Tips from professional Chef Tallyrand:

Tips on Deep Frying

1. Choose the quality and the shape of cut carefully
2. Cut vegetables into shapes and sizes that will suit your final presentation; using the natural shape of the vegetable as much as possible is best, and or using exaggerated oblique cuts (long and 45° angled) gives the best results
3. Deep frying battered vegetables is traditionally a Japanese techniques (tempura), the vegetables are cooked from raw so that they retain a natural crispness, as such the way they are cut and their thickness needs to be carefully considered
4. Marinating vegetables prior to deep frying will ensure an added depth to its final flavour (not recommended if a flavoured / spiced batter is used)
5. The blanching and refreshing of tubers like potatoes / kumara (in well salted water) prior to deep frying will encourage a definitive crispness to the final product
6. Ensure all foods are as dry as possible prior to cooking to avoid 'spitting' of oil and to prevent the oil from degrading too quickly
7. Prior to battering all foods must be floured first to ensure the batter clings to the food (cornflour is an excellent flour for this and adds a crispness)
8. Always ensure the fat is as clean and fresh as possible to avoid taste contamination
9. Battered foods are never cooked in a basket, as the foods will sink to the bottom of the basket and the liquid batter will wrap itself around the holes in the basket, cook and therefore 'stick' to the basket
10. Battered foods should be placed directly into the friture and removed with a spider
11. Panéed foods may successfully be cooked in a basket
12. Never over fill a basket, better to cook small amounts more often, overloading the basket will encourage the foods to stick together
13. When placing foods into the friture:

    	ALWAYS place foods into the friture in a safe manner
    	ALWAYS place foods into the friture in an away motion from the body to avoid any splashes
    	NEVER drop it from a height

14. Remove foods to a drainage tray (tray with paper towels) and place in a warmed oven (at 75°C for a maximum of 5 minutes)
15. All foods must be piping hot when served (if you can handle them without tongs, they are not hot enough!) and the coating still crisp

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Published 23 October 2005