WHAT YOU’LL NEED
Equipment
- Deep-fryer or deep pot
- Double-sided pan
- Mixing or medium-sized kitchen bowls
- Tongs
- Paper towel lined plate or sheet pan
Ingredients
- Oil for frying
- Flour (4 cups)
- Eggs (4-5, lightly beaten)
- Milk or water (1/4 cup, optional)
- Panko bread crumbs (4 cups)
- Eggplant (1 small, sliced into 1/2 inch-thick slices)
- Chicken breast (1)
- Shrimp (6 large)
- Shishito peppers (about 12)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Togarashi (optional seasoning)
- Lemon (1, optional garnish)
- Lime (1, optional garnish)
THE STEPS
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- Three important components of deep frying: 1) Use a clean vegetable oil with a higher smoke point such as vegetable oil, corn oil, or soybean oil. 2) Use a quick-read thermometer to measure and monitor the oil temperature. 3) Bring items to room temperature before frying. Placing very cold foods in very hot oil can result in dangerous splatters of oil. 00:39
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- For deep frying, pour about 3 inches of oil into a pot deep enough that the oil is less than halfway up the side. For pan frying, cover the bottom of a deep-sided pan with about 1/2-1 inch of oil. Again, make sure there is enough room for the oil to bubble without overflowing the pan. Heat the oil in both pans to 350 degrees which is a standard, moderate deep frying temperature. 01:30
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- Foods are commonly breaded before being fried so the oil has something to grab on to and make crisp and golden brown. As Chef Ralph shows with eggplant slices, breading is typically done in three separate stages: 1) coat the item in flour 2) dip the item in egg wash which is egg beaten with a bit of water or milk and 3) dredge the item in bread crumbs or panko flakes. Place the breaded eggplant in the pan with oil heated to 325-350 degrees. 02:00
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- While the eggplant is pan frying, slice a chicken breast into similarly sized strips for even cooking. Dust half of the chicken strips in flour, dredge them in egg, then coat them again with flour (an alternative to the bread crumbs). Place the breaded chicken strips in the deep fryer. Then coat the other half of the chicken strips in flour, egg, and panko. Repeat the same breading process with the shrimp. 02:54
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- Check the eggplant and turn them; the underside should be golden brown. Also check on the frying chicken. 04:25
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- Add the shrimp to the deep fryer. When adding additional items to fry, check to make sure that the oil temperature stays around 350 degrees. Otherwise, if the oil cools too much, the foods will come out greasy. 04:45
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- Once the eggplant is golden brown on all sides, remove the slices from the fryer. Place them on a paper towel-lined plate or sheet pan to absorb any excess oil. 05:32
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- Bread the shishito peppers using the same flour-egg-flour process. Lightly shake them to remove any excess flour before placing them into the fryer. This way, the oil will stay cleaner and fry-able longer. Gently stir them around with tongs. 06:01
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- Once the chicken and shrimp are crispy and golden brown, remove them from the deep fryer and place them on a towel-lined tray to drain. Add the panko-crusted chicken strips to the oil (making sure the oil is still at 350 degrees). 07:09
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- Use tongs to turn the shishito peppers, if needed. Remove them from the oil once they are golden brown on all sides. Place them on a paper towel-lined tray to drain. 07:59
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- Once the panko-breaded chicken is golden brown on all sides, remove the strips from the deep fryer and place them onto a paper towel-lined tray. 09:24
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- Season the freshly fried foods with salt, pepper, togarashi (a Japanese spice blend), or any other seasoning. Do this while the food is still hot, as the seasoning will adhere better. 09:39
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- To plate, arrange the fried food onto a platter. Serve with wedges of lemon and/or lime. Acidity helps to cut through and brighten the flavor of fried foods. 10:21