Frying Pan Dish (Small)

Straight from the fire to the table. A frying pan and a plate in one piece of iron (Small)

The TAKIBISM Frying Pan Dish (Small) is an iron plate you cook on over an open flame and then serve from once you lift it off the fire. Nothing has to be transferred, so you carry fewer things and the heat of the food stays where it belongs. The plain, handle-less shape is easy to work with around a fire or in a home kitchen, and it means several can be stacked and carried together.

Hajime Sangawa, the outdoor life advisor who leads the brand, says he likes fire because it cannot be owned. That regard for a "small fire" built from thin branches rather than thick logs shows in the size of this plate and in a design stripped of anything unnecessary.

Two ways to use it: frying pan and dish

• Cook over an open fire or on the stove
• Take it off the heat and serve straight from it as a one-plate dish

Because it works both ways, one piece covers cookware and tableware. That means less washing up and fewer things to carry. It makes the most of iron's heat retention, so you notice the difference in dishes where temperature goes straight to the taste, like sausages or a fried egg. For cold food you can do the reverse — chill the plate in the fridge before serving.

Why there is no handle

• Stacks for compact storage; several can be carried together
• Goes in and out of an oven, grill or toaster easily, with nothing sticking out
• Easy to turn on a fire stand or trivet and to position around the fire

By deliberately going without a fixed handle, it takes to a wide range of heat sources, from a campfire to a kitchen. In use you hook the rim with a dedicated tool and lift (see below).

Two ways to hold it over the fire — neither attaches or locks on

• Breath to Fire bellows plus the Dish Joint (or Joint Short): swap the tip, then hook the rim of the plate with the claws and lift.
• Dish Handle: a standalone tool with a maple grip. It does not mount on the bellows; it hooks the rim in the same way. It fits all three sizes — Small, Medium and Large.

Neither locks onto the plate; both hold it temporarily by catching the rim with claws. That suits fine adjustments around a fire and moving the plate in and out of an oven.

How the Small is meant to be used — the smallest in the series, right for one person

It measures about 16–16.5cm across and weighs about 265g. The maker intends it for putting together a single serving simply. Concretely, two sausages and one fried egg sit on it neatly — a portion scaled to one person. It is a diameter that suits ham and eggs in the morning, two or three frankfurters, or warming a small side dish and serving it as it is.

The series also lends itself to laying several plates out and preparing different dishes at once. Over the fire you put each where the heat suits it; at the table they serve like small plates to share from. The Small is the hub of that way of working.

What works well on this size

• A standard breakfast: one fried egg and two sausages fit cleanly
• Light meals: ham and eggs, bacon and eggs, finishing cheese on toast
• Something to go with a drink: two or three frankfurters, grilled edamame, a small sauté of mushrooms
• As a plate: serve straight from it after cooking, or chill it in the fridge and use it for a cold starter or dessert

One way to use it on a fire

To bake a pizza on the JIKABI fire stand, you can heat the underside on the trivet first, then slide the plate underneath the trivet and let radiant heat finish the cheese and the base. Another technique is to set the plate at a slight angle into the fire and turn it as the heat comes round. The idea is to adjust the exposure with a small fire and bring the heat gently through to the centre of the food.

The makers and the finish — every piece carries its own face

TAKIBISM began when Hajime Sangawa (director) and iron artist Noboru Makizuka (Makizuka Ironworks) set out to make the tools they needed themselves. Production is by Makizuka Ironworks in Kagawa, a workshop of more than forty years that handles everything from architectural stairs and handrails to furniture and fire tools.

The Frying Pan Dish was originally forged: steel plate heated red in a coke furnace, then hammered to draw out the curve, repeated four or five times per plate. Forming has since moved to pressing while the hand-finishing stages remain. That is why the diameter varies by about 5mm from piece to piece and the surface texture differs in each one. For the finish, oil is applied and baked on to form an oxide coating; within the black lustre, an iridescent cast can appear depending on the light. The more it is used, the more the sheen and the marks of cooking build up into a face of its own.

Care and storage (comes seasoned)

It is seasoned when you buy it. Unwrap the oiled paper and you can put it straight on the fire. After that, care goes like this.

• Washing: no detergent. Loosen the residue with hot water and work it off with a brush or a wooden spatula.
• Drying: wipe off the water thoroughly and let it dry completely.
• Storage: after use, rub a thin film of cooking oil on with kitchen paper before putting it away.

Do not use metal scourers or abrasives, as they damage the oxide coating. Avoid putting a blade to the surface as well. Even seasoned, iron cannot be kept entirely free of rust. Seasoning it regularly keeps rust and sticking down. An instruction sheet is included.

Heat sources

Induction hobs have conditions such as a minimum detection diameter that vary by model. Please check the specification of your own hob.

Specifications