No, this isn’t a cast iron thing. Using stainless pans, you can get nonstick effects that, in my experience, far outperform Teflon anyway. The process is called “spot seasoning.” I have cooked crispy, cheesy rice noodles with eggs with zero sticking.
I love my cast iron pans, but stainless is my daily go-to. Added bonus: use 100% copper wool to clean your stainless pan. The copper-coated wool at most grocery stores is problematic; you might get a few uses out of the coated garbage and then it starts shedding metal bits.
I add oil, just enough to barely coat the pan, and then tap a teeny drop of tap water from my finger onto the pan. Once the drop pops (if it got touched by the oil) or simply boils away, I can start cooking.
Additionally: butter. Butter somehow doesn’t stick for whatever reason, even if the pan isn’t fully heated up yet.
Same here, but with a different order.
mmmm… butter
It’s an emulsion, butter is basically cheat codes