Cookware

Good cookware changes what you can cook, and this collection covers the Asian kitchen essentials that ordinary pots and pans cannot quite replace: carbon steel woks, electric hot pots, tabletop pots and multi cookers.

The carbon steel London wok is the centrepiece. Carbon steel is what Chinese restaurant kitchens use: it heats fast, seasons into a naturally non-stick surface, and is light enough to toss properly. Choose a flat bottom for electric and induction hobs, or a round bottom for gas — sizes run from an eight-inch single-portion wok up to a fourteen-inch family size. A new wok wants a proper seasoning before its first stir-fry: wash off the factory coating, heat until it smokes, then wipe with oil and repeat.

The electric hot pots deserve a mention of their own. The combination model with a surrounding BBQ grill ring is hotpot night and Korean barbecue in one appliance — broth in the middle, grilling round the edge. The Tatung multi cooker is the Taiwanese household legend: a simple steam cooker that cooks rice, stews and steams with one switch, and lasts for decades.

All cookware is sent from our Manchester store, with free standard delivery over £75 to most UK postcodes. A seasoned wok and a steam rack will carry most of a Chinese repertoire on their own.