Best Yukihira saucepan: Top 4 picks

In a hurry?: Our best Yukihira saucepan is Yoshikawa Yukihira Saucepan.

In Japan, you might find an everyday cooking utensil at the local market called a “Yukihira.” These pots are a staple in Japanese cuisine, and they’re ideal for the task of simmering and preparing Japanese noodles.

The Japanese have been making these pans for over 150 years, and they’ve never lost their popularity. This is because Yukihira saucepans are exquisitely crafted, incredibly easy to use, super lightweight, extremely versatile, and are made to last. They’re also very affordable, which makes them ideal for anyone looking to buy a new saucepan or loving Japanese cuisine.

So, if you’re looking to buy the best Yukihira saucepan, you’ve come to the right place. Here are the best 4 available today.

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Best Yukihira saucepan 

We’ve researched and compiled this list of the best Yukihira saucepans in the market today. We’ve selected only those that are made with high-quality materials, are durable, and are good value for money.

This saucepan from Yoshikawa Yukihira is one of the best Yukihiro saucepans. It’s a heavy-duty pot with a strong, yet lightweight and comfortable handle, making it very easy to hold and use.

It is made from high-quality, thin stainless steel, which means that it will last for many years, and will not rust. 

It heats up quickly and evenly, and the dimples add more surface area and help to distribute heat around the pan and keep your food from burning. These dimples also enable the sauces to be poured slowly boosting umami.

The pan is also versatile and comes in different sizes depending on the amount of food you need to cook. You can use this saucepan safely with electric, gas, or induction cooktops.

This Japanese saucepan is great for boiling eggs, making dashi and ramen, reducing small-batch sauces, or even making miso soup. It’s also perfect for blanching vegetables and steaming rice.

The  2.2-quart is a good size if you only need to make small portions of food instead of using your bulky western saucepans.

The handle is made of wood, which is ideal for cooking because it’s non-toxic and easy to clean. Make sure that the handle is far enough from the stove to avoid burning it.

The pan is easy to clean. However, it’s not recommended to put the pot in the dishwasher as this would wreck the finish on the handle. 

Per the manufacturer’s instructions, it’s normal that the saucepan discolors (rainbow staining) after multiple uses. If you experience discoloration, don’t panic! It’s still safe to use.

A nice touch of Yoshikawa Yukihira saucepan is that it has a two-sided pour spout for easy ambidextrous use. Yet, the spouts are a bit shallow which causes the liquids to spill to the surface down below.

It is not a frying pan or a sauté pan so please don’t use the saucepan with a high heat setting, especially with a gas stove. It’s advised to use medium heat otherwise you might burn the wooden handle or cause the pot to discolor. 

Pro tip: This saucepan doesn’t come with a lid. If you need one, you can buy a 7.87-inch lid.

The complete Yoshikawa Yukihira saucepan set consists of 4 pans of different sizes: 1.2 quarts, 1.7 quarts, 2.2 quarts, and 3 quarts respectively. Amazon sells every size separately. If you want the whole set, check Costco as it sometimes provides it.

If you’re looking for a good-quality, affordable Japanese cooking pot, then this is the one for you. It’s perfect for all of your Japanese cooking needs, whether you’re cooking for yourself or others.

Promising Review:

This is an excellent saucepan for preparing breakfast cereal or pasta sauce for one or two people. It heats up quickly and evenly and is easy to clean. Excellent handle. Before I purchased this pan, I was using a Le Creuset measuring pan which suffered from a terrible flat steel handle. I have only had it for a few weeks so time will tell how it performs over time.

Jdcohn

Pros

• Heats up surprisingly well
• Lightweight
• Elegant design with hammered finish 
• Made in Japan
• Easy to clean

Cons

• Pouring liquids is quite difficult
• Hand wash only
• Not suitable for long stewing

Although it’s hard to find a traditional Japanese Yukihira pan that is made of aluminum, even at Asian grocery stores, the Taniguchi saucepan is available on Amazon at a great price.

This is a simple and elegant pot that’s easy to use, and it’s also a great gift for someone who loves to cook.

Aluminum construction allows the pan to heat really fast even slightly quicker than stainless steel. Also, this makes this pan thicker than its stainless steel contenders (2.2 mm). Yet, the downside of aluminum is that it stains.

This Yukihira saucepan is ideal for boiling water or making a quick noodle soup like ramen or udon.

I like that it has a pour spout, which makes it easy to transfer the contents into the dishes without spilling.

The Japanese pot also has a handle which makes it easier to carry around. This handle is made from natural wood, which feels comfortable in my hand. It is very sturdy too, so you won’t have any problems using it for many years.

It’s pretty small too, so it won’t take up too much space in my kitchen.

Promising Review:

Excellent quality, thick construction, and just looks great. Forget the cheaper ones on amazon, this one is better. well worth the wait. Thanks!

Amazon customer

Pros

• Thick and sturdy
• Heats up quickly
• Made In Japan

Cons

• Staining issues

Ginkgo Yukihira saucepan shares with Yoshikawa Yukihira pan a lot of attributes and features. They are almost identical. Both of them are made from stainless steel, have double spouts, boast a hammered surface, and come with a wooden handle.

However, the Ginkgo saucier pan is a bit more expensive, and also it provides a dedicated lid for each size which you can buy separately. So, if you need a good yukihira saucepan, this one is your best bet.

The pan is lightweight but sturdy, heats up quickly and evenly with good heat retention.

It’s great for boiling water, melting butter, preparing mulled cider, and much more tasks.

Only hand wash this exquisitely-crafted Japanese pot and keep the handle away from heat and water and you’re good to go.

My only complaint is the cover isn’t a tight-fitting lid as it fits on the pan loosely.

Promising Review:

Fast heating, a handle you don’t need a mitt for and beautifully crafted, what more can you ask for in a pot. Having already owned the largest size, I wanted a choice for different needs. A true value that I use daily.

Leed

Pros

• Fast heating
• Beautiful design
• Lightweight
• Double spouts on both sides of the pan
• Ergonomic, heat-resistant handle

Cons

• The cover does not fit well
• A bit pricey

If you need a good nonstick yukihira pan with a traditional Japanese taste, the Hinomaru Yukihira pot is your ticket.

This saucepan has a nice weight to it so you can easily pour and lift it. It’s also made from aluminum which is lightweight and strong. This also means that the pan will heat up instantly.

The gold non-stick coating is durable and long-lasting, yet you should consider that it will wear down with continuous use.

This Japanese pot is great for cooking everything from noodles to dashi to soup or even making stir fry from time to time given its thicker construction. 

The handle makes pouring much easier, and it’s got a nice feel to it. You can put the pan right on the stovetop and it will stay cool during cooking.

I’m sure this will last for many years. This is great cookware for the price. You can’t go wrong with it.

Promising Review:

Again it’s good for a single bowl. Wish it had a bigger size. It’s good, so I bought it for trial. Started to use it a few times.

TruemanC

Pros

• Lightweight
• Super easy to clean
• Great heat conduction
• Made in Japan

Cons

• Overpriced for what it delivers

Advantages of a Yukihira Saucepan

Yukihira Saucepan is one of the most popular Japanese cookware that is widely used in Japan by both home cooks and professional chefs. 

Typically, Yukihira Saucepan is a lightweight, one-handled pot that features thin but resilient construction. It also comes with a dimpled surface to increase the surface area and make the heat conduction more efficient and maximize the food release. In addition, it boasts a pouring spout and a slightly curved bottom.

The ultimate selling point of the Yukihira saucepan is that it heats up incredibly fast thanks to its thin nature and hammered surface. So, it’s perfect for cooking any recipe that implies boiling liquids as it is quicker than thicker western saucepans.

Note that the thin structure of the Yukihira pan doesn’t mean that it’s flimsy. The Japanese craftsmanship handles this problem by the heat treatment of the pan side in a process called annealing in metallurgy.

In Japanese cuisine, Yukihira Nabe is used mainly for preparing Japanese broth such as ramen or udon, making dashi stock (Bouillon) for miso soup, and cooking stewed dishes like Japanese Beef Stew.

Here are some other examples of other practical uses for Yukihira pan:

• Cooking Tofu Steak with Japanese Mushrooms
• Melting sweet like marshmallows to make nougat candy.
• Melting butter
• Preparing small-batch sauces like black bean basil sauce.
• Making boiled eggs
• Making matcha
• Cooking oats overnight in small portions

The Yukihira Saucepan is not meant for searing or frying foods. It can only be used with low to medium heat settings. Yukihira pans would wrap if used on high-heat cooking. This also might cause the pan to stain and have scorching markings.

These saucepans are not suitable for cooking rice, custards, and similar stuff as the thin bottom will scorch the food.

Materials

Historically, traditional Yukihira Saucepans are made of aluminum as it’s a phenomenal heat conductor. This makes these pans heat up in a jiff. Yet, aluminum is reactive to acidic foods and can stain easily.

Many manufacturers use a nonstick coating on aluminum to overcome these issues. Unfortunately, the nonstick coat flakes off over time making it an impractical option.

Stainless steel is the most common material for making Yukihira Saucepans. It doesn’t react with food and is more convenient for long-term use. However, stainless steel is inferior to aluminum as a heat conductor, you won’t notice any difference in your daily use of these saucepans. Thanks again to the thin nature of the Yukihira Saucepan.

Copper Yukihira saucepans are available but it’s rare to find nowadays.

Handle

The handle of Yukihira nabe is commonly made of natural wood that stays cool during cooking. The downside of using wood is that it’s prone to burning. So, you can’t put these pans in the oven. Also, the wooden handles make Yukihira saucepans not dishwasher-safe as the dishwasher might destroy their natural finish.

The good news here is these handles are removable. Use a screwdriver to remove the screws and replace them if you need to.

Yukihira saucepan care

Here is some instruction to keep your Japanese saucepan brand new and avoid discoloration:

• Fill the saucepan halfway with water and 1/2 cup of vegetable peelings before using it for the first time. 15 minutes on high heat.  This will avoid the discoloration of your pan.
• Don’t worry if the interior of the pot becomes discolored after multiple usages; it’s still good and safe to use.
• To restore the original finish, fill the pot halfway with water and finely slice 1/2 lemon. Boil the mixture for roughly 15 minutes over high heat. After that, clean with steel wool or a sponge. 
• Another way to remove the stain is by soaking the pot in white vinegar and cleaning it with a sponge.

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