Control Heat
Stop accepting whatever the pan is doing and start deciding.
Is the pan actually hot?
Preheat empty, add oil, wait for shimmer. Water drop skitters. This test opens every sauté in your future.
Low heat
Melting, sweating onions, keeping things warm, not burning garlic.
Medium heat
The default. Sautéing, eggs, quesadillas, most of dinner.
High heat
Searing and stir-fries. Everything prepped first, fan on, full attention.
Sear
Dry surface, screaming pan, don't touch it. The crust is the point.
Simmer vs boil
Lazy bubbles vs angry ones. Soups, sauces, and beans want lazy. Boiled chicken is rubber.
Adjusting mid-flight
The burner knob is not set-and-forget. Too loud → down. Too quiet → up. Listen to the pan.
Temperature beats timekenji
Recipes guess; thermometers know. Doneness is an internal temperature, not a number of minutes — and safety is temperature × time, which is why 150°F chicken held a few minutes is both safe and juicy.
Flip as often as you likekenji
The one-flip rule is folklore. Frequent flipping cooks faster and more evenly — just never pry food that hasn't released yet.
Reheating is cookingkenji
Splash of water and a lid for starches; dry hot pan for anything that was crisp; barely warm or cold for steak, salmon, eggs. The microwave is a steam machine — use it when you want steam.