The Cen brothers were famous for their hand made woks, and one is included on the photograph of Joyce Chen’s cookbook “The Breath Of A Wok”. The Cen brothers made woks for years and their woks developed a cult following. Many cooks wanted a hand hammered wok, and the Cen brothers woks fit the bill for many. But the Cen brothers got old, and were pressured into closing their wok making operation, so their woks have become a part of Chinese culinary history. Those that own Cen brother’s woks hold on to them as a they are also great woks.
Now one has come up on eBay for sale. How badly would you want a Cen brothers wok? Enough to pony up $2000?
I posted a listing on Craigslist in Shanghai China near the Cen Brothers wok factory asking if anyone there could send me a wok. A food writer from the United States was there and agreed if I sent her the money that she would send me 2 woks
My vintage (1975) Taylor Ng carbon steel wok just gets better and better. I think that with woks, as with many other kinds of pans, it is the legacy of years and decades of cooking that make the biggest difference. This is especially true of most any carbon steel.
I have a T and N wok of the same vintage, or I should say had as it’s been relocated to my son’s abode. I didn’t really need it any longer as the size fitted his needs better than mine. I bought it in SF and had it sent to the East Coast, many happy cooks in that wok.
