Quote:
Originally Posted by Wormius
Speaking of kitchen items - any recommendations for a carbon steel frying pan? I am done with teflon and porcelain coated pans. I just want something reliably non-stick, and lighter than cast iron.
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What about a small wok?
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00...e?ie=UTF8&th=1
https://www.amazon.ca/Joyce-Chen-21-...s%2C104&sr=8-2
I got the first Joyce Chen one for my dad and he likes it. The second Amazon link has the more reasonable price though, but it also seems the first rivet design might be better? I have no idea what the non-stick surface is for a carbon steel wok. I assume you'd strip or season over it anyways.
The one my dad has hasn't warped so far after 3-4 years and and he does do water into the wok while relatively hot to scrub and do the next cook. I think as long as the metal isn't white hot and you slide the pan off the heat for a minute or so, the metal shouldn't warp even if there's a bit of quick sizzle and steam when you put water in.
I'm not 100% sure, but I think wok are slightly more resistant to warping than typical flat bottom pans. I wonder if the curved arc helps with that. I've replaced many flat bottom pans over the years (typically within 14-30 months), but woks, non-stick and other wise, I've never had to replace... except when my wife dropped some hard heavy object into it to the point it shredded the non-stick AND dented the metal bottom
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Weight wise, it's heavier because it's more material. But because the sides are curved and you have two handles, you can easily tilt and/or slide when cooking rather than completely lift the skillet. Again, yes it would be heavier than a skillet because it's bigger, but the weight can be negated using a different technique while cooking.
Non-stick wise, always make sure the pan metal is getting close to white hot BEFORE putting the oil in. Obviously the pan must be dry. This helps to reduce sticking, even in Teflon and stainless steel pans/pots. My understanding is that with cold metal, half the oil (polymers?) are in the metal and half outside and connected to each other which is why food sticks. But if you put the oil only when it's near white hot, then the oil is only on the outside of the pan. This is my main trick for a set of stainless steel pots I bought from Costco over a decade ago. They still look relatively new.
Another trick is to use silicone spatulas or flat wood/bamboo rice scoops to cook with. That way there's no risk to scratch the surface, no risk of melting and has enough flex/leverage to do what I want to do.
I honestly do not trust my family with pots/pans. Everything goes into the dishwasher (they are lazy AF, lack awareness and I've straight up given up hope asking nicely for them to wash nice things by hand) which also contributes to effing up Teflon pots/pans and God forbid I have a carbon steel pan. I'd scream internally all the time (my Japanese knife no longer sees the light of day anymore because I do not trust them after it went through the dishwasher half a dozen times). At least with SS, I can always use a steel scrubber and not worry about it being tossed in the dishwasher. Seriously, though, you fried an egg and left the skillet on the stove. You can literally push the dried crap off the skillet with a silicone spatula with ease (hell, sneeze hard enough and it might come off) and then rinse with water and it's acceptable. Why TF is it going into the dishwasher????
