Breville Hot Wok Pro Review

We purchased the Breville Hot Wok Pro so our reviewer could put it to the test in her kitchen. Keep reading for our full product review.

Who doesn't love a good stir fry, especially one they can conveniently (and more cost-effectively) makes themselves? I owned an electric wok years ago before switching to a stovetop model, so I was curious how the Breville Hot Wok Pro would perform. Besides lining up meats to stir-fry, I had plenty of vegetables ready to take their turn. I also planned to do some steaming and simmering to see how useful this unique appliance (out of a plethora of woks available today) could be.

Performance: Surprising

My prior electric wok experience was decades ago when nonstick materials were fragile. While I had higher expectations because this was a Breville appliance, I was still skeptical that it would do better than a stovetop wok. I needn’t have been so skeptical—it got plenty hot, even hot enough to burn a few things when I wasn’t paying attention.

At the highest heat—labeled “High Sear”—the heat stays on, cooking everything quickly. At lower temperatures, the heat cycles on and off. When I was stir-frying on high heat or steaming or simmering with the lid on, the temperature cycling wasn’t an issue.

However, that cycling made it a little harder for me to pick the right temperature when I was first getting to know the wok. When I attempted a stew, I had the heat too high and got a little burning. A lower heat—and more stirring—would have given a better result. Later, I successfully made soup in the wok with no sticking or burning.

When I made chicken wings, they started off frozen. First, I cooked them on medium heat with the lid on to thaw them quickly and to begin the cooking process. When they were almost done, I turned the heat up to crisp and brown the skin. It worked remarkably well. I cooked just 2 1/2 pounds of wings, but the wok was big enough to handle a lot more, so it would be a great way to cook wings for a crowd. While I used just some oil added to the wok for browning, you can use the wok for shallow frying using up to 3 cups of oil.

The wok can also be a handy food steamer. I used it for asparagus, corn on the cob, tamales, and artichokes. The only issue was setting the two ears of corn on the rack so they were balanced and the rack wouldn’t tilt.

Design: From the kitchen of The Jetsons

It would be hard to look at the Breville Hot Wok Pro and not think, “UFO:” It has the perfect shape for a flying saucer, but not in a silly way. It looks a bit retro, a bit modern, and fully functional.

The lid is glass with a sizable knob on top for easy lifting. The side handles are also large (and perhaps more significant than needed), but they’re great for moving the entire wok to the table. The base holds the cooking bowl securely with a lock/unlock lever that keeps it in place during cooking and releases when it’s time for cleaning. I found the lever just a little fiddly. The cooking bowl needed to be precisely in place before it would lock, and then it would slide easily to the locked position. That’s great for safety, but there were times when it felt like the bowl was in place, but the lock wouldn’t slide. The more I used it, the easier it was to position the bowl on the first try.

The power socket sticks out of the wok bowl and slides through its hole in the base. The power connector with its integrated temperature dial plugs into that socket. A lever on the side of the connector needs to be pressed to remove it from the wok, so you can’t accidentally pull it out.

The temperature dial was easy to turn, and an amber-colored arrow in the dial showed the temperature I chose.

This wok also comes with a rack for steaming and a shovel-shaped spoon for stirring. The steaming rack was great and allowed over a quart of water under it for steaming. The shovel-spoon was handy, but I also used some of my favorite silicone spoons, tongs, and spatulas with the wok.

Heat Settings: A numbers game that gets you wins

While many appliances these days have smart programs, apps, and digital readouts, this wok is incredibly simple. The dial controls the heat, with settings that start with Min and continue to High Sear. In between are numbers from 2 to 14.

According to the manual, 1 to 4 is for low heat and slow cooking, 5 to 9 is medium heat, 10 to 13 is high heat, and 14 to High Sear is for stir-frying and searing. In practice, a cook (you!) will adjust the heat the way they like it for the recipe they’re making, but the numbers are useful for repeated cooks. I liked 10 for steaming.

Cleaning: Easy washing thanks to nonstick

No matter what I cooked (or burned), the residue didn’t cling. The neat electric wok has a cooking bowl made from sturdy aluminum with a nonstick coating, so cleaning is easy as far as getting the gunk out of the pan.

However, the wok bowl and the lid are both rather large, so ease may depend a bit on the sink setup. It’s also dishwasher safe, but it may be too large to fit comfortably. The only caution is to make sure the power socket is completely dry after washing and before plugging the power in.

Price: Expensive

There are plenty of non-electric woks at much lower prices and even some electric woks at a lower price point. That’s great for bargain hunters, but Breville products tend to be high quality with a high price. They also tend to last longer. Sure, this is pricey. But it works tremendously well.

Breville Hot Wok Pro vs. Lodge Pro-Logic Wok

The Lodge Pro-Logic Wok costs less than the Breville Hot Wok Pro and takes a bit less storage space. The Lodge is also rather heavy, and it needs the same particular care as all cast iron cookware. The Lodge wok is certainly a solid performer that I would recommend to anyone looking for a cast-iron stovetop wok.

The Breville is a totally different beast. It doesn’t take up a burner, it has an easy-to-clean nonstick surface, and it can handle acidic foods that would be bad for cast iron. Cooks who prefer appliances to cookware will certainly love the Breville. For cooks who want the convenience of an electric wok, this does its job very well.