A wok (in Standard Cantonese as traditional Chinese: 鑊; simplified Chinese: 镬; Jyutping: wok6) is a versatile round-bottomed cooking vessel originating in China. It is used especially in East and Southeast Asia. South Asia also uses a similarly-shaped vessel known as a karahi.
A wok is most often used for stir frying, but can also be used many other ways, such as in steaming, deep frying, braising, stewing, smoking, or making soup. It is commonly, almost exclusively, cooked with a long handle chahn (spatula; Traditional: 鏟; Simplified: 铲; Jyutping: caan2) and/or a long handle hoak (ladle; Traditional: 殼; Simplified:壳; Jyutping: hok3). The long extensions of these utensils allows the cook to maneuver the food without burning the hand.
