Lesson 1 was about salt, one of the most underutilized ingredients among home cooks. This lesson is about the second thing that often ruins dinner, and many have no clue: a pan that’s not hot enough. Most home cooks set the stove to medium, wait a minute, drop the food in, and wonder why it ends up looking sad. The chicken steams. The steak goes gray. The vegetables sweat into a sad pile.
Hot pan, dry food, leave it alone. That’s the technique. Stop poking and flipping your food.
