Taking on deep-frying doesn’t have to mean a big pan full of boiling fat and lingering smells. Tom Shingler explains how doing it on a micro level can make a big difference, lending a cheffy flair without the need to fumigate your kitchen
How to.
Dip me in batter and submerge me in oil! I – and most people the world over – can’t get enough of deep-fried food. But eating it every day isn’t exactly the greatest for your health, so it falls into treat territory. And deep-frying a load of chicken, fish or chips at home comes with its own fallout: it’s a bit stinky – not to mention all the leftover oil. That’s why air fryers are having a moment, promising all the tastiness of deep-frying without the health implications or need for lots of oil (although if you’ve ever had air-fried ‘chips’, you know they’re not a patch on the real thing).
I only do ‘proper’ deep-frying – that is, when the main focus of the meal is cooked in oil – once in a blue moon. It’s hard to justify, and unless you have a huge pot filled with litres of oil or a dedicated deep-fryer, it’s tricky to maintain the temperature. For things like fish and chips it’s best to go to the pros. That doesn’t mean the process of deep-frying is a rarity in my kitchen. I just do it on a smaller level. A small saucepan or wok half-filled with oil is more economical, manageable and – let’s face it – a little less terrifying than litres of the stuff bubbling away. Less oil means less clean-up and fewer smells, and makes the whole process quicker and more appealing.
(That said, I’ll be getting out a bigger pan for the manageable calamari on p29 and köftesi on p94. The tips opposite about draining, temperature and re-using the oil all stand for those two batch-cooked recipes.)
So what can you deep-fry in just a few hundred millilitres of oil? The answer lies not in big pieces of protein or mountains of potato but in little crispy things that can be sprinkled, scattered or used to garnish dishes, elevating them instantly with cheffy aplomb. This means turning to vegetables, herbs and carbs rather than meat or fish, which create far fewer lingering aromas and mean the oil can be reused for more things afterwards.
This is obviously not something to do on a lazy Tuesday night, but when you’ve got people round, a little deep-fried garnish or snack is a game-changer. It’s time to stop fearing the fryer; give it a go for some proper fancy home cookery.
DEEP-FRIED DESIGNS
Inspiration for deep-frying on the micro level: Finely sliced onions Make curries or rice that little bit tastier with a
