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cooking oil?
On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 15:02:58 -0800, "Heather Fair"
> wrote: >I recently came across a recipe for Kluai Khaek (Thai fried bananes) and I'm >anxious to try it. However, it calls for 3 c. cooking oil. What *kind* of >oil? I presume it would do to have a heavily flavored oil such as peanut, >and I'm not sure how hot the oil needs to get so IDK if a simple corn oil >would work or not (I'm thinking not). Any ideas? How many bananas? 3 cups (24 oz -- most of a typical 28-32oz bottle) of oil is a considerable amount. I can't imagine re-using oil to cook fish or potatoes that had been used to fry bananas. Or vice versa, for the most part. So many Asian dishes call for generous amounts of oil to deep-fry. Many veg oils aren't terrifically expensive, but at US$1.89/32oz a not insignificant cost to the preparation of a dish. What *is* the usual practice in Asian kitchens with regard to cooking oil? For Heather, I would assume (with no expert knowledge) that the bananas can be fried in any neutral-flavored veg oil. It's the frying, not the oil, that is important. I don't find peanut oil (which I use for high-temperature stir-fry) has any particularly distinctive flavor. I *do* claim to be able to detect an identifiable taste in things that are prepared with coconut oil. but that may very well be my imagination. |
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cooking oil?
On Sat, 25 Oct 2003 13:12:27 GMT, Frogleg > wrote:
>On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 15:02:58 -0800, "Heather Fair" > wrote: >>I recently came across a recipe for Kluai Khaek (Thai fried bananes) and I'm >>anxious to try it. However, it calls for 3 c. cooking oil. What *kind* of >>oil? ... I presume it would do to have a heavily flavored oil such as peanut, >>and I'm not sure how hot the oil needs to get so IDK if a simple corn oil >>would work or not (I'm thinking not). Any ideas? >...For Heather, I would assume (with no expert knowledge) that the >bananas can be fried in any neutral-flavored veg oil. It's the frying, >not the oil, that is important. I don't find peanut oil (which I use >for high-temperature stir-fry) has any particularly distinctive >flavor. I *do* claim to be able to detect an identifiable taste in >things that are prepared with coconut oil. but that may very well be >my imagination. At last a vote for sanity. I would question anyone who claims to detect whether a deep fried food is cooked in any of the most common frying oils - corn, safflower, peanut or the ubiquitous "vegetable oil." I have never found a good grade of peanut oil to leave any trace of "peanut" flavor. Cheaper oils are less refined/clarified and can have small amounts of sediment which would/could add some "flavor." As for temperature, deep frying ranges from 325 to 375. The lower part of the range for "denser/wetter" ingredients and the higher for those that need minimal cooking. If you fry at 350, you'll usually do ok except for the extremes of food ingredients - let's say fritters vs onion rings. I do hope people new to food preparation will try to be less dependent on formal "recipes" and precise measuring. (Baked goods - cakes, breads - do require measuring.) Read recipes for the ingredients, order and method of cooking, and ratios of ingredients. Then go to it and adjust to suit your tastes. In fact, buy books with fewer recipes and more text. Cooking will become a MUCH less onerous task and one will learn how food preparation works. As for the recipe for Kluai Khaek (Thai fried bananes) the type of bananas would make much more difference than the type of oil. Should they be firm green or soft somewhat brown or the small very sweet finger bananas or the larger less highly flavored plantain-like ones? |
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cooking oil?
"Cape Cod Bob" > wrote in message ... [...] > At last a vote for sanity. I would question anyone who claims to > detect whether a deep fried food is cooked in any of the most common > frying oils - corn, safflower, peanut or the ubiquitous "vegetable > oil." I have never found a good grade of peanut oil to leave any > trace of "peanut" flavor. Try Hong Kong brands like Lion & Globe, Knife, or Panther. Nice peanut-y taste. Peter [...] |
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cooking oil?
1. There are many types of bananas from all over & it depends on what you
can get your hands on but using 'sweet' bananas always helps. By this i mean a variety that has a firm flesh & sweet taste when ripe, not when it's over-ripe because although it's sweet the flesh is too soft/over-ripe & it won't deep fry very well. In SE Asia the 2 most commonly used bananas for deep frying are called Raja & Awak bananas. Raja's are long & slim with a pale yellow colour when ripe, Awak's are short & plump & also turns pale yellow when ripe. Both of these have very little brown spots or blemishes when ripe & sweet unlike some others that need to be over-ripe to taste sweet. 2. There's 2 things you need to consider when using oil, one is getting the right cooking temp. & the other is taste. if you're not too bothered, go for a good or average veg. oil. Good quality peanut oil like Knife brand can be very expensive so you might want to mix the 2 oils together. As for taste if you like it very peanuty, then go for an expensive peanut oil etc. but i think using the right banana should give you a good enough flavour & taste. Peanut oil has one added benefit in that it heats up faster & doesn't taste & smell 'burnt' like some other oils can. As for Cape Cod Bob's comments on finding a good enough tasting peanut oil or an oil that leaves a distinct taste, it might be something to do with the oils that most of us use here in the 'West'. It's highly likely that whatever cooking oils we use are a combination of 'oils' which are made & produced by bulk for supermarkets & meant for today's modern Western kitchen & cuisine... ie. rather tasteless cooking oils that leaves the flavours to come from the food itself. In other parts of the world, people still use heavily scented or pure oils not just to cook with but to impart flavour as well. Some may well point out that it's very unhealthy but where flavours & taste counts... there's no substitute i'm afraid. Curry w/o Ghee is not the same, Old Chinese dishes w/o lard is not the same, Pastries w/o butter is not the same etc.. 3. The age old technique of re-using cooking oil seems to have been forgotten with cooking oils becoming cheaper these days. But if you're worried about wasting oil here's what you can do to save money & your environment if you're that way inclined. First strain the oil to remove any bits. You might need to use another clean wok if your wok or deep fryer is heavily scented by deep frying bananas. Slowly warm up the oil again & add a few slices of ginger & a spring onion but not to boiling point or deep frying, just warm enough to simmer & do this for a few minutes. This should remove any strong flavours from the oil & 'neutralize' it. If you're using good qaulity Peanut oil, you don't really need to do this too often. Let the oil cool down & keep/store with a lid. Asian/Chinese kitchens often have large metal containers with a lids to store cooked or re-used oils. This is often placed near or next to the deep frying/blanching wok. On the main shelf, there's often other types of oils/flavouring oils that's used for cooking. DC. Frogleg > wrote in message ... > On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 15:02:58 -0800, "Heather Fair" > > wrote: > > >I recently came across a recipe for Kluai Khaek (Thai fried bananes) and I'm > >anxious to try it. However, it calls for 3 c. cooking oil. What *kind* of > >oil? I presume it would do to have a heavily flavored oil such as peanut, > >and I'm not sure how hot the oil needs to get so IDK if a simple corn oil > >would work or not (I'm thinking not). Any ideas? > > How many bananas? 3 cups (24 oz -- most of a typical 28-32oz bottle) > of oil is a considerable amount. I can't imagine re-using oil to cook > fish or potatoes that had been used to fry bananas. Or vice versa, for > the most part. So many Asian dishes call for generous amounts of oil > to deep-fry. Many veg oils aren't terrifically expensive, but at > US$1.89/32oz a not insignificant cost to the preparation of a dish. > What *is* the usual practice in Asian kitchens with regard to cooking > oil? > > For Heather, I would assume (with no expert knowledge) that the > bananas can be fried in any neutral-flavored veg oil. It's the frying, > not the oil, that is important. I don't find peanut oil (which I use > for high-temperature stir-fry) has any particularly distinctive > flavor. I *do* claim to be able to detect an identifiable taste in > things that are prepared with coconut oil. but that may very well be > my imagination. > |
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