Sounds quite simple doesn't it? It's kind of hard to imagine that there are in fact many ways to heat a frying pan, or rather, the oil in it, depending on what you want to cook and how you want the result to be. Actually, you heat the pan in the beginning just to make sure that there is no more water in it, which will cause the oil to bubble and even crackle out of the pan, Once you are sure it is dry you can pour in the oil.
Ever wondered why the sunny-side-up egg you keep trying to cook keeps on sticking to the pan? Aside from leftover debris stuck to the bottom of the pan, the only reason this for this to happen would be because the oil in the pan was not hot enough. Even if your pan tends to be the "sticky" type, if you heat the oil enough, meaning until the first wisps of smoke appear, the bottom of the egg will tend to get crispy so that it will be possible to scrape it off the bottom of the pan without too much difficulty and without ruining the yolk. This will also allow the yolk to be still somewhat liquid inside as well, which is what I personally prefer. (Use just enough oil so that you can flip a bit of it over the yolk).
With regards to oil, aside from freshness, the main considerations are quantity and temperature. These will vary according to the ingredients and desired outcome as we shall see. The main thing to remember though is to always be aware of the heat of the flame. As a general rule, you should lessen the cooking flame a bit once the food has been dropped in the oil, after perhaps 10 or 15 seconds, particularly if smoke from the oil continues to thicken
A majority of Filipino dishes involve making something "gisa" but the how of it is so taken for granted that many people actually think it is just a matter of lighting the stove, putting some oil in the pan and dropping the ingredients in. In fact, care, sequence and timing makes all the difference.
When we say ginisa we refer to the process of sautéing garlic, onions and in many cases tomatoes before adding whatever else. Among the three, garlic is always the first to be added. The general rule in sautéing, or making gisa, is to heat the oil until just the first wisps of smoke appear before adding the ingredients. The quantity should be enough to comfortably brown the garlic but only enough to just coat the onions and tomatoes. Too little oil will not brown the garlic enough while too much will result in an oily dish.. Again, it is not just a matter of adding the ingredients but also the sequence and timing. While the oil in the pan should be hot enough, it should not be too hot otherwise the garlic will quickly blacken on the outside while being pale and undercooked on the inside. This will give a burnt ,bitter taste and aroma to the food.
In making gisa, we cook the garlic until it gets a bit soft and browned according to preference. Lightly browned garlic, well-browned garlic, toasted garlic and burnt garlic all have their own particular taste and aroma . Lightly browned garlic is most often used in ginisa or sinangag. Well-browned garlic is perfect for adobo and can also be used for sinangag. Toasted garlic is best for dishes like arroz caldo and goto while burnt garlic is best avoided.
Garlic is best sauteed with properly pre-heated oil over a moderate flame until cooked as desired. No matter how much in a hurry or how hungry you are, do not try to save a few seconds by putting in the garlic before the oil is properly heated because this also affects the taste somehow or by using too high a flame to hurry it up (and burn it). Add the onions slightly before adding tomatoes, if required.. Allow these to cook for a bit, occasionally stirring, until the tomatoes start to "melt" before adding the other ingredients..
When making gisa pork with a lot of fat you can fry the pork first until it gets a bit crispy, remove it from the pan and set aside. Then sautee the garlic, onions and tomatoes as described, and mix in the pork and other ingredients. If you are using mostly lean pork, beef or chicken, you'll probably want to just add it in after the onions have turned translucent or the tomatoes have started to "melt". Once the meat is cooked, you can add whatever you wish, whether vegetables, noodles to make pancit or perhaps even bagoong to make binagoongan.
If you choose to add vegetables such as sayote, baguio beans or pechay baguio, do not cover the pan totally (although you can do so partially) or the veggies will get too soft. Add in your desired seasoning (such as patis, toyo, salt, pepper, and maybe oyster sauce and/or sesame oil) to taste and ideally some corn starch (perhaps a tablespoon - too much will make it too sticky - you can always add a bit more) pre-mixed with some tap water . You should also turn off the flame a bit sooner than you might think (generally as soon as the corn starch has become sticky) as the veggies will continue to cook (especially if you are making soup).
When cooking different kinds of vegetables in one dish, remember that some take much longer to cook such as potatoes, others are relatively quick such as baguio beans, while others like pechay or green onion leaves need only to be practically dipped for a few moments in boiling water. You can always cook the veggies a bit more if undercooked but once they are over-cooked, they will lose their freshness and flavor.
Do not rely on vetsin to make your dish tasty. Just a bit more onion, salt or garlic or perhaps a little less water in your recipe will improve the taste of your food much more than any amount of unhealthy chemicals will.
If you want to use some ginger (luya) in your ginisa, cut the ginger into thin slices and not too small so that they can easily be set aside and not eaten. Brown the ginger until it gets to be a golden brown color to bring out its taste and aroma before sautéing the other condiments like garlic and onions.
When using butter or margarine to sautee, keep the flame moderate and under control at all times and avoid overheating as this will blacken the butter and change its flavor.
If the meat seems hygienically handled, and particularly if it has been sliced or cut before your eyes, it is not really a good idea to wash the meat, especially if it is to be fried. This is because the meat will absorb some of the water, which will cause the oil to bubble excessively and deteriorate faster. This is also why it is not really the best thing to soak frozen meat in water to thaw it out if it is to be fried. If you do anyway, try to drain the water as much as possible before salting and frying the meat.
Whether using pork, chicken or beef, simply salting the meat properly before frying adds a lot to the final result. Using about two tablespoons of rock salt per kilo as a rule of thumb, try actually massaging the salt into the meat for at least three to five minutes until the salt has been rubbed into the meat completely. You will find it well worth the few minutes extra effort as the meat will be much tastier than if you just salt both sides without rubbing it in as is usually done. It is also better to use less salt and longer rubbing, which will bring out the taste of the meat. Too much salt will overpower the taste of the meat, while too little rubbing will not really bring out the flavor.
If you think that frying is again just a matter of heating the pan, pouring in the oil, salting both sides of the meat or fish and dropping it in, again, that is a vastly over-simplified description. Although frying food is probably the fastest, easiest way to cook, doing it the right way makes a world of difference in the result.
When buying pork to fry, the most tasty parts would be the liempo (belly) and the chops. When the pork has a lot of fat, such as the belly, try to get thinner slices as these will be delicious when fried well but oily if sliced too thick. On the other hand, if you have lean pork chops, ask the butcher to slice off the skin and make the cuts a bit thicker. Fried properly with not too much oil, these will be deliciously juicy on the inside.
When frying pork, use a minimum of oil for lean meat while using more oil for fat or chicken to get a more "chicharon" taste. It is not necessary to really deep-fry (mahal!) to get a good result but it is necessary to use enough oil or at least 1/4 to 1/3 of the thickness of the fatty pork or chicken to fry it properly. Too little oil may cause some parts of the meat, especially chicken, to be undercooked. You may not need that much oil if the pork ihas a lot of fat as this will melt as it cooks.
Heat the oil until more than just a few wisps of smoke start forming. You want the oil hot enough to sear the exterior of the meat while sealing in the juices inside. Drop in the pork or chicken but try not to overload the pan no matter how hungry or impatient you are as this will lower the temperature of the oil. If the exterior of the meat is not seared enough initially, the juices will escape and tend to make the meat dry as well as lengthen the cooking time.
Once the meat has been dropped in the pan however, the flame must be lessened a bit after perhaps a minute or less.and allowed to fry at a moderate rate. This will allow the pork fat or chicken skin to get crispy without getting burned.
Another big secret to great frying is to have the patience to wait until one side is properly done before turning the meat over. Repeatedly turning the meat over not only lengthens the cooking time, it also tends to dry out the meat. As always, proper heat regulation is the key. If the heat is too low, it will make the result dry and tough. If it is too high, the exterior will be burnt and bitter and woody. Just the right heat and cooking time will result in a dish which is crispy on the outside while being juicy on the inside.
When frying fish, you need to heat the oil a bit longer until the smoke starts to rise on all sides of the pan but before it gets too thick. You should also use enough oil which means that it is at least deep enough to sink at least 1/3 the thickness of the fish. While too much oil is expensive and wasteful, too little oil will affect the quality of the taste, which is also wasteful and a pity.
Be sure to drain the fish as much as possible because water tends to cause too much spatter and degrades the oil. The oil has to be really hot or the fish will surely stick to the pan. However, in the not unlikely event that you still manage to drop in the fish before the oil is hot enough and the fish does stick to the pan, there is only one way to deal with the situation. Don't panic! Above all, don't fiddle with the fish and just let it be, otherwise you are going to have a disintegrated fish for lunch.
Actually if you will just have the patience to leave it alone until the bottom gets crispy, with some care, you should be able to remove it without doing too much damage. You should be sure that the flame is not too hot because you don't want burned fish as well. In any case, patience is the key to good fish frying!
How do you know when to turn the fish over? When the crackling sound diminishes, that means its time to check, but gently. Don't worry if it is still a bit stuck to the pan and don't force it free. Just wait a bit more before checking again. As always, the one-turnover rule remains in effect meaning the goal is to avoid turning the fish over repeatedly. Fish actually cooks faster than pork or chicken but requires some care to get the best result.
As with pork and chicken the idea is to have the skin crispy while having the inside as juicy as possible although over-fried fish is actually not too bad as long as it is not burnt.
Beef is just about the easiest to cook. Just be sure that you get a tender part to fry because otherwise, you won't be able to chew the meat. And although it is more expensive than pork or chicken, you can slice it really thin so it can also go a long way.
When making tapa or bistek try to slice the meat as thin as you can, particularly if you are not sure of the tenderness of the meat. This will also make it much faster to cook. You can also mix just a bit of sugar to the salt before rubbing it in but not too much as it will stick to the pan when frying. Use a bit less salt but rub it in really well to get the best result.
You also don't need a lot of oil to fry beef - just enough to coat the pan and a perhaps just a bit more. It should be emitting slight wisps of smoke before you start frying. If sliced thinly the beef will cook in perhaps a minute so be careful to remove it from the pan before it gets hard and dried out.
Do not overload the pan as this will cause the juices to drain from the meat but rather remove the pieces as they are done and add more. Lower the heat if the pan gets too hot
Most people think that the most important part of grilling is the marinade or seasoning. The truth is, most things you grill will taste okay even just as they are, as long as you grill them properly. In fact, just rubbing a bit of salt on the meat would probably be preferable to a mediocre marinade.
As in frying, the secret to great grilling is in proper application of heat. Unfortunately, unlike in the olden days when everyone was a boy scout and could build a fire in a snap, these days, just lighting up charcoal can be a real chore!
A common misconception about grilling is the idea that you have to keep fanning the coals all the time, whether to light up the charcoal or to keep it going. Seeing the electric fans in the commercial outlets would lead a person to think that a smart griller needs an electric fan to save time and energy. The fact is, it's actually the other way around. Only an idiot would need an electric fan to grill properly! If anything, the fan actually makes things worse because as the coals get fired up, the heat is also dissipated. Worse, the top of the meat is cooled and dried out by the fan, so it does not get cooked properly. Not to mention using up more coal!
In fact, even with the common grill we are familiar with, as long as you start correctly, you really only have to fan quite occasionally and not intermittently. And with a proper grill, you will not even have to fan at all! The reason is because the common grills we see with their closed flat bottoms have no way to allow air to circulate under the charcoal, thus, the need to fan. A proper grill would allow the charcoal to rest on a grill of its own, allowing it to "breathe" so it can burn more freely without the need to fan.
In any case, it really is the simplest thing in the world. Forget using lighter fluid or kerosene and fanning like mad. That's for dummies. All you have to do is place the charcoal on top of the grill so you will have space below to light up some newspapers under the charcoal. Two or three broadsheet pages will probably do. You can fan it a bit so the flame will burn hotter.
Once the charcoal fires up a bit, just relax and leave it be for about five minutes until it really gets going. You really don't need to fan it anymore either. When most of the charcoal has been lit, you can then transfer it to the bottom of the grill and voila! You are just about ready to start!
Just like in frying, the idea is to have a really hot temperature that will seal in the juices of the meat on one hand, but also not too hot as to burn the exterior, leaving the inside undercooked or raw. This is especially true with chicken and when using marinade with a lot of sugar.
This means that you should also check that the meat is neither too near the coals (if they are burning strongly) nor too far, which will cause it to dry up. Be sure that the coals are burning brightly and evenly, with the grill about two inches higher, before you start. Never place the meat on the grill before the charcoal is fully lit. Not only will you be fanning like a fool, your food will become tough and dry. Neither should you overload the grill because this will severely affect the airflow and not only will it take longer and taste worse, but again you will be fanning like a fool.
So there you are, with your coals burning brightly and your meat on the grill. The next thing to do will be to resist your greatest impulse, which will be to fiddle with the meat. As in frying, the one-turnover rule is also in effect meaning you will get the best results if you cook one side properly before you turn it over.
If your meat has a lot of fat, don't let the coals get excessively hot or don't place it too near. The fat will drip and catch fire. In any case, be ready with some water, ideally in a spray container, just in case. If the fat does start burning and you can't control the flame, try to remove the meat before it blackens, which is the one major thing we want to avoid.
We can use a bit higher temperature for lean meat especially in the beginning, although it should also not be too hot as to burn the outside while leaving the inside raw. More care has to be taken when cooking lean meat as the "ideal point" when the meat is at its juiciest best, lasts only a minute and unlike fat, we cannot really tell at a glance.