Fried chicken, pork, beef, or fish that is fried right doesn’t taste greasy. It would seem almost impossible since frying involves greasy, slippery oil. In addition, many health-food advocates encourage people to stay away from fried dishes since these are supposed to be unhealthy and high in cholesterol. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Fried dishes are some of the healthiest food around; you just need to do it right.
Here are some tips on frying food, follow these and your gourmet dishes will come out perfect and tasty:
Secrets of Frying
* Check the oil you’re using.
The oil should be fresh, clean, and clear. Do not use used oil because your meal will be infused with unwanted flavours from the previous foodstuff that was being cooked in that oil. Also, stay away from oil that has specks of burned particles; the particles can discolour and taint the food.
Vegetable oil is highly recommended for frying. It is clean, healthy, and tasteless, which allows the natural flavour of the foodstuff to dominate your palate.
* Keep the oil’s temperature constant.
Keeping the oil constantly hot is the key to having a greaseless meal. In fact, properly fried food items actually have very little oil in them if they’re fried at the right temperature.
Oil should be kept at a temperature between 325 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit; you can determine the right temperature by using a thermometer. Below that and the food starts to absorb more oil. Also, you will know that the oil is too hot if smoke starts to appear.
* Seal in the food’s moisture.
Much of the food’s flavour comes from the moisture within it. The food’s natural moisture is water-based, and since oil and water don’t mix, the moisture actually creates a “shield” against the oil around it. To even better seal and protect the foodstuff’s natural moisture, chefs recommend that you coat the food with a simple batter or crispy bread crumbs.
* Cook in small batches.
Do not overload your cooking vessel with foodstuff. If you do so, the oil’s temperature will drop, and that will result to oily, greasy tasting food. Fry food in small batches, aiming to have half an inch of space between individual pieces of food, to maintain the hot temperature.
* Be generous with oil.
It’s ironic, but the more oil you have in your cooking vessel, the better your food will taste. So be generous with oil. The foodstuff, in fact, should be floating in oil.
* Use paper towels.
Use a slotted spoon to take the food out of the cooking vessel to drain the oil. Then place the foodstuff on paper towels for a few minutes. This allows the towels to soak up the excess oil before serving the meal to your guests.
There you have it. By following these tips, you’ll have your guests and diners waiting in anticipation for your sumptuous, non-greasy, and healthy fried food. Bon apetite!