Which Okura Pan Is Right for Me?

Most people only need one pan to start. The question is which shape, and that comes down to what you cook on a normal weeknight rather than what you cook once a year. Here's the honest breakdown.

The classic frying pan

The Hand-Hammered Titanium Pan is the one to buy if you're buying one. Low, sloping walls, wide open surface, easy to slide a spatula under anything. It comes in 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 inch, with or without a lid. Eggs, fish, steak, vegetables, pancakes — this is the pan that lives on the stove.

When you want depth

The Hand-Hammered High-Wall Titanium Pan has the same cooking surface with taller sides, so sauces, braises, and anything that spits stay in the pan. Available in 8, 9, and 10 inch. If you make one-pan meals more often than you sear, start here.

For stir-frying

The Hand-Hammered Titanium Wok Pan with Flat Base has the curved wok profile with a flat bottom, so it sits properly on a Western cooktop, including induction. It comes in 10, 11, and 12 inch. High heat, constant movement, quick vegetables — that's its job.

For simmering and sauce work

The Hand-Hammered Titanium Sauté Pan (9, 10, and 11 inch) gives you straight sides and a wide base for risotto, ragù, and anything that needs to reduce. The Hand-Hammered Deep Titanium Pot goes deeper again, in the same three diameters, for stews and larger batches. If you're mostly boiling and simmering, look at the Titanium Cooking Pot with Lid instead — it's sized by volume, from 3.0 to 7.0 liters.

Two hands, not one

The Hand-Hammered Titanium Pan with Two Handles swaps the long handle for two short ones, in 10, 11, and 12 inch. Easier to lift full, easier to move to the oven, and it takes up less room on the stove.

Still deciding?

Size is the other half of the decision — see Pan Sizes, Explained. If you're covering a whole kitchen at once, What's in Each Okura Set lays out the combinations. Browse everything in Japanese Pans, or ask us — tell us what you cook and we'll point you at the right one.