Everyone who loves cooking should have the skills of Sautéing food. It is a fast cooking technique that results in healthy and tasty meals. To sauté food you only need a skillet and a little amount of cooking oil. This technique of cooking entails cooking food with a small amount of fat in a frying pan Let’s learn how to sauté food in the following explanations below.
What does the sautéing food mean?
Sautéing means to brown or cook food quickly over a fairly high source of heat using a small amount of fat or oil in a wide and shallow heavy-based pan.
The word “sauté” comes from the French verb “Sauter,” meaning “to jump.” This term is therefore used for two major reasons: first, the food tends to “jump” around in a hot pan when it’s being cooked in a small amount of oil. Second, the technique often uses wrist action to toss food in the pan, giving it a jumping look. You need the right equipment to sauté like a pro–chef.
What you need to be able Sauté food
One needs basically three essential items to be able to sauté food. These include;
- A sauté pan
- Some cooking oil/ butter
- a spatula
What is a Sauté Pan?
A sauté pan is the best option for anyone planning on sautéing their food. A sautépan has sides that are a little taller than the sides of a frying pan. The use of the taller sides is to keep food from spilling out of the pan as food is shaken, stirred, and flipped. Sauté pans are manufactured in a variety of materials such as aluminium, stainless steel, and enamelled cast iron; choose the best that you think will work for you flared or slanted. They also often come with lids, because some foods benefit by finishing the cooking process covered.
How to select the best material for the sautéing pan
The best sautéing pan material is either stainless steel or PTFE nonstick.
Stainless steel skillets are the best choice it is non-reactive to acidic foods unlike cast iron, copper, or aluminium. Non-stick pans are easy to work with and clean, however, they should be cleaned by hand with soft rubber to avoid scratching of the non-stick coating.
What is the best oil to use for sautéing?
The right oil for use will largely depend on what you’re cooking. One should keep in mind the smoke point of the oil which is the point at which your oil will start to boil off. Some recipes will require high heat and oil 3with a high some point while others will require low heat and oil with a low smoke point. Butter, for example, has a lower smoke point as compared to olive oil.
How to Sauté food Step by Step
Step 1: Heat up Your Pan
The first step when sautéing is to heat up your pan before you add in the oil. It’s best to start on medium heat if you’re using a nonstick pan. If you’re using stainless steel, start with the pan dry, and let it heat for a moment before adding oil. While If you’re working with nonstick, add a small amount of oil before you turn on the heat.
Check if your stainless steel pan is ready by adding a small amount of water to the bottom of the pan. If the water turns into a ball and rolls around the pan, the pan is ready.
Step 2: adding the oil
Add just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan, this recipe does not need your food swimming in a lot of oil as in the deep frying method. Pour just a splash of oil on the pan and swirl it around so it coats all around the walls of the pan.
When using a stainless steel frying pan, wait a moment for the oil to heat up as well: both the oil and the pan to be hot before you can add your food. The oil will simmer only when it’s hot enough.
Step 3: Adding Your Food to the suate pan
Cut the meat or vegetables into small pieces
Add the vegetables or meat to the frying pan and make sure that it is evenly distributed. The food should be arranged in a single layer covering the surface area of the pan. Overcrowding the pan will lead to rapid cooling of the pan. This will make the pan to be less efficient making the food cook unevenly
Cooking meat and veggies are similar the difference are majorly in the time you will need for each of them is different. Sautéed sliced chicken breast or sautéed vegetables use the exact same technique of sautéing.
Step 4: Flip it or Stir up your food
Flipping your food over is the best way to evenly distribute food in your skillet. The rounded edges of a skillet are perfect for sautéing because they will allow you to flip the food in the pan with one hand.
When your food has sautéed enough on one side, hold the handle of the skillet, tilt it slightly away from yourself and flick it upwards quickly. You need to use just enough force to be able to make the food ump in the air and turn over just before it lands back in the pan.
Sautéing is different from stir-frying. You don’t need to over-stir; instead, let your food cook without agitating it before you flip it. You only need to flip a few times at most.
Step 5: Knowing When It’s Done
You’ll need to keep watch out for your food with your eyes, nose, and sense of feel to know when the food is done. Being alert will save you from having overcooked or under-cooked food, sautéing, in general, is a quick-cooking