August 01, 2004
Hot wok, cold oil
Article Summary: Hot wok, cold oil
Why you need to heat your pan to the right temperature before cooking.When I was a young lad, I got hooked on watching cookery shows. At that time, we only had one Star TV channel, but much to my delight, they showed a different cooking show every afternoon. One of my favourites was The Frugal Gourmet by Jeff Smith (who recently died, unfortunately). One of the first cooking principles I learnt from him was "hot wok, cold oil; food won't stick" (A wok is a Chinese frying pan; a beastly version of our kadhai). This simple piece of advice can dramatically improve your cooking. It certainly made a difference to mine!
I've watched plenty of friends and family cook dishes at their homes, and one of the most common mistakes is to not bring the frying pan or cooking vessel to the correct temperature before adding oil. If you add cold oil to a pan that's not hot enough, you will lower the temperature of the pan even further. When you then add your seasonings or other ingredients, it will no longer fry. Instead it will soak in the oil.
When an ingredient soaks in oil without frying, it has many nasty side effects. First, because the oil isn't hot enough to seal the outside of the meat or vegetable, it gets absorbed into the food, making for a greasy dish. Second, food will stick to the pan more. (More about that shortly.) Lastly, you won't get the texture you want.
When a wok is hot enough, adding oil on top of the hot metal create a thin film of oil that goes into the pores of the metal, creating a "non-stick" effect. The oil then dances easily on the surface. You will now have to use less oil to saute or stir-fry your food.
So how exactly do you know when your wok is "hot enough", you ask? No, you don't have to keep a thermometer handy. Some simple guides will do the trick - what Asians have been doing for ages.
How hot your pan should be depends on what you're using it for. If you're making a typical Asian meat stir-fry, you need it very hot so that the meat is seared as soon as it touches the pan, sealing in the juices. If you're stir-frying veggies, it doesn't have to be as hot as that. If you're simply pan-frying something that needs about 10 minutes in the pan, you need a medium to medium-high heat.
My method for determining these temperatures is surprisingly easy and needs something very commonly found - water. And only a few drops of it to sprinkle into the pan. Start by heating the pan for about 30-60 seconds on a medium-high flame. When you feel it's time to check the temperature, simply run your fingers under a tap of water. Then take your hand and quickly snap your wrist so that the residual water falls into the pan. The reaction of water on the pan can tell you how hot your pan is. Here's a key:
Water doesn't sizzle audibly and stays as drops on the surface: Unless you want to make scrambled eggs, your pan is not close to being hot enough.
Water starts sizzling on contact but doesn't evaporate immediately: This is your medium heat. If you wait for the water to boil off, you'll have a pan suitable for sauteing or for stir-frying vegetables.
Water sizzles loudly on touching the pan and boils off almost immediately: Ah, this is what you need for stir-frying. Add your oil and swirl it around and you'll see how easily it glides. You've now got a fine surface for cooking food without it sticking too much. Strips of meat added to the wok will now get seared instead of getting "stewed". That makes all the difference to texture and taste in a stir-fry. (A detailed article on stir-frying will come in the future.)
The water trick I've explained is an excellent technique to get the texture that you want from dishes. They will also reduce the amount of oil you need to use in dishes. Remember that once you add food to a pan, you bring the temperature of the pan down drastically so you have to turn up the flame for a short while as necessary to maintain the temperature you're looking for.
I hope this tip comes in useful in your cooking. I welcome feedback, so please use the "comments" link below to share your thoughts.
(If you liked this article, please do visit Shiok, my restaurant in Bangalore or recommend it to a friend.)
18 comments
Nice one. Just realised, I and my dad use this same technique, water thing, when we make dosas and other stuff at home.
Plus, I tried to do something crazy with noodles one day. I tried frying it in a small amount of oil and added some spices and chilly powder to it. Bored, and wanted to eat something. I used the water thingy again, and used a really hot pan for it..
Posted by Ravages on August 2, 2004 09:19 PM http://www.selectiveamnesia.org
I should get my husband to check these tips out - he would love them.
Even his dream is to open his own restaurant some day :)
Posted by Shanti on August 2, 2004 11:10 PM http://www.madhoo.com
Great write up !!
A geek friend sent a link about IT Pro turning to resturent business. Had similar dream sometime back, so the obvious interest :-) Good work I must say.
Anyway, back to the point of heating trick. I must say, this is a good write up.
Good luck with the resturent... only until I open another ;-) (kidding)
Posted by Prayag on August 3, 2004 05:07 AM http://www.prayag.net
Excellent!! That was an excellent tip, to say the least. I have filed it away in my mind to put it in action when I go home and cook tonight!
By the way, the entire site has a wonderfully classy feel to it. And the photos make Shiok look very inviting!
Posted by Sameer on August 3, 2004 11:50 PM http://www.opti-mystic.net
Hi Sameer.
Thanks for the compliments. You will find much more coming your way. Just sign up for the newsletter. :)
Posted by The Chef on August 4, 2004 12:06 AM
Cool info, Madhu!
So sad about Jeff Smith - that's where I learnt 'hot pan, cold oil.' Never heard the 'water rules' before though! Excellent info.
Time for my Best Beloved to get that sliced chicken from the fridge . . .
Posted by spinhead on August 5, 2004 01:47 AM http://joeldcanfield.com/
Wow! It's amazing how passion for a dream can catapult u to great heights! I LOVE ur web-site, every bit of it, n wud definitely make a dash to Bangalore some time soon to visit Shiok.. looks really inviting.. kudos!!
Posted by shuba on August 5, 2004 01:43 PM
Nice, Madman! Looking forward to the next article on stir-frying. Alas, I dont have access to a gas stove these days, so I rarely stir-fry anything.
Posted by Ron Zeno on August 7, 2004 07:09 AM http://ronz.blogspot.com
Nice article. I'll keep this in mind for my future cooking adventures. Btw your nickname is also cool.
Posted by Strongbow on August 18, 2004 08:05 PM
Man, awesome is the word!!
I am literally unable to close your web site, its tempting, engaging, exciting, and adventurous...
Keep going!!
Posted by Sonal on August 25, 2004 11:49 AM
Can't believe I actually found a treasure blog here. Long live the cooking-lovers!
Posted by gauri on October 4, 2004 01:19 PM http://gaurijo.blogspot.com
Wow, thanks for the HOT tip. I really din't know that. Have you tried Rice Oil for the Wok-it has a smoke point of 490 degrees with a mild flavor!!!
Posted by Ellen on December 24, 2004 02:34 AM
Thanks a lot 'MadMan'. I have always been a little timid with hot panbs as a result of which I have never managed to fry meat or fish(my favourite) properly. Your advise makes sens eas my mom or wife could never explain this principle, their answer normally being it Just is! :D
When I try to make fish fry Kerala style the masala comes off the fish. Do you think it is because of the same problem?
Posted by BrijWhiz on January 19, 2005 02:29 AM http://brijwhiz.blogspot.com
Why not Hot Pan, Hot Oil? All of your reasoning against putting the oil in the pan and heating together is based on the pan being too cold. The simple solution to that seems to be "wait for pan+oil to heat up before cooking food" rather than "add oil later." As you mentioned, cold oil can lower the temperature of a pan, so why not just them heat up together? I understand that your main point is making sure the pan is hot enough to begin with, so it seems that when you add the oil is irrelevant, provided you make sure the pan is hot.
Posted by Rory on February 11, 2005 06:15 AM
Hi Madhu,
The water technique is great. I always had trouble wondering whether the pan is hot enough or whether it is too medium, you made it so easy and practical.Keep sharing these glorious tips with us.
Regards,swapna
Posted by Swapna on February 23, 2005 11:29 AM
Hi, v v nice tips. v v helpful..
I am salad freak & i keep tryin out different mixes with veggies, eggs, pulses, dry fruits,blahblah(i dont eat meat). I guess a problem that everybody faces with salads is how to keep lettuce crisp. I cut veggies n mix stuff n eat it over a period of 2/3 days. But the lettuce gets v soggy. Is there some trick to keep it crispy for 3-4 days?
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you have such patience to write about how hot the pan should be?
may your tribe increase!
Posted by abc on August 2, 2004 09:11 PM