Teppan

　The main purpose of this hike is to grill meat outdoors and eat it with rice. In this context, the griddle is essential.

• Background
  　There’s a griddle called the “Yokozawa Teppan” that was inspired by old-timers.” Well, the instructions said that the base plate (made of black-coated steel) was just a piece cut to a suitable size. I think it cost about 4,000 yen, including the griddle tongs and a storage bag. For anyone familiar with steel plates as a material, 4,000 yen is an unbeatable price. If I worked at NSK or BOSCH, these would probably be the kinds of scrap materials I’d find at prototyping sessions or workshops. However, since I was working at Sansa Security at the time, I couldn’t source the materials locally, so I decided to order them from an online metal supplier.
  

• Yokohama Teppan
  　I’ve made four so far. I currently have two on hand. I made the first one a random size—I think I copied the size of the original. I gave that one to my son. The second one was a square I made at Misumi.I designed it to fit easily on my Iwatani stove. However, since I made it 9 mm thick, it takes an incredibly long time to cool down. I traded this one for beer with a colleague in Uhul. The third one I made to fit a Mess Tin. Since it stores inside the Mess Tin, it’s convenient for solo trips.I made the fourth one to fit a three-go mess tin. It’s handy when cooking for two. As a tribute to Yokozawa Teppan, I’ve named these “Yokohama Teppan” and use them all the time.
  

　If DIY seems like too much trouble, you can just buy a Yokozawa Teppan as-is; but if you want to keep the price down even a little or are particular about the size, I think ordering from a hardware store is also a good option.

• Seasoning
  　Season the meat before grilling it. Since modern gas stoves aren’t really suited for this kind of dry-searing, it’s probably better to use an outdoor stove. However, since most outdoor stoves are intended for outdoor use only, please proceed at your own risk. Sometimes, equipment that’s meant to be safe and convenient can actually become inconvenient and even pose a danger.
  

  1. Wash thoroughly
     　Use plenty of mild detergent to wash off the rust-preventive oil.
     

  2. Heat a pan and stir-fry the leftover vegetables.
     　Drizzle a little cooking oil into the pan and stir-fry the vegetable scraps you set aside until they start to smoke.
     

  3. Remove the scraps and let it cool
     　Let it cool completely, then wrap it in newspaper or something similar and store it away from the air.
     

  ⇒After use, there’s no need to wash it with water; simply scrape off any residue with a spatula or similar tool. The key is to keep it from coming into contact with air.