When making flour dough, you need to keep the dough light, so that your fries are light and crunchy. A light dough coats the food evenly, and keeps it moist and soft. You can make an all-purpose dough that goes well with any type of food you fry. For other variations, try buttermilk batter, beer batter, or tempura batter.
Ingredients
Versatile Dough
- 1/2 cup corn flour
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
- 1/3 cup water
Beer Dough
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons ground pepper
- 45 ml blonde beer/ lager
Tempura Dough
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon corn flour
- 1 1/2 cups carbonated water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Step
Method 1 of 3: All-Purpose Dough
Step 1. Prepare the food you want to fry
The all-purpose dough is suitable for almost any type of meat or vegetable you want to fry. No matter what you're frying, cut these foods into equal sizes so they cook evenly. Try one of the following foods:
- Sliced onions, jalapeno peppers, or other vegetables.
- Boneless chicken breast (cut into strips or nuggets) or boneless chicken breast.
- Fish such as cod, tilapia, or haddock.
Step 2. Mix the ingredients for the dough in a bowl. Add all the ingredients to a bowl and use a mixer to mix until smooth
This basic dough mix is delicious on its own. If you like, try adding a pinch or two of the following:
- Old Bay Seasoning.
- Cayenne pepper powder.
- Garlic powder.
- Italian seasoning.
Step 3. Heat enough oil to submerge the food
Use a deep pan with a thick bottom so that it heats the oil evenly. In most cases, you will need to provide 2.5 to 5 cm of oil to submerge the food you are frying. Place it over medium-high heat, and let it heat for a few minutes. To test if the oil is ready, use a special thermometer to measure the temperature of the oil. Once the temperature reaches 176°C, the oil is ready for use.
- Choose an oil with a high smoke point. Peanut oil, canola, vegetable oil, and grapeseed oil are all suitable for frying. You need to use an oil that can be heated to a high temperature without emitting smoke.
- If you don't have a special thermometer to measure the temperature of the oil, don't use a meat thermometer. Just put a small amount of food in the pan to test the oil. If it immediately starts to foam and brown, then the oil is ready to use.
- Cooking food before the oil is ready to use will cause the flour mixture to peel. Fries become fatty and soggy instead of moist on the inside and crunchy on the outside.
Step 4. Soak the food pieces into the batter
Use a fork to dip the food into the batter and coat all sides. Try to make an even dough. Remove any dripping dough.
Step 5. Fry until golden brown
Place enough floured food into the pan so that it covers the bottom evenly. Avoid laying them on top of each other, as this will cause the food to cook unevenly. Fry until the food is golden brown on both sides, then place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain any excess oil. Cooking times will vary depending on what you're frying.
- Vegetables usually don't take more than three or four minutes in the pot. Smaller pieces will take less time.
- Raw chicken or fish may take five to fifteen minutes to cook, depending on how big the cut you are making, and whether the cut contains bone. The center of the meat should be cloudy when fully cooked.
- If the oil appears to be brown and the outside of the food is scorching before the inside is cooked, turn the heat down to low. You need to keep it at 176°C.
Method 2 of 3: Beer Dough
Step 1. Prepare the food you want to fry
This beer flour dough gives a crunchy and soft result. Perfect for coating fish, sliced onions, and other vegetables. Make sure that all the pieces of food you want to fry are cut to the same size, so they cook evenly.
Step 2. Mix the dough
With only a few ingredients, beer batter is super easy to make. Just mix the flour, spices and 45 ml of beer in a bowl. Use a mixer to mix the dough until smooth.
Step 3. Heat enough oil to submerge the food
Use a deep pan with a thick bottom so that it heats the oil evenly. Add 2.5 to 5 cm of oil into the pan to cover the food you are frying. Place it over medium-high heat, and let it heat up for a few minutes. To test if the oil is ready, use a special frying thermometer to measure the temperature. Once the temperature reaches 176°C, the oil is ready for use.
- Choose an oil with a high smoke point. Peanut oil is traditionally used with beer batter to create a distinctive taste.
- If you don't have a special frying thermometer, check the oil by placing small pieces of batter-coated food in the pan. If it foams right away, and the food turns brown, the oil is ready.
Step 4. Dust the food with flour before coating the dough
Dipping the food into the flour first will help this runny dough to stick to the food and not come off easily. Coat food with flour all over. Tap on the edge of the bowl to remove excess flour. Use a fork to dip the pieces of food into the batter to coat all the sides. Remove excess dough before frying it.
Too much batter in the pan can cause the temperature to drop, so pieces of food don't cook evenly. This is why getting rid of excess dough is so important
Step 5. Fry until golden brown
Place the fish pieces, onions, etc., into the pot. Line the bottom of the pan, making sure that no food is overlapping. Cook food until golden brown on both sides.
- Fish strips generally take about five minutes in the pan. When the fish has turned golden brown, trim it slightly to make sure the meat is cloudy on the inside.
- If the oil appears to be turning brown, and the outside of the food is scorching before the inside is cooked, turn the heat down to low. You must keep the temperature at 176°C.
Method 3 of 3: Tempura Dough
Step 1. Prepare the cuts of meat and vegetables
Tempura dough is a thin and crunchy Japanese-style dough. Traditionally, this dough is used for bite-sized foods such as meat, seafood and vegetables. Cut the food into equal sizes so that it cooks evenly. These foods go well with tempura batter:
- Shrimp.
- Crab meat.
- Diced beef, chicken or pork.
- Broccoli florets.
- Sweet potato slices.
Step 2. Mix the dough in a bowl
The result will be very watery. Mix the ingredients together and use a mixer to make sure there are no lumps in the dough.
Step 3. Heat a few cm of oil
Pour a few inches of vegetable or peanut oil into a thick-bottomed saucepan. Add a few tablespoons of sesame oil for added flavor if you wish. Heat until the temperature reaches 176°C.
- You can use a special tempura frying pan to maintain the temperature during frying.
- If you don't have a special frying thermometer, check the oil by placing pieces of batter-coated food in the pan. If it turns golden brown, then the oil is ready.
Step 4. Soak the meat and vegetables in the batter
When cooking tempura, pieces of food are usually pierced with a wooden or metal skewer. Pierce one piece of food, then dip it in the batter to coat it all over. You may need to pierce more than one piece of food with the same skewer.
Step 5. Fry until golden brown
Insert a skewer into the pan so that the pieces of food are submerged in the oil. Let it sit for a few minutes, until it turns golden brown on all sides.
- Since meat takes longer to fry than vegetables, fry meat and vegetables separately.
- Small cuts of meat and vegetables shouldn't take longer than 5 minutes to cook. Cut one of the pieces of food to make sure it is cooked through the middle before you eat it.
Tips
- Check the temperature at which you should be frying the food. This temperature will vary depending on the type of meat, fish, vegetable or fruit you are frying.
- Before soaking the chicken in the batter, soak it overnight in the brine, or buttermilk. This will make the chicken meat more tender.
- Add the parmesan cheese to the mixture and mix well. Soak cauliflower or zucchini in batter, then fry.
Warning
- Don't overcrowd your frying pan. Fry several pieces of food at a time to prevent the temperature of the oil from dropping.
- Don't make the dough too thick. Thicker dough takes longer to cook. This will dry out your food, especially when frying fish and seafood.
- Never use egg yolks to make a light, crunchy dough. Use egg whites if your recipe says so. The egg yolks will make your dough heavy, runny, and more like cookie dough.
