How Not to Seal a Wok

Whenever I try to be clever I normally end up doing something dumb instead. Last night was no exception.

I haven't done a stir fry for a while so my wok was a little dry and I figured I'd heat a bit of oil in it to revitalise it first. Being 'clever', I also decided to put a lid on it since the oil would heat faster and smoke less.

Half way through the washing up I heard this "whoompf" followed by a god-awful clattering, and spun around to find the oil had reached its flash-point, caught fire and blown the wok lid halfway across the kitchen.

Luckily there was only a bit of oil left so I took the fiery hemisphere out to the garden while I worked out what to do with it.

Then I remembered wet towels, so I soaked a tea-towel and tried to cover the wok, but sort of mis-threw it and it landed in a ball smack bang in the oil, which then exploded in a big fireball.

Luckily that took the wind out of its sails and I was able to put the rest of the flames out. The wok is now beautifully sealed, and my teatowel is now burnt to a crisp.

And that is how not to seal a wok...