Iwachu Iron Tamagoyaki Omelette Pan Black

This is a very high quality pan and evenly cooked my eggs. Used 3 times and eggs did not stick at all and only had to washed the pan from the factory and use butter. Simple. I shook the pan when cooking an egg and the egg broke loose and was sliding around with a shake. Amazing This is why it is easy to clean, nothing sticks! I think the unique texture is why it is non-stick. Some reviewers think it is a problem, I think it is the secret. Water beads and slides off the pan when the pan is room temperature. It does not need seasoned to use it. Just start cooking after washing to remove the wax or oil coating the factory puts on to protect it. The pan holds 2 eggs comfortably, with 3 eggs it gets tight like 3 eggs in an small 8.5” skillet. It might work with 4 eggs as egg is rolled and can extend above the rim of the pan but I haven’t tried that many eggs. It is the perfect size for 2 eggs plus cheese, sausage or ham, and veggies. Works great frying eggs over easy too and flipping with a spatula. My Japanese in-laws just laugh at me when I do stuff like this and don’t follow the rules The bad review about the handle cracking on second use is not true. The Japanese would never let a cracked handle leave the factory and a 1” round piece of wood is not going to crack the 2nd time is was used. Even if dropped on the floor it wouldn’t crack but it might dent the floor or crack a tile with no damage to the pan. I think reviews like that come from competitors to reduce the high score of companies that have great products. Read reviews that said it works great after 4 years. I’ll update my review in a few years. Read more

although pricey as compared to other tamagoyaki pans, this Iwachu iron square pan is totally worth it's premium cost. The pan is made in Japan and of cast iron and comes with a pretty durable pre-seasoning applied to it. Although the surface is rougher than vintage machined cast iron, it isn't as rough as many non-machined cast iron pans of today. The coating hasn't been scratched or buffed off so far with the judicious use of household green scrubbing pads or with those stainless steel chainmail type scrubbers, too. With just a small coating of oil / butter, I've not had much issue with eggs (or anything else cooked in it) sticking to the pan at all. The wooden handle keeps cool and is removable if you want to put it into the oven for seasoning. The pan is sized to easily handle from 1-3 eggs: if you're doing more than that quantity, do them in batches. I've also used this pan not only for making tamagoyaki, but also things like burgers and burritos too as it's sized just right to make individual serving. It's also good if you want to make bento lunches for yourself: cook your tamagoyaki first and put it on the side, then cook whatever else is going into the bento - you can do an entire bento just using the 1 pan. For those of you not familiar with using cast iron, here are a few suggestions: 1. Adjust your cooking method and heat control, especially if you want your eggs to come out that nice yellowy color vs browned. Pre-heating it for about 5 - 10 minutes on a temperature that is lower than you would normally use with other pans. 2. It's pre-seasoning is built-up very well and seems to be pretty tough too, but don't put this into the dish washer. It's recommended to hand wash this pan (and any other cast iron cookware) and hand dry it too. 3. Once hand dried, put it back on the stove on medium high heat to completely dry it out. Since it's hot now, it's a good time to do a maintenance seasoning coat by applying a very light coat of oil with a paper towel to the pan. Continue heating on medium high until you start seeing wisps of smoke coming from the oil coating - once this happens, your seasoning is formed and you can turn off your stove and leave the pan to cool. 4. For glasstop stove owners, be careful that the pan may not sit super flat on your heating element. I got lucky with mine, it has only a slight torque that causes it to wobble slightly, but not enough so to the detriment of its use. For gas or coil electric users, there shouldn't be any issues (not sure about induction cooktops, however). Overall this is a great small pan and have loved using it and to me, it has been totally worth the money! Read more

PRO TIP: heat this up on medium/medium low for 5-10 minutes before you start using it. You don’t want it too hot or cold. Unlike regular non stick, heat control/pre heating is necessary for cast iron/carbon steel/stainless steel to ensure no sticking. You’ll know it’s warm enough if you drop a droplet of water on the surface and it rolls around instead of instantly evaporating. This is more non-stick than any ceramic coated (non-Teflon) pan I’ve ever used, AND it’s more non-stick than regular Teflon pans that aren’t brand new. Basically the only thing more non-stick is a brand new Teflon pan. And that’s right out of the box! The quality is superb, the cast iron is VERY smooth (not bumpy like cheap Lodge pans) and it really makes a difference. I was shocked! It just looks and feels very lovely to use. After a light wash, I heated it up on medium, rubbing it with canola oil til the paper towel was clean and oil was smoking. It’s pre-seasoned amazingly right out of the box. I was worried about sticking in the corners and walls, but everything came off so cleanly that even my first omelette was a success! I will also be using this for making fried eggs, and it’s the perfect size for cooking other small things. I thought initially I was just going to use it for tamagoyaki, but it’s actually a very useful pan in a single/2 person household. It’s totally worth it! Read more