The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

SERVES 4 2 large onions, cut into ½-inch rounds 2 quarts peanut oil 1 cup all-purpose flour ½ cup cornstarch 1 ...

Separate the onion rounds into individual rings. Place in a gallon-sized zipper-lock freezer bag and put th ...

can be placed on a rack on a rimmed baking sheet and kept hot in a 200°F oven while you fry ...

COATING Style 4: THIN BATTERS Japanese-Style Tempura Tempura-style batters were originally brought to Japa ...

barely combined so that plenty of pockets of dry flour remain and virtually no gluten development ...

The chef at Tsunahachi, one of Tokyo’s finest tempura restaurants, serves a tempura-fried shrimp. First off, ...

of gluten formation so that the batter can sit a bit longer before it goes bad. So does ...

TEMPURA VEGETABLES AND/OR SHRIMP NOTE: For instructions on how to prepare ingredients for frying, see here. ...

1 large egg ¼ cup 80-proof vodka ½ cup ice-cold club soda 4 cups thinly sliced vegetables or 1 pound ...

remaining vegetables (and/or shrimp) a few pieces at a time. Immediately start agitating them with ...

¼ cup white miso paste (see Note above) 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar, plus more to taste 4 ...

Mushrooms Clean and thinly slice, or leave thin mushrooms like shiitake or oyster whole Bell Peppers Cut into ½- ...

Squash into ¼-inch slices Okra Trim the stem ends Broccoli and Cauliflower Cut into 1-inch florets Carrots Peel a ...

FRENCH-FRIED POTATOES There’s a reason why nearly a third of all potatoes grown in the United States make t ...

The intricacies involved in taking two simple ingredients— potatoes and oil—and applying science, heat, and a ...

A perfect French fry should have a crisp crust that breaks instead of bending. Perfect Fry Factor #1: The e ...

than waxier varieties like Yukon Gold or red skins. It’ll also maintain a fluffier interior once ...

The first I cooked per the French technique (a two-stage fry, the first at 275°F and the second at 375°F) ...

...

A double-cooked French fry has an exterior crust that is at least twice as thick as a single-fried f ...