Shallow-fry
Shallow-frying cooks food in about 1 cm of hot oil in a pan, so it comes halfway up the sides. You turn it once for a crisp crust on both sides.
Also called Shallow frying, Shallow-fried.
To shallow-fry is to cook food in a layer of hot oil that reaches about a third to halfway up its sides, usually 5 mm to 2 cm (¼ to ¾ inch) deep. You cook one side until crisp, then turn it and cook the other. It uses more oil than pan-frying and much less than deep-frying. It suits breaded cutlets, schnitzel, fritters, fish cakes, potato pancakes and fried eggplant.
How to do it
- Use a heavy, wide pan with sides at least 5 cm (2 inches) high.
- Pour in a neutral oil with a high smoke point to about 1 cm (½ inch) deep.
- Heat it over medium to medium-high heat to about 170 to 180°C (340 to 355°F). Without a thermometer, drop in a breadcrumb or a cube of bread; it should sizzle at once and brown in about a minute.
- Lay the food in, away from you. Fry a few pieces at a time.
- Cook until the underside is golden brown, usually 2 to 4 minutes, then turn it with tongs or a fish spatula.
- Fry the second side, then drain on a wire rack or paper towels. Salt straight away.
How to tell it is done
Both sides are evenly crisp and golden. The bubbling around the food calms down. For meat, check the inside: chicken at 74°C (165°F), pork at 63°C (145°F).
Why it works
The oil covers the lower part of the food and fills every dip in a breadcrumb coating, so the whole surface browns, even when it is not flat. Hot oil stays well above the boiling point of water, so the coating dries and crisps instead of soaking.
Common mistakes
- Oil that is too cool. The food takes in oil and goes soggy.
- Too many pieces at once. The oil cools and the coating falls off.
- Turning more than once. The coating can break apart.
- Draining on a flat plate. Steam softens the underside. A wire rack keeps it crisp.
- Adding food that is wet or frozen. The oil spits.
In recipes
"Fry in 1 cm of oil" means shallow-fry. Many recipes simply say "fry", so look at how much oil they ask for to know which method they mean.
Recipes that use this technique
1 recipe from the sites we collect.
Related terms
- Pan-fryPan-frying cooks food in a skillet with a thin layer of hot fat over medium to medium-high heat, so it browns on each side as it cooks through.
- Deep-fryDeep-frying cooks food fully submerged in hot oil, usually 170 to 190°C (340 to 375°F), for a crisp shell and a moist inside. Here is how to do it safely.
- Smoke pointThe smoke point is the temperature at which an oil or fat starts to smoke and break down. It tells you which fats suit searing and frying.
- FritterA fritter is a piece of food dipped in batter, or mixed into it, and deep- or shallow-fried until crisp. See the oil heat and how to avoid greasy ones.
- Golden brownGolden brown is the deep, even gold color food turns as it browns in the oven or pan. It signals flavor from browning and that baked goods are cooked.