MY NEW SEXY NONSTICK WOK: QUEEN SENSE DOLCE SUS

Nonstick cookware is incredibly popular and most people love them, including me. When used and stored properly, nonstick cookware is quite a handy tool in the kitchen. These pans are easy to use (especially for beginner cooks), and especially easy to clean. 

I'll admit I was clueless about nonstick cookware when I bought my first nonstick pan. After a few months, I found the food was already sticking to the surface of the pan. Then I started cleaning and attempting to repair the damage I (unknowingly!) caused but it still died. So I went hunting for a second one and this time round, read up a bit and asked the salesperson to explain to me on cooking and caring for nonstick cookware. It was always that same few tips:

• Season pan with oil before use, and periodically. 
• Avoid cooking over high heat. 
• Use wooden or plastic utensils that won't scratch the surface and avoid cleaning with things like steel wool. (But I've seen Gordon Ramsay cooking using metal thongs, so what's up with that huh?)
• Banish cooking sprays. (Irrelevant coz we normally use oil/butter)
• Avoid cleaning it in a dishwasher. (Don't have one)

Then people also told me get the qualified ones. Ok, I've tried a few, namely Tefal, La Gourmet and Shogun. These are quite famous brands, so they should be qualified, right? I've also followed the instructions/advice/steps. Still, they lasted only slightly over a year (The average life span of a nonstick pan is said to be around 5 years), so what went wrong? *Shrugs*

My dad came over for a visit recently. He's kinda health conscious, always preaching us on how bad it is to use plastic/polystyrene containers for our takeaway food whenever he's here. He even bought me a glass pitcher and told me to replace mine when he saw it was plastic. Lol... Well, we do know it's bad but we can't be carrying tiffin containers with us all the time and it's unavoidable that the shop uses polystyrene box when we decide to get food at a very last minute when we are outside, isn't it? The good news is, 2 Malaysian states, Johor and Perak, are moving towards to ban plastic/polystyrene containers, so that's a positive sign. Hopefully the other states will follow soon. 

Alright, alright, enough of small talks. Let's move back to nonstick cookware. Despite nonstick's advantages (its surface makes cleanup easy and also allows cooks to use less oil and butter), it has come under fire in recent years over concerns about toxic chemical emissions. For my purpose here, I am not going to delve into the health issues, but of course, the one I'm using did not escape my dad's attention. In fact, he may have mentioned it a couple of times but I turned a deaf ear :P Again, with the preaching on Teflon, the layer coming off and going into our poor stomach bla bla, you get it, I said fine, fine, we'll go have a look since mine was due for a change (You'll know your nonstick pan is on its last days if the surface becomes pitted or starts to peel, so it's about time to get rid of it). Haha. 

One fine day we went to Parkson One Utama and begun our pan/wok hunting. We've crossed out that few brands that I previously bought and used, obviously and we had some criteria:

• Something light enough to be held single-handedly. 
• Non stick without any health hazards. 
• Something big and deep enough so that I could cook and warm up stews in.
• Comes with a glass lid. 
• Preferably uniformed heat. 

I've considered Green Pan but have heard a few people complaining that they weren't as nonstick as they claimed to be. And then we came across this brand, Queen Sense. To be honest, what lured me to that corner was the aroma from what the product demonstrator was cooking. Lol! It smelled sooo good. I went nearer and it was chicken with bell peppers and onions. From the looks of it, that dish was almost done and I couldn't wait to sample it... Let's just say, I'm quite devoted to food, you see... Haha! As the demonstrator handed me my share, he started doing his job - explaining about nonstick cookware and his product. Most of them I've read/heard before. I liked how he said when our nonstick pan starts becoming sticky, we tend to 'lie' to ourselves by adding more oil, well, I must confess I did that >.<. There was one thing that was new to me - never heat up an empty nonstick wok/pan. In Chinese cooking, it has always been this: make sure the wok is hot before adding oil to stir-fry anything as it'll be more fragrant that way. That would mean I have been doing the wrong thing all this while! So yeah, apparently we have to always add some oil or water into a cool nonstick cookware before adding heat to it. 

Check out my sexy new wok!! :P

Nano marble coated with induction base.

From what we heard, Queen Sense is the No. 1 selling brand in South Korea and Dolce is a high quality cookware from Queen Sense. The benefits include:

• 90% less oil or NO OIL needed to cook your food.
• Both sides are nonstick - easy to cook & wash.
• Scratch resistance and long lasting.
• We can use it to fry, boil, steam, deep fry, grill etc.

As he went on, my dad looked at me and I could tell his face was saying, "This Queen Sense Dolce SUS reinforced wok fits ALL the criteria." It is marble coated with aluminium die casting for better durability, has superb scratch resistant and yet is non stick (My dad was most pleased when he heard this). Finally, we took one home. The 30 cm one cost RM239. My dad was happy, I was happy; a win-win situation :D 

I've been using this new wok for about a week now and so far, I'm loving it! It heats up pretty fast and the heat is quite evenly distributed. It is also slightly deeper and wider than my previous 28-cm La Gourmet one - better for braising and stewing. 

Lastly, I promise to treat it better (Ya, ya, I know pots and pans are the hardest workers in the kitchen) and we'll see how long it can last... Looking forward to more happy cooking for me!