Foods That Taste Better When Flash Fried

Cooking is a skill you learn by observing others or by practicing it yourself, making mistakes along the way.

If you have a passion for spending time in the kitchen, cooking, and grilling fresh produce from the farmers' market, it can be frustrating when you don’t achieve the perfect golden brown colour of your items without deep frying.

But fret not! Over the years, chefs have used flash frying to retain the dark brown and crispy look of your favourite food items without deep frying.

Flash frying is an alternative to deep frying. People who are aware of how deep frying can saturate food with fats have been using the flash fry technique for a long time.

Flash-Fried Foods

While many foods can be flash-fried, some taste particularly great when quickly cooked on a thick cast-iron pan:

• Green Leaves: Spinach, basil, rosemary, and thyme sprigs taste much better when fried quickly.
• Seafood: Flash-frying seafood helps drain excess oil rather than leaving it saturated with fats.
• Herbs: Frying herbs before adding them to your curry can quickly release their aroma.
• Leftovers: Flash-frying leftover food can help retain moisture and make it enjoyable the second time around.

Cultural Uses

Traditionally, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and American cuisines utilize quick pan frying at high temperatures. Some well-known dishes that use this technique include:

• Kung Pao Chicken (Chinese Cuisine)
• Tempura (Japanese Cuisine)
• Pad Thai (Thai Cuisine)
• Fried Chicken (American Cuisine)

This technique helps reduce cooking time and oil usage. To add a unique flavour to flash-fried items, the Chinese and Japanese often coat green leaves and other foods with egg before frying.