Stir-Fry

Yesterday I received my Calphalon Stir-Fry pan from Amazon.com.  I was so excited to use it, and had little to no other food in the house, that Erin and I stopped by the grocery store on the way back from UPS.  We snagged some Lo Mein noodles, Teriyaki sauce, Wok oil, chicken, sugar snap pees, broccoli, and water chestnuts (plus some other stuff for pad Thai) in order to whip up something quick.

Erin took care of the noodles, while I cleaned out the new pan and prepped the rest of the ingredients.  Ten to fifteen minutes later we were enjoying some awesome Chicken Lo Mein.  I definitely would do things a bit differently next time though.  Stir-frying individual portions is a must.  I had already cooked the chicken, then added in the veggies, then attempted to add in the noodles.  Way too much going on in the pan.  So, next time it will be more of a Mongolian BBQ, or Flat Iron Grill kind of meal, where each serving will have its own mise en place, and that way I don’t overcrowd the pan.

Tonight, I may attempt Pad Thai if I can find the rest of the ingredients I need.  The Dominick’s by us has a horribly small “Asian” section.  Actually, I think it’s just a double-wide end cap.  I’m not scared though, we have a bunch of specialty groceries around us.  I’m sure I’ll find what I need nearby.

Oh, and this new pan is just the start.  I basically wanted to get a “tester” to see how well I enjoyed cooking with this type of Calphalon line.  Basically, I’m looking at getting a whole set sometime in the near future.  Actually, the set is also listed on Amazon.  Funny thing about that, though, is that by going to the Calphalon store page on Amazon, you can’t actually get to that set, only the same priced set that has fewer pieces.  Go figure.

Bottom line, is the pot got crazy hot, and it seemed pretty evenly.  The sides seemed to get about as hot as the bottom of the pan, which is good, and it wasn’t too heavy to flip the stir-fry one-handed.  The only downsides I saw was that the handle did get warm (that could’ve been because of the insane amount of heat my burner was outputting though), and getting it to the same shine as it was brand new may take some work, but cleaning it, even after it sat while we ate, was not a problem.  All in all, it was a great experience, and I look forward to actually buying the rest of them.