Go as healthy as you want to, but at the end of the day, nothing tastes better than crispy, fried food. However, frying is always a task, the mess, the fear of hot oil, the splatter – and lots more. But it’s time to let go of the frying worries. Here are ten tips that will give you a hold on frying your favorite food without a hunch. Take a look:

1. Off With The Mess:

The first thing that comes to your mind while frying is the mess, of the many little bowls kept around, to dip, to coat, to egg wash, and the splatter. The splatter, that leaves the whole kitchen top greasy and dirty. But here is a simple tip that will make cleaning up after extremely easy. All you need to do the next time you decide to fry is cover up the kitchen top with old news paper or kitchen foil, and once you are done frying, there is no need to wipe off – just fold them up and throw.

2. KYO – Know Your Oils:

There are a wide variety of oils available in the market today. But you must know which one to use. The different oils are differently flavored, and if you are not sure which oil to use for what, you will end up with food that tastes very different from what you anticipated. Also, the oils have different smoke points. If an oil with a low smoke point, like olive oil, is brought up to a high temperature, it could make your food taste rancid. Also oils that have low smoke points could cause fires if the temperatures are taken too high.

3. Experiment:

Just know that anything can be fried, not just chicken and chips. Get creative and fry up the most outrageous combos, they are sure to taste good! After all, if you can fry ice cream, you can fry absolutely anything!

4. It’s All About Getting The Right Crunch:

This one is probably the most important point. These are tips that will help you crisp it up. First you need to make sure the oil is really hot. How do you judge if the oil is hot enough? Well, dip in a wooden spoon, and if bubbles appear around it,the oil is ready to fry your food.
Second thing to keep in mind to make sure that the food is absolutely dry. If the food is not batter fried, place it on a paper towel before you fry it up, so that all the moisture is pulled out. If you are batter frying the food, make sure the excess batter is completely dripped out before you put it in the oil.
The third tip for that extra crisp is to use crispy foods as the coating. Like toasted bread or cornflakes.

5. Wok It Up:

Cast-iron? Stainless steel? Nah! For that perfect frying experience, look up to the wok. The sides are sloped; therefore it’s extremely easy to manage the splattering. Also maneuvering in a wok is so much easier, and it ensures crispiness.

6. Avoid The Splash:

Dealing with hot oil is surely a scary affair. You tend to stand away, and drop things quickly and from a height. But this could actually backfire and prove quite dangerous. Try this – drop the food in, gently, and from a closer height. Another tip, if the food is not battered or coated, you can place it onto a nice big spoon and put it in the oil. And then maneuver the spoon in such a way that the food doesn’t stick together.

7. Less Is More:

Frying is almost always the last step, and it tends to get extremely rushed. But make sure that you don’t put too much together in the hot oil. You are sure to be disappointed. The reason? Well adding too much food all at once, will cause the temperature of the oil to drop. Therefore, instead of getting nice and crispy, your food will end up getting soggy with all the oil it has absorbed. Small batches are always a good idea.

8. Oil Clear:

The most natural thing that happens when you fry food is leaving behind bits of food, or particles, in the hot oil, as you remove the rest of the perfectly fried bits. What harm can those small bits floating in oil cause anyway? Well it is these small bits that can over cook, and spread a weird flavor into the oil, and therefore the rest of the food. Make sure you take two minutes to skim through and remove the small particles before you put in the next batch into the hot oil.

9. Drip & Dry:

This one is old, but tried and tested, and has remainedas one of the most important steps that has to be implemented while frying. Keep some paper towels placed and ready on a platewhere you can dump the fresh batch of fried delights as soon as you pick them out of the hot oil. It is said that paper towels drain almost four times more oil than the frying rack does.

10. Season:

Fried finger food, if not battered, is usually seasoned after it is removed from the oil. But there is something you must know. The seasoning must be done as soon as you place the food over the paper towels – you cannot wait until you are done with all your batches. Or else, all the salt and seasoning will be left at the bottom as you pick up your food to eat.
The golden crunch always rules.