We all eat it at home from time to time. A nice patatje, a nasi slice or a bitterbal, nice fried chicken, all are delicious from the deep fryer. Very many Dutch families have a deep fryer at home. But what if you don’t have one? No way, absolutely not! There are other ways to deep fry without a pan, which I’ll go over with you today.
The Theory
Deep-frying is little more than food being immersed in hot oil. This is done at hot temperature, or at least it should be. The outside is then actually cooked immediately, and the inside is steamed. Because the outside is cooked immediately, no more oil can get to the inside of the food.
So the high temperature is a requirement, but basically it does not require a deep fryer. All that is really needed in this situation is to create the so-called ”frying effect.” That is, you need to find a suitable oil (coconut oil is recommended), heat it strongly between 170 and 190 degrees Celsius and immerse the food in the oil. A frying pan helps achieve this effect, but it can be done differently.
Another pan
The main way to deep fry without a frying pan is to find another pan and fill it with oil. It is important to choose a good kind of pan for this.
It is then important to pay attention to two things. First, the pan must be high enough and second, it must be very resistant to heat and be able to hold it. It should have a thick layer of oil and at the same time food should still fit in it. A pan with a non-stick coating does not retain heat very well. This causes temperature fluctuations.
Whichever pan you will choose, make sure it stands well and firmly on the stove. The metal wok is widely used, especially in Asia, for deep-frying, but a Western stove often does not have a wok burner that will hold that thing properly.
How much oil to use?
The big danger of deep-frying is adding too little oil. Surely a few inches is enough? Sometimes it is, but often it isn’t. With something like eggplant, that’s fine, then you can still stir it around a bit while you’re frying and make sure it browns well on all sides.
But if you’re frying fries or snacks then you have to completely submerge it in oil. Then you have a chance of it sticking to the bottom of the pan. Use a lot of oil, just a little more than that remains necessary, otherwise your food will stick to the bottom of your pan, which of course is not the intention.
The thermometer
One advantage of a deep fryer is that you can set it to a certain temperature, and the light will give you the exact answer as to whether you can start or not. A child can do the laundry. So when you fry without a deep fryer, it’s a little trickier.
Fortunately, you can also measure the temperature of the oil in another way. For example, you can use a thermometer, but you can also use other ways. For example, you can try using a piece of bread. You can throw a piece of bread of 3 by 3 centimeters in the pan, when it becomes nice and well browned within 60 seconds, then the oil is around 185 degrees Celsius and then the pan is hot enough to fry with.
The Airfryer
You saw this one coming, of course. It is also possible to deep fry with the Airfryer! This is not done with oil, but with hot air. Technically, however, you still fry your food through hot air circulation. So it is an alternative to the deep fryer.
Some snacks are less tasty from the Airfryer. However, vegetables and meat can be prepared in the Airfryer without any problems and then everything is full of flavor. Regarding snacks, nowadays there are also plenty of snacks that are specifically intended for the Airfryer, these are adapted to the hot air effect of the Airfryer and therefore come out a little better here, crisper, crunchier, tastier.