It is a round-bottomed pan that ranges from 1 foot to 4 feet in diameter. Almost every Chinese family owns one. It is most often used for stir frying, but can also be used many other ways, such as in steaming and deep frying or to make soup. One advantage of woks is that the shape produces a small, hot area at the bottom while using relatively little fuel.
Woks are also sold in western countries, where they tend to be given flat bottoms and nonstick coatings. This makes them more similar to a deep frying pan than a true wok. However, the flat bottoms mean that they can be used on an electric cooker.
In a joke sports introduced by the German comedian Stefan Raab woks are used in bobsleigh track. In November 2003 a first "official" championships was held in Winterberg, Germany.
See also: Chinese cuisine (for sports Stefan Raab)