How to char vegetables to smoky sweetness? 5 tools to consider

Charring vegetables can magically coax out their natural sweetness, render them plush, and/or impart an outdoorsy smokiness. The transformation depends on the vegetable chosen, the tool and method used, plus the cook's overall purpose.

For something like pho, aromatics such as shallots, onions, or ginger were traditionally set on a metal grill atop a charcoal brazier. The aim was to mostly blacken their skins and partly render their fleshy insides somewhat sweeter, less harsh, so they'd add complexity to an old-fashioned pot of beef pho or chicken pho. Ditto for charring and smoking eggplant for favorites such as Indian baigan bharta, Arabic baba ghanoush, and Vietnamese ca tim nuong mo hanh (grilled eggplant with scallion oil)

But who wants to get charcoal going? It's too much trouble for most modern cooks. You have choices. This post reviews some tools and method for efficiently charring vegetables for your recipes.

• Pros: Makes good use of a cast iron or carbon steel skillet.
• Cons: Does not yield a super smoky flavor. The charring takes a longer than with direct heat/direct flame contact.
• Buy: Carbon steel skillets are my jam because they heat fast, are relatively lightweight, and just as hard working as cast iron. Brands I've test driven and like include Made In (what I used above), Mauviel and de Buyer

Flimsy but fine roti grill

Want to steady veggies when charring over direct heat? Try a South Asian roti grill. It's meant for heating flatbread or papads over an open flame but it can do more!

Fast blasting vegetable grilling pan/basket

Perforated pans meant for grilling vegetable and other easy-to-fall-through-the-grates foods are fantastic for charring vegetables on a gas or induction stove (sorry I don't have a regular electric stove).

The pans look like skillets and are sometimes marketed as "grilling baskets". Basically, they're high-heat pie pans with holes on the bottom. Use them on medium-high or medium heat because they get super hot, super fast. They remind me of pans used to roast chestnuts.

• Pros: Hold lots lots of veggies for charring. Good, fast exposure to heat source, even on induction. Durable when made of carbon steel or cast iron (I avoid thin stainless steel which may warp). You can rest oddly shaped veggies on the rim or on the center bump to strategically char. Store with other skillets.
• Cons: Washing can be a chore because of all the holes. The heat can be fierce so there can be leakage onto your stovetop. Clean up is minimal though.
• Buy: OXO Obsidian (pre-seasoned carbon steel, this is what I used above), Made In (thicker carbon steel than OXO), Lodge (cast iron so heavier than carbon steel; I would avoid Lodge's carbon steel pan with many slits to wash)

• Pros: Provides solid, even flame and heat exposure for balanced smoke and char.
• Cons: Thin metal. The shape and size is unusual so it doesn't easily nest with other items in the kitchen. Hard to source in many places.
• Buy: 177 Milk Street, Ebay