Mouthing Off | Why do we need so many pots and pans in Hong Kong’s tiny kitchens?

In some of my friends’ kitchens, the number of pans kept in cabinets, hung on walls or stashed in an oven’s lower drawer is astonishing. It does not help that cookware makers exploit our materialist weakness by creating entire sets in matching colours, designs and one-off special editions, often endorsed by a famous chef.

But not every pan gets its time in the spotlight. My girlfriend has a fabulous paella pan that she has never used to make Spanish rice. I inherited from my mom a gigantic soup pot with a steamer insert that to this day is still virgin cookware. Honestly, I doubt I will ever steam anything with it. But because it belonged to my mom, I cannot bear to throw it away. Technically, it is a family heirloom now, right?

Some friends have a smorgasbord of pans: non-stick Teflon griddles, stainless steel sauciers, cast iron crocks, colourful ceramic skillets. Since we are in Hong Kong, let us not forget the ubiquitous steel wok. You cannot be a bona fide Hongkonger unless you own one.

Most of us probably also have one or two really old and worn-out non-stick pans that we no longer use because they now stick like crazy. But for no reason, we keep them in the bottom of a drawer instead of just recycling them – like somehow in the future there will be an emergency pan shortage and that old thing will come in handy.