir and flip simultaneously along the walls of the wok in order to distribute sauce and mix ingredients.

Can you deep fry in an electric wok?

If the wok can reach temperatures of 350 to 400 degrees, it can technically be used to deep fry. However, most electric woks caution against this, as oil can spatter or spill out of the pan and cause a fire. Some models, however, include a frying rack and have instructions about using them for deep frying. If you do this, it's important to follow the manual directions, especially about how much oil to put in the wok.

What is wok hei? 

Wok hei is the essence of stir-frying in a wok, but it's also ineffable and difficult to define. Meaning "breath of the wok" in Cantonese, it refers to the complex flavor contributed to dishes by the combination of the caramelization of sugar, Maillard reactions, smoking oil, vaporizing water molecules, and extremely high heat used in proper stir-frying. It’s a mix of smoky and caramelized that’s tough to achieve consistently, and part of why cooking with a wok is an art form. When the heat is high enough that you see little bursts of flame over the sides of the wok from the combustion of tiny droplets of oil thrown into the air by your stirring, you're making wok hei.

Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

Food is in Su-Jit Lin’s blood—particularly Chinese-American food, a unique regionalization of cross-cultural cuisine only just beginning to receive its due. The product of two generations of immigrant restaurateurs, she literally grew up in a commercial restaurant kitchen, surrounded by woks and the roar of the open fires that gave them their magical breath. Her dream home kitchen includes a range (or even just a burner!) capable of channeling that kind of wok-encompassing heat. Despite that, her theatrical skills in Chinese cooking are lacking: She still can’t flip a thing in any wok…or pan, for that matter.

The Spruce Eats commerce writer Jason Horn updated this roundup, Food is also in his blood, and though he didn't grow up in a Chinese-American restaurant kitchen, he did grow up enjoying the products of one on a regular basis: Golden Chef, which made the best Mongolian beef in the world and also catered his bar mitzvah. He's spent nearly 20 years writing about food and drinks of all kinds.

Additional reporting and updating by Allison Wignall.