Let the “handleless” cookware handle everything.
If buying investment pieces for your home is a given, the same should be said for your kitchen. But longevity aside, what else should you be looking at if you want your cookware to be the cornerstone of your kitchen?
Enter Tefal’s Ingenio Cookware Range. Equipped with a detachable handle, this stackable cookware set saves you space, and comes in a rose gold finish that makes it all the more fetching to serve dishes in. Here, we had homeowner Naz, a young mother with three kids, test out its convenience by recreating her oven-baked sambal fish!
What’s in the box?
Naz (N): The range includes a 26cm frypan, 26cm wok pan, 16cm saucepan, 16cm glass lid, and a removable handle – all made of 100% recycled aluminium.
How easy is it to set up?
N: Everything was ready to be used when I took them out from the box. There’s zero set up – just one wash was all it took before I started cooking.
The removable handle wasn’t terribly difficult to figure out. It has unlocking buttons and a lever. Using it is quite simple; I click the lever if I need it to lock on or remove it from the pan. Once secured, it can hold a decent amount of weight – it felt sturdy even with the fish in it.
It’s a great replacement for me since the screws of my other, traditional, set are starting to loosen up over repeated use [laughs].
How well does it perform while cooking?
N: Let’s start with the wok pan. It comes with Tefal’s Thermo-Spot that’s easily identifiable. When it reaches the ideal temperature for cooking, the spot’s supposed to turn red, and the surrounding dark lines will disappear. **However, it took quite a bit of time for it to do so. By then, the oil was already too hot for my sambal ingredients. The indicator might be more useful if you’re looking to fry food at a high temperature.
**Note: Tefal has clarified that the ThermoSpot turns red at 180-190°C — the ideal temperature to begin your cooking as the ingredients’ natural flavour and juices are perfectly sealed. Once the ThermoSpot is well heated through, you can lower the heat setting to medium or low before resuming cooking, especially if you’re frying more delicate ingredients (e.g. fish).
Though I have to say, the set itself is a lot more flexible in terms of usability. In order to bake the fish, I would typically need to transfer it to a glass tray to get it to fit my oven. Now, I don’t have to – I can take off the handle and let it bake since the pans are oven-friendly!
I especially like how convenient it is to remove the hot pan from the oven. I would usually need to use mittens, but it doesn’t feel safe compared to lifting it with a handle. Being able to reattach the handle, and then lifting it after cooking? I think that’s the biggest plus of all.
The pan has a non-stick coating so the fish did not stick at all. I would usually line the base with a banana leaf or aluminium foil to prevent it from happening. In fact, when I flipped the fish while eating, it didn’t even fall apart!
The Ingenio pans are also microwave-friendly.
Overall, I’m really impressed by its versatility, and convenience!
How easy is it to maintain and store the pans?
N: I’ve been using the Tefal Ingenio set for a while not just to cook, but to also serve dishes in. Its sleek rose gold design certainly help in the food presentation seeing that I didn’t need to plate the cooked food separately. Since I don’t have to use additional serving ware, it saves me time on the cleanup as well – I really only needed to I use some dish soap to scrub off traces of oil on the pans.
They’re much easier to keep compared to the pans that come with permanent handles. While those have the tendency to topple over when they’re not placed properly, I simply stack these ones together, starting with the bigger pans on the bottom. And I can take the handle off to save space!
Overall…
N: For us, mealtimes always consist of a main dish for us adults, and a soup for the kids. Considering I used to separate dishes for three adults and three kids, this set really is perfect for me – not only can I serve straight from the pans, it also looks good! It’s definitely a huge help in a big household or compact HDB kitchens.
However, it’d be nice to have a bigger saucepan, additional lids for the wok and frying pans and a spare handle, in case it spoils.
| Review | Rating |
|---|---|
| Features | 9/10 |
| Design | 9/10 |
| Ease of Use | 10/10 |
The final product!
| Pros | Cons | |
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*You can purchase extra lids and detachable handles from Tefal.
Best For:
Homes with small kitchens, homeowners who want additional space and a cookware range that can double as serving-dishes for easy cleanup.
Shop Tefal’s Ingenio Cookware!
Available in other shades at major retailers.
Recipe: Oven-Baked Sambal Fish
1kg Sea bass
Sambal preparation:
Ingredients A (to be blended)
- 5 red onions
- 8 cloves of garlic
- 5-6 Tbsp Blended dried chillies (another alternative is to blend dried chillies together)
- 3 stalks of lemongrass
- 1-inch ginger
- ½ inch galangal
- 7 red chilli padi
- 2 tsp belacan powder or 1 tbsp burnt belacan
Ingredients B
- 1 tsp tumeric powder
- 1 tsp tamarind paste
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp chilli sauce
- Key lime juice
- 3 tbsp sugar
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat oven for 40 mins at 180°C.
- Grind Ingredients A (red onions, garlic, chilli paste, lemongrass, ginger, galangal, chilli padi, belacan in a food processor. (Has to be well blended and smooth)
- Heat up the wok with 4-5 tbsp of cooking oil and stir fry the blended ingredients until the oil separates from the sambal.
- Add in Ingredients B (sugar, turmeric powder, tamarind paste, oyster sauce, chilli sauce, key lime juice & salt)
- When sambal is well cooked, pour the sauce on the raw sea bass, cover it with banana leaf or aluminium foil to avoid splashes in the oven)
- Bake it in the oven for about 40mins. And get ready to dig in! (Best eaten with a bowl of piping hot white rice)
