Is tossing essential to wok cooking?
I just bought a 14" flat bottom carbon steel wok from Craft Wok for my mother for Mother's Day.
She enjoys cooking and cooks a decent amount of stir fry and always uses a fry pan or saute pan, so I thought she would enjoy having a wok.
Upon getting it, I'm very happy about the feel and quality of it and the stability of it when sitting on the range, but I have some concerns. First and most importantly, it is heavier than I thought it would be, even having known the fact that it is 4.6 lbs before I got it. Then, the flat bottom is larger than I expected which works well for stability on a gas stove but I'm not sure if it takes away from the traditional use of a wok or not.
All of this said, from reading about different woks, I'm happy about what I have read about craft wok and I don't mind spending a bit in that $60 - $100 ballpark for a good quality wok right now as a gift. However, she won't be able to toss this one at all. Is tossing essential to using a wok? From what I've read, lighter is nicer for tossing and handling but for western ranges, thicker and thus heavier is nicer since it will retain heat better.