Cast iron or carbon steel doesn't need "big fire", in fact it's better to use lower heat but preheat for longer because cast iron/carbon steel is NOT uniform in heat and you need to preheat longer to even out hot and cold spot. You can use dish soap to clean iron pans as well the seasoning will not come off. Most of the time it's super easy to clean, finish cooking add a bit of water while pan is hot and everything will come off quite easily with a little bit of scrubbing.

I love my cast iron wok precisely because it's so nonstick now seasoning built up and so easy to clean, literally add water and brush with coconut brush don't need soap. I hate stainless steel woks beacuse you just can't get wok hei. And everything is sticky.

mostly saute-ing, pan frying, searing

seldom stir frying eg: chinese cooking but I already have a wok for that

should have enough storage space but I wouldnt want to get too many unnecessary cookwares as well

get this, try find in shopee or in-store see if got cheaper price.

https://s.lazada.com.my/s.58KCQ

or this with lower height based on your preference. i prefer higher wok style so that the oil fly out less.

https://s.lazada.com.my/s.58Lpb

and a 24cm medium height casserole for cooking soup. (i bought this blue 1 below rm140 from aeon if not mistaken, and i bought a black 1 for spare on shopee last time due to promotion)

https://s.lazada.com.my/s.58MVR



This post has been edited by BOTAK_WAI: Apr 21 2023, 05:24 PM

already have a non stick pan. I'm looking at carbon steel or stainless steel now because I would want to do searing and basting

also after using non stick pan for so long, I just dislike using wooden or silicone utensils on it, prefer the feel of metal utensils

anwyay thanks for your recommendation

well…the 1 i recommend is cast aluminum non-stick wok/pan/pot.

enough heat retention for normal saute-ing, pan frying, searing.

if u want really want to sear your steak in nice color, then you only can go with cast iron 1.

btw…non stick pan also have different styles

like thin aluminum, stainless steel, cast aluminum, all with different heat conductivity and retention.

is it safe to use metal utensils on it?


btw if i were to get a cast iron pan, what other material pan would be a good complement to it? I would assume stainless steel since it can basically cook anything, just that the method have to be correct to prevent sticking

This post has been edited by ZeneticX: Apr 21 2023, 05:32 PM

no…no metal utensils on non-stick coating.

i have carbon steel wok and stainless steel pan, maybe my skill is poor, i just can't get the stainless steel pan right.

i am not steak lover, so basically i just use carbon steel wok + tefal thick stainless steel non-stick pan.


since you already have a non-stick pan and a chinese wok, aren't that enough if u complement it with cast iron pan?

or u are looking for 1 multipurpose to do most of the cooking conveniently?

ok story is like this

this is the non stick pan I'm using currently. It's actually 'granite coated' instead of the traditional Teflon, I assume its similar to ceramic

https://www.lazada.com.my/products/russell-...3A1682071824812

just simply bought it since my previous rented place only have a simple kitchen with a simple induction hob, just enough for me to do simple cooking

now that I have my own house and starting to take cooking more seriously, was thinking of expanding my cookware by getting a bigger pan

the other factor was this current pan, I have troubles trying to toss food or do the saute flip, maybe because the sides are too straight (can see from the pic) or my skill is just terrible

so I wanted to get a proper frying pan with curve sides this time, maybe it would or would not help

conclusion is, I wanted to get a bigger and more proper frying pan this time, and would like to try something else other than non stick since I already have one

This post has been edited by ZeneticX: Apr 21 2023, 06:16 PM

basically it's all about how you want your food to contact with heat

do you want:
- to maintain a certain heat for a long time?
- to control the heat up and down as soon you turn the gas knob?
- the heat spread evenly across the whole pan/pot?
- the heat focus on center spot of the pan/pot?

and if you want easy cleaning then pick the 1 with non-stick coating and say bye bye to high heat.

and if you want high heat the season your steel pan/wok and say bye bye to non-stick coating.

i have 1 recommendation that fits your need but i don't know if you still could get this from anywhere

1 pan/ wok never serve all.
Need multiple i.e. 32 Cast Iron ( high heat), 34 Stainless steel honeycomb (mid to high heat & come with steaming tray) & 28" Tefal Natura non- stick deep fry pan ( mid heat). Mainly cooking for 2-3 pax.

ok thanks. will look around for something similar

exactly the combo I'm considering. cast iron + stainless steel + non stick. should be enough for every cooking

originally the thread purpose was to find out if carbon steel is better than stainless steel. but seems like carbon steel is a replacement for cast iron instead

so far i still didn't see any similar to this lock & lock hard & light wok. (other light weight as this doesn't have its non-stick coating quality, and the other have its quality doesn't light weight as it)
this was sold RM99 in aeon few years ago. i regret not purchase that as backup.



well, if bangsawan maybe can look see look see this (it's a stainless steel wok)








and carbon steel never a replacement for cast iron, they are not same.

This post has been edited by BOTAK_WAI: Apr 21 2023, 06:56 PM

Carbon steel not cast iron

Cast iron Bro.

Not a pure cast iron since it come with non stick coating

Also you need to be careful since you mention you are doing high heat cooking with it. Non stick coating usually doesn't tolerate high heat

This post has been edited by ZeneticX: Apr 21 2023, 07:34 PM

My experience with stainless steel is the stubborn burnt oil stain that is really hard to remove.

I experimented already past few months

Carbon steel is the way to go

Stainless steel sucks

But you cannot wash one else will rust

This post has been edited by vapanel: Apr 21 2023, 09:49 PM

I also got natura

It only last half year and need to throw since already yellow and scratch every where