The wok is a versatile cooking utensil used especially in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is a round-bottomed pan that ranges from 30 cm to a meter or more 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.