Wikipedia: Frying is the cooking of food in oil or another fat. Similar to sautéing, pan-fried foods are generally turned over once or twice during cooking, using tongs or a spatula, while sautéed foods are cooked by “tossing in the pan”. This is the most common way I cook food.
Cooking oil
I have my limited preferences for oil use. These are not the only oils or fats used, just my choices.
- Sauté oil: Olive, avocado, butter, or a mixture of butter + olive oil. Use only the amount of oil needed to cook the food, consider using teaspoons of oil not tablespoons
- Stir fry oil: Avocado, peanut, animal fat, rice bran oil
- Pan fry oil: peanut, rice bran oil, or animal fat
- Shallow frying: peanut, rice bran oil
- Deep frying: rice bran oil or peanut oil
Sautéing
Cooking with small amounts of oil or fat, in a shallow pan, and over high heat. The word means “jump in the pan,” and that is what I make the food do. The food is cooked by tossing the food or using tongs.
- Make sure the food is dry before cooking so the oil does not cool down too much or splatter and hit you. Also have the food cut into equal sizes so they cook uniformly.
- The pan should be wider than tall so it can fit all the food you normally cook with, without overcrowding.
- Too much food and some of the items will steam, to little food and the oil might burn.
- Do not use non-stick pans if you want the crispy parts (fond) of the food stuck to the pan to be recovered and used. (That is where flavor is.)
- Let the pan get hot, then add oil, and once the oil has heated up add the food.
- You want the food to sizzle as soon as it hits the pan. If it does not sizzle the oil is not hot enough, and the food is just sitting there soaking up oil
- Once the food is cooking in the pan do not touch it, let the food cook and do its thing, do not constantly fuss with it
- If the oil or fat starts smoking stop and toss out the oil, it is now damaged
Stir frying
A way of cooking with very hot oil in a wok over very high heat, this is fast cooking. It sears food quickly and locks in natural juices and flavor.
- Mise en place: Cut all ingredients first as this is a fast cooking style
- Have all seasoning and sauces ready and measured
- Pan to use is a wok and have it heated on the stove. Avoid non-stick woks due to high heat usage, which will ruin the coating and send chemicals into the air. A carbon steel flat-bottomed wok is the best pan to use.
- And I use a wooden, slightly curved spatula
- Then only use the amount of oil you need, generally ~2T
- Cook everything on high heat
- Add aromatics first: Chinese aromatics are garlic, ginger, green onions. Thai aromatics are chopped lemongrass, galangal, chili pepper and basil.
- Add protein and let it sear, but not so long it burns
- Add at least 2 contrasting colored veggies which are stirred around so they do not over cook
- I then remove the wok from the heat, add sauces and finish with pepper, stirring to get the sauce everywhere
- Then I plate and garnish
Pan frying
Minimal fat is added, in the case of pan frying bacon no fat is added. Pan frying is set at a lower heat than sautéing and the food can be turned over a few times, examples are sausages, chicken breasts, steaks or burgers. The meat is not cut into little bite sizes but are cooked whole. So the heat is lower to allow the food to cook through without burning.
Sometimes pan fried foods are batter covered like with a Schnitzel or fried eggplant.
Shallow Frying
Shallow frying is a high heat, oil-based frying technique where oil is added to a pan up to half the height of the food you are frying. The food is turned over once, to cook (and brown) on both sides.
- Heat pan, then heat oil, food should sizzle once hitting the pan
- Food is dry or batter coated (fried chicken or fish)
- Let battered coated food stand at room temp before frying so the batter sets
- Use a straight edged pan with up to 2″ height
- Use tongs to turn the food over once
- Once cooked place on a drying rack in a baking sheet to drain away the cooking oil
Deep frying
Food is submerged in hot oil or fat and cooks quickly. I only do this if I have specialty equipment, although I have been told you can cook this way using a pot.
- Safety is my main concern: never overfill with oil
- Have the proper tools and treat hot oil with respect
- Do not put overly wet food in the fryer if you can help it
- Season the flour you are dipping the food into before adding a batter
- Do not over crowd or food will not cook well
- Use the right oil. It can be reused but learn when to toss
- With meat use a thermometer to achieve proper cooking temps
- Set the fryer to the correct temp
- Never move a container of hot oil, wait for it to cool
- Never leave a cooking fryer unattended
Air fryer
This is a way of cooking that moves hot air around the food in a convection process. I have to admit I have not done this type of cooking but imagine it has similar suggestions I have written about above, such as not overcrowding, limited oil mixed with the food before putting in the fyer, air frying a wet batter probably does not work well. I welcome suggestions for those who have used this tool.