One of my roommates ruined the wok my mom bought for me
Thursday, 13 Mar 2025
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You should at least confront them and ask what happened. Otherwise your next wok will end up the same
They owe you a wok, maybe take this as an opportunity to look for new, respectful room mates
Looks like they used a metal utensil and scraped the coating off. They likely ate the coating with the food so there’s that.
My mental health went up a significant amount when I was finally able to afford to live without roommates. People suck.
Former chef here: I love finding things like this in thrift stores!
Assuming this is a carbon steel wok, it’s not ruined. Get a stainless steel scouring pad, spray in some soap and hot water, and scrub the inside for a couple of minutes until all the rust and buildup is gone.
Dry the wok and put it on a hot flame.
Once it’s hot, add a couple of tablespoons of canola oil and use tongs and a paper towel to work the oil into the interior of the wok.
Once it starts to smoke, remove it from the heat and wipe out any excess oil.
Do this 2-3 more times. I guarantee that wok will look like brand new.
Leaving it wet after use was just an oxidant waiting to happen..
Holy fuok
Toss it and get a carbon steel wok so you don’t have to worry about ruining it any more.
Call police and hope for an asian to come, explain the situation and wait for police brutality to occur
I’d recommend buying a carbon steel wok. It’ll cost more upfront but will outlast you. Heats up faster than cast iron, excellent for searing, and some models you can even toss in the oven. As the natural non-stick coating builds, you can simply rinse with water and wipe it out with a paper towel. It’ll also handle high heat and you can use metal utensils without worry.
If you enjoy cooking, buy great cookware!
I had roommates who couldn’t act responsible with other people’s possessions and who never cleaned up after cooking. I just bought 3 pans of my own (a skillet for eggs, a wok and one for rice/pasta or cooking veggies in water) as well as a couple cheap plates and 2 sets of cutlery and I kept them all in my room as far far away from the others as possible.
Impressive. That level of destruction takes dedication. Looks like they burned off half the coating to inhale, had the other half as flakes, and then filled the wok with a rust accelerating solution (like an acidic sauce) for days.
They owe you a wok, and they better make sure they have decent health insurance. PTFE smoke and PTFE flakes are not a healthy diet.
Geez were they using it to make meth or something?
Provide a chance for roomie to make amends.
How they handle that chance will tell you what you need to know about them and how to treat them.
If 0 remorse or accountability, they NEED to be taught a lesson. Get in touch with proper authorities (RA?) OR get back without going too far.
The Method:
Anything dirty they leave out even down to piece of trash- treat it with the upmost importance and put it in their spaces. “Oh sorry yeah the 7/11 cup it’s been in living room a few days, figured it was important so put it on your desk- oh yeah same with the twix wrapper. I dunno why you wanted to keep it instead of throwing away but it’s on your desk too”
Also works with dirty dishes “yeah I needed the sink but it was full of your stuff so I put everything back in your room”
Edit: I know the method is more so for teaching cleaning up after yourself but hopefully you’ve already had the conversation about the pan- this is just for those that don’t wanna get an RA over 1 pan and the roomie is being an ass about it. Be an ass back.
Wok him upside the head with it.
wok the fuck is wrong with them!?
Honestly it’s more expensive to live alone but if you can afford it then the convenience fee is worth it
Looks like carbon steel wok? U can fix that. Soak the rusty part in coke/vinegar overnight. Clean whatever that is still stubborn with steel wool. After that just season it
If anything the internet has taught me it’s that no cookware is ever beyond redemption
Your roommate is an idiot. But honestly Woks aren’t supposed to have none stick coating on them. That stuff is toxic.
Carbon steel woks are pretty much indestructible and wont do this
thats a cheap wok, just ask them to replace it. beyond that, thats how roommates are, don’t own commonly used expensive stuff. if you want to buy a 600€ cooking knife, wait till you have your own place.
You’ll definitely need a new one. Get a new wok while you’re at it.
You might have to smelt it again and make a new one.
Do you know any blacksmith?
But joking aside, yeah, thats awful. My late grandmother would’ve smack me if I did that.
More than mildy mate, a good wok is like the best thing in the kitchen aside from a cast iron. Curry’s, fried rice, and anything else. Hope they get you a new one at least
Does it have a non stick coating on it? If it doesn’t, you could clean it and reseason it. Still sucks that they left your stuff in THAT condition :/
Ask them to replace it
Might have been for the best, id get a non coated one for the future as the chemical was likely leaching into your food slowly overtime if this happened.
You can rescue it. It’s not a big deal, this is a tool that can take a beating. You’ll need to get the rust off then re-season it. As someone who is constantly dealing with similar roommate issues, the only way anything will change is if you take control and confront them, or simply hide your stuff. But the better more mature thing to do is confront them. One thing I’m still learning at 24 is that I can’t expect people to read my mind, which sounds stupid. You have to take decisive action, which in this case should mean talking to your roommates (NOT ON TEXT) in a calm and respectful manner to not do this again to your property
Looks like someone is going to get cancer
Desecration of expensive cookware is more than a mild annoyance