Stir frying help

[gibb]

Im just starting to learn how to cook and had a go at stir fry today. I used a frozen chicken breast which I defrosted in the fridge overnight.

I cut the chicken into cubes and heated about a table spoon of olive oil in the wok, until it was too hot to hold my hand above it for more than a couple of seconds. When I added the chicken it made the oil spit for about 30 seconds, oil was flying all over the kitchen and then it subsided. I carried on, added the vegetables when the chicken was almost done and the end result was pretty good.

Any ideas what would make the oil spit like this? I spent more time wiping down my hob than I did cooking the stir fry.

I made the mistake of heating a slightly damp pan of oil once and the effect was very similar, I was thinking that perhaps my defrosted chicken breast (was vacuum sealed) was too wet?

Thanks

 

[FrenchTart]

Generally wetness is the main cause of oil spitting, yeah. Try to pay the chicken dry if you can (I use kitchen roll for this kind of thing).

Also, for high temperature stuff like stir-fry you probably shouldn't be using olive oil. Olive oil and high temperatures don't mix that well.

 

[Jokester]

I asked about best oil a while ago and the general consensus was that groundnut oil is the best for high temperatures.

 

[glitch]

Any ideas what would make the oil spit like this? I spent more time wiping down my hob than I did cooking the stir fry.

I made the mistake of heating a slightly damp pan of oil once and the effect was very similar, I was thinking that perhaps my defrosted chicken breast (was vacuum sealed) was too wet?

Thanks

As you think, it was most likely due to the high water content of the chicken breasts and the fact they were probably quite cold. Patting them dry with kitchen towel and letting them reach room temperature before cooking would help cut down on spitting oil.

You could also get away with frying them off them first and removing them from the wok before cooking the vegetables and other ingredients and adding everything back in towards the end.

 

[vicisthebest]

Maybe turn the heat down a little too. Having the oil so incredibly hot is likely to cook the outside of your chicken very quickly without cooking the middle through properly.

 

[gibb]

Thanks for the advice everyone, Ill give it another go soon and see how it goes.

 

[Glaucus]

I asked about best oil a while ago and the general consensus was that groundnut oil is the best for high temperatures.

Yep, olive oil isnt great at high temp.

And get wok smoking hot, probably fair bit hotter than you got it. Heat the wok up dry and add oil just before cooking.

And it will spit, that's normal.

Roll the chicken cubes in cornflour before frying,

 

[xarr]

Maybe turn the heat down a little too. Having the oil so incredibly hot is likely to cook the outside of your chicken very quickly without cooking the middle through properly.

Ignore this...

Yep, olive oil isnt great at high temp.

And get wok smoking hot, probably fair bit hotter than you got it. Heat the wok up dry and add oil just before cooking.

And it will spit, that's normal.

Roll the chicken cubes in cornflour before frying,

Thats better. Stir frying is all about thermonuclear heat, look at the burners they use in a chinese. Cut the chicken in to thin strips, bit of cornflour, make sure they are at room temp and keep them moving constantly, though leave the wok on the burner and don't crowd the pan, if you are cooking for more than 2 then cook in batches, stir frying is quick. Less food in the pan means it stays at temperature better.

 

[Haircut]

Maybe turn the heat down a little too. Having the oil so incredibly hot is likely to cook the outside of your chicken very quickly without cooking the middle through properly.

With stir frying you want the wok as hot as you can get it. You then keep the food continuously moving to ensure it doesn't end of overcooking on one side.

You definitely don't want to put anything vaguely wet into hot oil.
Water is more dense than oil and boils at a temperature lower than the cooking temperature of the oil.
So, if you put something wet into your oil the water sinks to the bottom, then boils causing steam to quickly rise up out of the oil and this is what causes the spitting.

 

[Van Hellseek]

Was it cheapo chicken? They actually inject water into cheap chicken breasts to make them appear plumper.

 

[Razor-BladE]

Yeah as said before don't use olive oil. Ground nut is probably best. Sesame oil is alright, but has quite a strong flavour to it.

 

[gibb]

The chicken was Marks and Spencer supposedly good quality but after defrosting in the sealed plastic bag it was quite wet when I was slicing it.

What is the reason for putting cornflour on the chicken pieces before frying?

Thanks

 

[Glaucus]

Texture mainly.

Velveting is another Chinese method.