Deep-Frying

In most cuisines, deep-frying is used only for one purpose: to cook food in deep oil until the center is done and the crust is crisp and golden brown.

It is not so in Chinese cooking. Out of their love for variety and deep interest in textures, the Chinese bring diversity to the simple process of deep-frying. Foods look different because of the different ways they are cut, taste different because of marinating and saucing, and vary in texture through coating, precooking, drying, salting, and through the manipulation of oil temperature. This play on different kinds of crispness, however subtle, is carried so far that one Fukien specialty actually calls for passing deep-fried pieces of fish through cool liquid lard before serving, so that the crust may acquire an unusual emollient smoothness. And, out of their love for multiple-phase cooking, the Chinese give deep-frying a lot of latitude and a certain amount of prestige: it serves not only as a preparational step but also as one of several steps in many of China’s gastronomic specialties.