The Food That Made Me

Kids, your daddy is a master frier. Popcorn chicken was your daddy’s first success. I followed this fried chicken recipe from Seonkyoung Longest. I didn’t expect my family to really enjoy it. However, your aunt and uncle liked the fried chicken a lot, as well as the chili spice with Szechuan peppercorn. My nieces really enjoyed it also. I think that my worldview of my family’s likes and dislikes is often from over a decade ago. I’m glad that it’s different now.

Here is how to become a master frier:

• Use a thermometer. Depending on the oil, generally you want it to be 375 or 400. If the temperature is too low, then the food won’t brown. If the temperature is too high, then the outside overcooks while the inside is undercooked.
• Play around with the size of the batches you place in the oil. Big batches lower the temperature of the oil too quickly. So, it will take time for the temperature to come back up.
• Understand your burner. We don’t want your oil to go past 425. 450 is when black particles come out, and we don’t want that to cover our food. Plus, overheating the oil is another way to start a fire.
• Don’t overcrowd the pot. If you overcrowd the pot, then the starch content will start bubbling up and overflowing. We do not want to cause a fire.
• Water and oil don’t mix. Make sure to dry things like basil well before frying it. Or, again, the oil will bubble up and make scary popping noises.
• Use a rack to allow the oil to drain once you remove your food from the oil. Make sure to have a plate with a paper towel below it so that the oil is caught.
• If the food is not immediately consumed or if you are working with large batches, make sure the oven is turned to a warm temperature. Keep the contents warm in the oven. But, fried food tastes the best when eaten immediately.
• Check what the temperature is in the house. If it is winter, the food will become cold really quickly. So, adjust accordingly in order to keep the food in its prime condition. If any scariness happens, turn off the fire.

Frying chicken was the first way of cooking that helped me build my confidence in cooking. Perhaps it was even the first type of cooking that sparked my genuine interest in the science of cooking. I probably mastered the worst and most unhealthy way of cooking. But I wish that I could have mastered a healthier way of cooking. And, maybe my worldview of my family will continue to shift as time goes on. People change.