Shallow-frying or sautéeing

This method is often called pan-frying and differs from deep-frying in that only a small amount of fat is needed; in fact, since the arrival of the non-stick frying pan, food can be sautéed dry, which is a lot more acceptable to the health conscious. When using fat to fry in, a combination of oil and butter is best; butter for the flavour it gives, and oil to prevent the butter from burning. If you wish to use only butter, then it must be clarified first; clarified butter will not burn, whereas unclarified will. The food should always be started in a very hot pan to seal in its juices, then the heat reduced to allow it to finish cooking gently. It is a very quick way of cooking and is more suited to thinner cuts than to whole fish.