The Golden Rules

There are two golden rules for deep-frying. First, you must have enough oil really to immerse whatever is being fried so that it all cooks at once and quickly. Shallow-frying is a different technique, for which you may often need to use the bare minimum of oil; deep-frying only works when you have plenty. If the recipe prescribes the amount, obey it. Many recipes, however, don’t specify an exact quantity because pans and fryers vary so much in size and shape. As keeping the oil temperature steady is so important, it is obviously not a good idea to add too much food to the hot oil at a time, so deep-frying is usually best done in smallish batches.