This Simple Strainer Drains, Scoops, and Skims With Ease—And It’s One of My Most-Used Kitchen Utensils

Spider strainers’ (a.k.a skimmers) origins lie in East Asia, where they’re commonly used in wok cooking, allowing the user to deftly and quickly toss or scoop food. If you take a gander at one, you can see how they get their name with the web-like threads of metal fanning out from a centralized point. Dumplings, pasta, blanched vegetables, and doughnuts are scooped up easily, with any residual liquid quickly draining away. It's a versatile tool, and one I'm always reaching for.

Why I Love My Spider Strainer

While slotted spoons have their use cases (retrieving a single boiled or poached egg, I guess?), a spider strainer is my go-to for scooping and draining tasks big and small. 

While they sometimes come with wooden handles, I own a stainless steel number which I keep in a utensil crock near my stovetop. Its long handle makes it easy to toss and turn fried treats like doughnuts, French fries, or fried clams all while keeping my arm and digits at a safe distance; the same is true when scooping pasta or blanched vegetables out of hot water. But its key feature, which has me grabbing it over a slotted spoon, is its large, webbed scooping bowl. 

The intertwined metal pieces create the namesake “spiderweb” shape, and since they crisscross to form quarter-inch gaps, they're fantastic at wicking away liquids: Doughnuts emerge without excess grease, and I can scoop up a load of rigatoni rather than just two or three noodles. It’s also a must-have when cooking with a wok, making it easy to toss and fry crunchy salt and pepper squid or chicken wings. 

Associate editorial director Megan Steintrager loves using her spider strainer as well, particularly for pasta dishes where she wants to save some of that starchy water. "It lets me put the pasta directly into a separate pan on the stovetop while saving the cooking water in case I need to add it to the sauce," she says. "No pouring pasta cooking water that I meant to reserve down the drain and no handling large, heavy pots of boiling water."

While I’m not saying we should all ditch our slotted spoons, I am saying that it’s worthwhile to have a spider strainer on hand—get one in your utensil crock and maybe you too will become a convert. 

FAQs

While we haven’t tested spider strainers, there are lots of options out there, and most are pretty affordable and will do the job fine. A couple that we’ve used and like include the Hiware Solid Stainless Steel Spider and Helen Chen’s Asian Kitchen Stainless Steel Spider. 

Brass strainers with wooden handles are more traditional and often used in wok cooking. The wooden handle often stays cooler than a metal one. 

Stainless steel spider strainers are often dishwasher-safe, though make sure to check the manufacturer's instructions. Wood and brass strainers should be hand-washed, and the wood can occasionally use a quick swipe of mineral oil to keep it from splitting.

Why We’re the Experts

• Grace Kelly is a commerce editor for Serious Eats, where she’s been testing gear since 2022. 
• Prior to this, she worked at America’s Test Kitchen and in restaurants as a prep cook and bartender. 
• She’s been using the Hiware metal spider strainer for about six years, and it's still going strong. 
  

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