[Favorite Item Review] Frying, simmering, boiling, deep-frying—it handles it all. How Nakao Aluminum's Silk Frying Pan became my everyday go-to

Now that I spend more time at home cooking, I've come to realize once again that I love cooking tools with a certain rugged, tool-like character. Come to think of it, when I first moved out on my own and started a new life, the most exciting part might have been researching "what kind of frying pan, pot, or knife should I buy?" With that in mind, ever since starting my new life a few years back, there's been one thing I've had my eye on the whole time: Nakao Aluminum's Silk Frying Pan.

This installment of our reading series is a staff member's favorite-item review. I finally took the plunge and bought the "Nakao Aluminum Seisakusho Silk Frying Pan," so here I'll share what caught my interest in the first place, how I chose it, and the qualities I came to appreciate all over again once I actually started using it.

The "Silk Frying Pan" I was curious about even before we started carrying it

Actually, back when I did all that research, the only frying pan I ended up buying was an iron one. For the other, I just kept using a Teflon (fluoropolymer-coated) frying pan I already had. An iron frying pan can be used for a long time and is great for crisping food or stir-frying over high heat, but it isn't well suited to dishes with a lot of liquid, like tomato-based stews. So for simmered dishes or when I wanted something easy to handle, I'd reach for the fluoropolymer-coated pan instead.

Amid all this, there were two main things that drew me to the "Silk Frying Pan."

・Its rugged, professional-kitchen look

・The high quality (a top-notch fluoropolymer coating) that professional chefs themselves rely on

▲What ZUTTO carries is the "stainless cast handle" type, which doesn't heat up easily.

The handle in particular is basically love at first sight. This handle is made not of aluminum but of stainless steel, and it has such a lovely tool-like presence that it would look right at home hanging in a restaurant kitchen. The fact that it doesn't get hot is also a wonderfully practical touch.

Nakao Aluminum Seisakusho is a long-established maker that has primarily manufactured and sold professional-use cookware, so it's no surprise that many professional chefs use their products too. Even though I wouldn't exactly call myself skilled in the kitchen, I found it reassuring that this was an easy-to-handle pan with such high-quality fluoropolymer coating. With more time spent cooking naturally in 2020, and my old fluoropolymer-coated frying pan reaching the end of its life around the same time, I finally decided to welcome the Silk Frying Pan into my kitchen as a New Year's replacement.

How did I choose the size?

ZUTTO offers three sizes in total, all in the "deep" type.

The base is built a bit narrow. Since I wanted to use it not only for simmering but also as a pot for boiling things like spinach, I bought the larger 27cm size. The fact that it's made of lightweight aluminum with a fluoropolymer coating also made it easier to go with the larger option.

▼For reference: a guide to choosing your size

21cm: Recommended for those living alone. It also makes a great second pan for those who already own another size and want something for side dishes or bento fillings.

24cm: For 1–2 people. A standard size that's a safe choice if you're buying your first frying pan. With its good depth, it can also double as a small pot.

27cm: For 3–4 people. A size that comes in handy when entertaining guests too. Great for boiling a batch of vegetables, or for stir-fries and pasta dishes with plenty of ingredients.

Easy to clean, and one pan that does four jobs. The ease of use I notice every day

Once I actually started using it, it turned out to be even easier to use than I expected, and before I knew it, I was reaching for it constantly. I mostly cook for two, but even when making dishes with lots of ingredients or a big batch of stew, I've never once thought it was too big. If anything, I often think how glad I am I chose the 27cm size, since I never have to worry about splattering. Because the base is narrow, it also sits securely and stably on the stove burner.

▲The 27cm pan compared to a roughly 500ml plastic bottle. You can see it has real depth.

Here are some of the things I noticed once I actually started using it:

・Because it's deep, there's less oil splatter, making cleanup easy

・Very little uneven heating (noticeable even at 27cm!)

・Beyond frying, it also handles simmering, boiling, and deep-frying

・No worry about spilling when tossing pasta with sauce

and so on. Below, I'll walk through it by cooking method, along with photos of dishes I actually made.

✓ Eggs slide right off—perfect for omelets and thin egg crepes (kinshi tamago).

Eggs slide across the surface so smoothly, it's a world of difference from the well-worn Teflon frying pan I used before. I also noticed that even though the pan is large, there's no uneven heating—everything cooks through evenly, thanks to aluminum's excellent heat conductivity. What impressed me most of all was how beautifully yellow the eggs turn out. It's wonderful for making omelets, omurice, and the thin egg crepes used in chirashi sushi.

✓ Thanks to its depth, no worry about spilling over. Great for pasta and simmered meat sauce.

With the frying pan I used before, as well as a standard-size iron frying pan, my constant frustration was the splattering that happened when I added pasta and tossed it with the sauce. Using canned tomatoes and the like adds liquid that increases the volume, so when I added the pasta, everything wouldn't mix together well.

This shows me making a portion for two, but cooking it in the Silk Frying Pan puts me completely at ease. Its depth means nothing splatters out.Having a bit of extra capacity relative to the amount of food being cooked may have been a good thing, too. I also made meat sauce, and the wide opening made it feel like working with a pot, which was easy to handle.

✓ A reliable companion that can boil an entire bag of spinach at once.

Until now, I'd been using a yukihira pot (a traditional shallow saucepan) to boil spinach, but since I couldn't boil it all at once and it was a bit of a hassle feeding the stems in before the leaves, I decided to give the Silk Frying Pan a try.

▲Feeling ambitious, I tried boiling an entire bag at once.

Since the spinach cooks a bit unevenly depending on the balance with the amount of water, I quickly boiled it while adjusting with cooking chopsticks. In the end, the Silk Frying Pan was easier to use than the yukihira pot, including the process of adding the stems before the leaves. Whether making a batch of ohitashi (boiled and seasoned greens) or freezing it for later, this has made my everyday cooking much easier.

✓ Even for deep-frying, where oil splatter is a concern. (Be careful with high heat.)

Until now, I'd almost always done my deep-frying in a small single-handled pot, but when I tried it in this pan, it was far easier than the pot.The pieces of meat didn't stick together, and I was able to fry a large amount at once.I was a bit worried that with so much food in the pan, the oil temperature might drop too much, but thanks perhaps to aluminum's heat retention and heat storage properties, the temperature didn't seem to be much of an issue. If I prioritized flavor above all else, the result might be different, but for me, this was easier than frying in smaller batches, and above all, the oil splatter was really minimal, which made cleanup easy, so I plan to use the Silk Frying Pan for deep-frying from now on. I'll be sure to keep an eye on not letting the temperature get too high.

If I had to point out one concern, it's that lifting a 27cm pan with one hand is a bit of a challenge, even though it's aluminum.

It's not impossible, but with food in it, it's not exactly light either. That said, for things like flipping gyoza or quickly serving food, it's not a problem at all. When holding it at an angle, be sure to grip the straight part of the handle. The base can sometimes get hot, so I recommend holding it closer to the outer end than the middle.

What kind of care does it need to last a long time?

Unfortunately, a fluororesin-coated frying pan can't be called a "lifetime" tool. Even so, with the right daily care and usage habits, you can keep using it for longer. Here's what I actually pay attention to.

1. Strictly avoid dry heating, high heat, and metal utensils

2. Avoid sudden temperature changes (don't put it in water right after use)

3. Apply oil to it at the same time you oil your iron frying pan

4. If you want the pan to be well heated before cooking, boil water in it first

5. About once or twice a week, boil water in it for around 10 minutes (this brings invisible surface grime to the surface and keeps it smooth)

Creating a thin film of oil helps the pan stay smooth to use, and since fluororesin processing is itself a coating, covering it with a film of oil is said to help the coating last longer, which in turn extends the life of the pan. Even if you don't do it every time, just applying oil while caring for your iron frying pan, or doing it whenever you happen to think of it, should make a difference.

Also, something I was glad to learn was point 4, "If you want the pan to be well heated before cooking, boil water in it first." This is a technique unique to fluororesin-coated pans, which don't tolerate high heat well.

No matter how good aluminum's heat conductivity is, perhaps because I chose a large size, I had the impression that it took a bit longer for the whole pan to heat up (compared to an iron frying pan). And yet, unlike an iron frying pan, you can't just crank up the heat—it's a bit of a dilemma. So after learning about this method, I tried making scrambled eggs, and I could really tell the difference in the sound when the eggs went in, as well as in how quickly they cooked through.

Rather than pouring in hot water right away, I heated room-temperature water in the pan until it boiled. Then I poured out the boiled water and quickly wiped away the moisture. I added oil, put it back on the heat, and added the eggs. They made a satisfying sizzling sound.

When the pan wasn't heated first, it was hard to gauge how the eggs were cooking, making it tricky to know when to bring in the cooking chopsticks. But when I added the eggs after heating the pan, they cooked through nicely and I was able to make them quickly. For stir-fries that need to be cooked quickly, I think this method is foolproof. With this approach, boiling water in the pan first keeps the fluororesin coating's surface temperature from getting too high, which is gentler on the pan as well.

Even when it reaches the end of its life, I'd choose the same one again

Having actually used it, I was struck by just how versatile it is. I'd heard that deep pans were convenient, but I didn't expect it to be this good. It's a frying pan that makes me glad I bought it every time I use it. Considering the depth, the handle, and the size, this pan just feels right to me above all others, so even if it eventually reaches the end of its life, I plan to buy the same one again. In fact, I've even started wanting a smaller size that would be easier to handle.

Of course, my iron frying pan is still in active use too, so it's nice that by using both in their own ways, I can keep each of them going for even longer. If you have a frying pan you've just been using out of habit without giving it much thought, this is a pan I'd really encourage you to try.

▼Item featured in this article:Silk Frying Pan (fluororesin-coated)