Is is ok to use teflon non-stick frying pan, or should I use a stainless steel one?
Stainless ones are heavy and the food always sticks to mine.
Yeah, teflon is fine IMO. I was reading an article on it saying that the supposed release of carcinogens which some scaremongers have hyped only occurs at pretty high temperatures (700F), which youāre not likely to reach. If youāre searing steak, switch to cast iron, though.
Cobra Commander -
Teflon, Silverstone and a few other non-stick name brands are fine.
With stainless steel, there are a few tips that will help much.
- Heat the pan then add your oil and bring it up to heat for your cooking. This will help seal the food and prevent sticking to the pan.
- Donāt scour the SS pan too harshly. Clean it and of course get the cooked bits out; But there is really no need to sand down the surface to ālike newā everytime.
Also, remember the old standard - The iron skillet.
These are real gems in the kitchen if you take the time to learn how to āseasonā and use them. And they make the best corn-bread alsoā¦ 
TC, I used to have a really heavy cast-iron frying pan, and I seasoned it multiple times but could never really get it to be non-stick, especially not with eggs. Perhaps the problem was that it didnāt have a really smooth surface.
In my experience, stainless steel is even less non-stick though. Always a hassle to scour fried egg remnants out of a stainless steel pan.
Well, I do eggs and quick stirfries in teflon, and do browning meats on cast iron. Each has its own strength.
Hereās how to season cast iron:
[quote]To season a new pan wash it well and dry it. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees while you warm the pan gently over low heat on top of the stove. Using a brush or a paper towel, spread a tablespoon or so of a fresh neutral oil like corn or grape seed in the pan; the surface should be evenly covered, with no excess. Put the pan in the oven, bake it for about an hour and let it cool in the oven. Thatās it.
Itās helpful if the first few uses of the pan involve oil, like sautĆ©eing or deep-frying. If you care for the pan properly, it will darken with use and become increasingly smooth, beautiful and easy to cook in. Once the pan is seasoned, routine washing can almost always be done with a scouring pad, not steel wool or anything else that will damage the seasoning (although the worst that can happen is that the pan will have to be reseasoned). Despite many recommendations to the contrary, a little mild soap wonāt tear off the seasoning. [/quote]
Oh good! We can have a mod flame fest. Oil for seasoning cast iron? What kind of weirdo are you anyway? Hereās THE best way, bar none, to season a cast iron skillet. From cold, fill it to the brim with plain old kitchen salt. Stick it on the hob on a low heat and leave it there ā donāt touch it ā until the salt on top is golden brown. Turn off the heat and leave it until its completely cold. Throw the salt away. Do it right and youāll be able to dry-fry meat in it with no oil at all.
My absolute favourite pan is a little made-in-Taiwan cast iron skillet I got in Ikea many years ago for NT$199.
BTW, when I wanted to hang a birdcage outside my kitchen door, the store guy said not to or the fumes from the Teflon would kill the bird stone dead.
And if you want the absolute best pans youāll ever use and you have loadzamoney, treat yourself to some Le Creuset pans and ovenware. Treat them right and theyāll outlive you.
I would give my left nut for :
Cast Iron Indian style wok
Cast iron deep dish fry pan
cast iron skillet
all in large sizes, please.
Where? And who wants to lend me an oven to season with?
And Iād make it into a pair. Iād love to find those too. So frustrating, because the one I got in Ikea, while a little small, is wonderful quality and made locally. If only I could find out where!
Send 'em over boys, these things you seek exist here in Hongkers.
HG
Seasoning with salt? Iāll try that.
I donāt even understand the concept. The whole idea of seasoning is to create a layer of baked oil residue that smooths out the surface and forms a non-stick coating. How would salt do that? I would imagine that salt plus heat would cause intense corrosion. But itās not April 1, so why is he pulling our legs? 
Iāve just done some web searching but canāt turn up much. This article suggests salt seasoning followed by a mild oil seasoning:
geocities.com/napavalley/6454/pan_seas.html
Thanks for the information and tips, TainanCowboy and Dragonbones.
We will be opening shortly in Taipei, near Cheng Gong Park in Neihu. A specialty retail cookware store with everythign a cooking enthusiast could want - over 1500 items of pro-quality cookware, cook books, and cooking tools, in an excellent and enthusiastic environment. You can see more details at www.pantry-magic.com. I would be happy to answer any specific questions you might have about our stores, cooking, or cookware. The first shop should open around September 1st. If you sign up on the mailing list by going to the website, you will get an invitation to the grand opening!
Note that the Neihu store closed over a year ago, maybe two. The website still lists a Shilin store, though.
Iām looking to replace my Teflon skillet, and I think the chief is shopping for a new frying pan too, so if anyoneās seen some better deals on quality stuff than what the overpriced department stores offer, please let us know. I had been using a $700-900 Teflon skillet by Tefal, from France, for a couple years. I got it at RTMart or Carrefour. For the price, it was okay, but I may want to invest in something better this time, given how much I cook.
But Iāve spent enough on vet care for four cats just this month to buy a Le Creuset. 
What happened to your business? Itās a casino website now
Iāve been looking for a stainless steel pan set (because itās superior to other materials). Costco Taiwan doesnāt sell any stainless steel fry pans but Costco USA does (their All-clad D3 is pretty good). If I look on Amazon, they charge almost $300 USD for shipping and duty for a $600 pan set. Does anyone know any good local brands? Iām looking for buy it once professional cookware that top chefs use in their restaurants and holds up well after 20 years of abuse.
Might need to order from Amazon and hope for a good black friday deal this week if I canāt find anything locally. Costco Taiwan only has teflon fry pans and I donāt use those. Thereās a few brands in the US that seem to fit the requirements like All-Clad, Made in, Le Creuset, Cuisinart etc.
They joined to post the above on August 3, 2006, and they havenāt been on the website since then. A lot could have happened in seventeen years!
Crate and Barrel (basement of the Xinyi Breeze) is the only place here Iāve noticed good stainless steel fry pans, including All-Clad, I think. However, if they havenāt closed down yet, they will shut down in the next week or two.
If youāre into browsing the sixth or seventh floor of a bunch of department stores, it is anniversary sale season now, and you may find a good imported stainless steel fry pan, likely European or Japanese, likely very overpriced. I gave up on that sort of often-pointless hunting a number of years ago and now just order from Amazon.
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Have you thought about the restaurant supply houses near the river at Ximen?
I donāt know what kind of stuff they got but maybe the CP value may be a bit better than overpriced imported cookware.
I never tried using ceramic cookware, or ceramic coated (theyāre really just aluminum with a āceramicā coating). I saw a youtube video that absolutely disses them. Not used them and so canāt speak about their longevity. I did get a steel pan from those restaurant supply houses, and they last me a long time, but the bottom kinda turned convex a little when heated on an induction cooker, but a lot of pans do this when used on an induction cooker.
Maybe look for ones with the big, heavy bottom that wonāt do this.
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Based on reviews, it looks like it closed on 11/12. I will check this week if I pass by.
Some of the US ones seem to hold up well after 20-30 years in professional restaurant settings after lots of abuse. Iād prefer to spend a bit more, like $150 on a fry pan and have it last a life time, since even the cheaper stainless steel fry plans seem to be around $50.
It looks like HK has some US brands at reasonable prices. Maybe better to fly there on a cheap round trip flight.
Iām sure thereās good local brands in Taiwan too but I donāt know what to look for.