COOK WITH CONFIDENCE Deep-frying

Probably the most daunting of all cooking methods to try at home but one that delivers restaurant-style results – when you know how to do it properly

STEP BY STEP

• Have everything ready to hand before you start heating the oil, as a hot pan of oil needs your undivided attention.

• Make sure anything you fry is as dry as possible. Chips should be left to dry on a tea towel before cooking.

• Pour lavourless oil (see right) into a wok until it’s about 10cm deep.

• Set the wok on a medium-high heat. Monitor the temperature as you bring the oil up to the required heat for your recipe. It’s best to use a digital thermometer for this (see right).

• Avoid splashes by slowly lowering food into the oil away from you, still taking the temperature, which will fall.

• Do not overcrowd the oil – cooking in batches is best. You can always keep your cooked food warm in a low oven.

• To stop food sticking together, gently move it around while it cooks with a slotted spoon or tongs.

• When the food is ready, carefully lift from the oil using tongs or a slotted spoon. Drain the food on a clean tea towel and season straightaway.

THE RIGHT VESSEL

Using an electric deep-fat fryer is the easiest and safest option, but if you don’t have one, the best pan to use for deep-frying at home, hands-down, is a wok. It is the deep-frying vessel of choice for any street-food stall without a deep-fat fryer and that’s for good reason. The shape of a wok means that it’s safer, quicker, easier and more economical for the depth of oil needed compared to any type of saucepan.

THE RIGHT OIL

Oils with a neutral lavour like sun lower, vegetable or groundnut are the best to use because they have a high smoke point (220C) – that’s the temperature they can be heated to before smoking and burning. You’ll never need to deepfry above 190C, so as long as you use a thermometer and keep an eye on things you should be ine. Whether you’re deep-frying or shallow-frying, never use oil that’s reached its smoking point – it will taste acrid and it isn’t good for you. If you’re deep-frying safely, a batch of oil should be good to use about six times before it needs changing.

TAKING THE TEMPERATURE

For precision and safety, use a digital cooking thermometer to take the temperature of the oil. If you don’t have one, drop a popcorn kernel into the oil as it heats. When it pops, the oil will have reached about 180C. You can also use a small piece of white bread. When it sizzles and turns crispy in one minute, the oil is at about 180C.

DISCARDING USED OIL

Used oil should never be poured down the sink – it is ruinous for your drains and the environment. Instead, once the oil has cooled, pour it back into the empty bottle, or use Quickshine deep-fat ixer (which is available in sachets to buy online) for solidifying the oil in a block, then throw it in the black bin. Better still, check if your local recycling facility accepts oil, or contact a local restaurant or pub to see if they recycle theirs. If so, ask if they’ll take yours as well.