Asian Batters for Better Deep Fries

Every Asian culture has street food, and every street food culture is sure to have deep-fried goodies. It’s one of the easiest ways to yummify pretty much any food type, from veggies to meats, seafood and more. Deep-fried snacks also make perfect pairings with alcoholic drinks, delightful finger-food for party guests, or just a tasty pick-me-up treat on workday afternoons. Homemade fried snacks are also instant joy-givers for the whole family.

Deep-fried cooking goes beyond munchies, too. Such as steaks and chops with a crispy coating. A tasty fried chicken or pork cutlet makes an awesome sandwich filling. Deep-fried whole fish is an Asian favourite in shared meals, while fried meats with rice and sauce or gravy are popular ‘fast-food’ delights; like the Japanese Katsu Curry Don.

The Basics

3 things make the perfect deep fry: the oil, the heat and the batter. Choose a cooking oil with a high smoke-point. Preheat your pan or wok and use enough oil for the food to submerge. Bring to a sizzling high temperature then put in the food, and time the cooking exactly. When done right, you’ll get an appetizing golden crunch with well-cooked rich-flavoured tender insides, without any greasy taste.

The batter, however, is the core ingredient to crispness. The most basic combo is flour with a thick liquid, plus an optional binding ingredient; such as: flour + egg + baking powder. This creates a gooey layer that protects the food from the sizzling oil, which will otherwise dry, stiffen and burn your food real quick. Instead, the batter takes the full brunt of the heat and turns crispy, while the food has time to cook evenly and absorb the flavours of your seasoning or marinade. Want more crunchiness? Add breading to the batter, such as breadcrumbs, ground grains, ground nuts, cereals or crackers.

Flour or Starch

Yup. Sometimes a flour or starch coating will do, like in this Thai-style deep fried fish, Chinese salt and pepper prawns, and spicy Malaysian chicken wings. The flour/starch coating gives salted or marinated food a thin crispy ‘skin’ for an easy bite, while firming up the inside during the fry.

Chinese Batter

Instead of eggs, the Chinese-style fry batter is usually a combo of rice flour, starch, baking powder and water. Baking powder actually ‘lightens’ the batter, making it less gooey than other batters. This gives a thicker crispy layer than just flour, and a subtle sweet-savoury aroma when seasoned with sauces, or salt and pepper. Have a taste of the deep fried Nian Gao snack, the mouth-watering Honey Sesame Chicken with a rich sauce blend, and the Taiwanese street food darling, Popcorn Chicken.

Tempura

Tempura batter is a combo of eggs, flour and iced water; and instead of blending them all into a gooey texture, this batter is traditionally mixed with chopsticks for just a few seconds, leaving the lumps with the cold water to keep them from dissolving. When coated on food and deep fried, the batter turns into an almost dough-like texture, and thus, a delicate fluffy crispness. Umami for vegetables, prawns, crabsticks, fish, chicken and more.

Panko Breadcrumbs

As mentioned, breading adds a crunchy layer to your deep fry batter, and the Japanese Panko breadcrumb is probably the crunchiest of them all. Baked with electric current for a loaf without a crust, the Panko bread is lighter and fluffier than regular bread, and flakier in crumbs. When added to your batter, the Panko crumbs take in less oil during the fry, yet turns extra crispy, and stays crispy even after cooling down. Super versatile, too! Try it in a scrumptious Beef Mince Katsu with deep-flavoured Tonkatsu Sauce, refreshing tofu salad, sweet banana fritter, crispy pork cutlet, and amazing chicken katsu curry!

More Delicious Asian Deep Fries

From snacks and munchies to shared meal dishes and one bowl wonders, there’s a whole world of Asian deep fried delights for you to taste. Come check out our flavour-packed recipes collection!