Oiled Asians

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Oiled Asians
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I’m often asked what kind of oil I use for cooking
up Asian dishes. This typically happens when I’m about to deep-fry or stir-fry
so my immediate response is canola. In retrospect, I should be more clear.
There are three cooking oils that I reach for most, and they sit right next to
my stove.
Canola, sesame oil, and peanut oil. That’s the
order that I have the oil in their refillable bottles. The bottles are recycled
wine bottles outfitted with liquor
bottle pourers .
Canola oil
has a neural flavor and high-smoking point. It’s good all-purpose oil. Some
people favor vegetable oil, which is basically soybean oil. Corn oil is heavy,
though its heaviness reminds me of the unrefined rapeseed (canola oil) that I’ve
seen sold grocery stores in Sichuan, China. Yes, it’s true, not all people in
Asian cook with peanut oil. Soybean oil is also very popular in Asia.
Next in line is sesame oil, specifically dark, toasted sesame oil . Some Indian
recipes call for golden colored sesame oil called gingelly. For the rest of
Asia, the darker, toasted sesame oil made from white sesame seeds is preferred.
That’s my sesame oil too. I like Japanese Kadoya brand, though you may find a
Chinese brand that you like. There’s black sesame oil too, which has a slight
bitter edge that’s quite pleasant.
Then there’s semi-refined
peanut oil , which you pretty much have to buy at a Chinese market. Lion and
Globe and Knife are popular brands. This oil has a wonderful peanut flavor and
it is semi-refined so it cannot heat up as hot as fully-refined peanut oil you
buy at supermarkets. Spectrum sells an unrefined peanut oil that’s absolutely
delicious, practically like liquid peanut butter. I have blended it with canola
in a 2:1 ratio and used it straight. The unrefined oil cannot be used for
deep-frying, though I have used the semi-refined stuff and heated it to smoking
for batches of homemade chile oil.
You could make a cheater’s peanut oil by frying peanuts in some canola or refined
peanut oil and that will imbue those oils with some peanut goodness. Cookbook
author Pat Tanumihardja’s mother taught me to do that. When she owned a catering
company and small Indonesian restaurant, Mrs. Tanumihardja fried a lot of
peanuts up in a giant wok. When I asked her what she did with the oil, she told
me that she reused it. It was flavored by the peanuts and fabulous for cooking.
I once asked my mother if she ever cooked with
peanut oil in Vietnam. She laughed and said, “We used to grow peanuts to eat.
How would we have pressed the oil into oil? Pork fat is what we used. If we were lucky, we had chicken fat .”
I also love poultry
fat for stir-frying. I save the rendered fat from roasted Peking
duck or deep-fried Sichuan
duck . If I have some chicken fat or skin, sometimes I’ll render it on the
spot for fat to stir-fry with. Chicken fat and greens is divine. The fatty skin
from a purchased Cantonese roast duck can be cooked in a skillet to obtain
wonderful fat too. Also remember that whenever there’s skin, there are also cracklings to be had. Delicioso.
Pork fat
is hard to find these days so I go to a good butcher and buy fatback. Right
now, I have beautiful fat from locally grown pigs in my freezer. I cut them
into white chunks and keep them in a zip-top bag. Pork fat is needed for har
gow shrimp dumplings, Vietnamese nem nuong grilled meatballs and certain Viet
charcuterie.
Oh, of course we have olive oil. And, most
recently started buying grapeseed oil. But those sit on the counter opposite my
stove. Sometimes I sub grapeseed oil for canola.
Now that I’ve shared my go-to cooking oils and
fats, what are yours and why?
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Andrea, unless I need an oil or fat with a specific flavor profile or some special characteristic, I reach for light olive oil. It's refined to the point that it is a neutral-flavored oil, but it retains olive oil's generally beneficial qualities. It's also refined to the point that it has a high smoke point - 468 °F (242°C) - and so can be used even for deep-frying.
I wouldn't use *ordinary* olive oil with Vietnamese dishes, however, I think the flavors are incompatible.
Using poultry fats is almost always a good idea with poultry dishes, and sometimes with potatoes and vegetables as well. No, it's not the *healthy* choice, but it is the *flavorful* choice. And I'm a bit like your mom, I'm still saving and using well-flavored fats.
I will have to look for and try the unrefined peanut oil.
Hi Andrea! I recently moved in with my Caucasian boyfriend and he didn't understand why we needed anything other than a good olive oil. I couldn't understand how he wouldn't want at least three! Olive oil for salad dressings and most western cooking, sure. However, I like to use Canola for stir frys and most basic Asian dishes. I like peanut oil for occasional deep frying or to make chili oil. Sesame oil is a must also, a couple drops even can really elevate a soup or salad dressing. I guess you could say I'm a bit of a hoarder that way, but I like to have a kitchen that is ready for almost anything I want to make. 🙂
Lately I've been switching up my cooking fats, opting for less refined.
I've been giving preference to schmaltz (chicken fat!), and pork fat. My butcher also sent me home with some tallow a few weeks ago, which I've enjoyed. I also use coconut oil because it lends a nice sweetness particularly to eggs or roasted vegetables without tasting overtly coconut-y, and Trader Joe's sells organic at a fairly decent price. I also use a lot of olive oil for braises, or to finish dishes.
For me, I like to vary it up – I figure the more variety, the more nutrients, and it certainly makes my cooking more interesting!
When it comes to Asian food in general, peanut oil is my mainstay. The only times I stray from it is when I think the peanut taste really wouldn't mix, then I use the neutrally-flavoured standby, canola oil.
I've been using Rice Bran oil for everything - it has a high smoking point and is mostly neutral tasting - however it has suddenly vanished from stores. I'm hoping it's a temporary shortage.
I had heard sesame oil becomes carcinogenic when heated - is this a myth? Because of this I cook with rice bran oil and add a little sesame oil off heat for flavor.
Because of a host of wacky allergies I stay away from soy and corn oils. Additionally, any foul fed with corn or other grains will retain enough protein from those grains in their fat to cause reactions when used for cooking. If anyone has mysterious gallbladder problems they may want to look to peanut oil, chicken fat, soy, corn, or other oils as the culprit.
Andrea, I love how you smartly compare flavor and performance with ingredients. Thank you for a thoroughly enjoyable blog (and cookbooks!).
Simon, I never thought of light olive oil in this er, light. That's a good point that you make. Many people have it in their pantry so they may want to use in Asian dishes.
A little animal fat now and then can't hurt you. And look for tasty peanut oil. The Spectrum stuff is somewhat finger lickin' good.
There's nothing wrong with hoarding and diversifying your oil/fat selection. Glad you're a fan of peanut oil too!
Sam, you're my kind of man. Changing up the cooking fat can indeed affect the flavor of the dish.
I've been meaning to look into coconut oil and wondered about Trader Joe's. Thanks for sharing your insights.
Yep, you have to cook with your palate and semirefined or unrefrined peanut oil doesn't work for every Asian dish. Peanut oil is most often times thought of for Chinese food and as you know, it's not the standard across the board.
Jodie, you're absolutely right. Where did all the rice bran oil gone? It was popular and then it seemed like it was overtaken by coconut oil in a jar. Oily trends, eh?
I'll use sesame oil only for cooking up Japanese gyoza/pot stickers. I read that it can be heated to around 350F. I've not heard of it becoming carcinogenic at high temps but how often do people do that and, how can someone afford to cook with sesame oil like that? In the main, it's a seasoning oil in my kitchen.
My goodness, people can consume enough oils to cause gallbladder issues? Yikes. It's likely through eating a lot of processed and fast foods. It's the dose that's the poison and all things in moderation.
Thanks to the thoughtful comments and tips, Jodie!
I was taught sesame oil is for seasoning not cooking - finish your rice, then add the oil, finish your salad assembly then add the oil to vinegar, dipping sauce etc
Sesame oil may be added to the end of stir-frying finish the dish with a toasty richness. If you want it at the front end of cooking, you can blend a little bit of it with an oil like canola oil. A little sesame oil goes a long way.
I use the lovely, lovely Lion and Globe peanut oil for almost all my Asian cooking. I also use some coconut oil for some South Indian cooking. I avoid canola oil entirely, as I think it's not as healthy as other oils.
I usually use light olive oil or even extra virgin olive oil. I don't heat the oil to smoking point as I prefer a quick wilt or braise (with a splash of mirin, then lid on for a short blast of steam) to traditional 'wokking'. I often avoid frying altogether as I like to serve a mountain of greens, which is only possible if you batch fry, and I'm too lazy for that! Instead, I STEAM the veg until it's just done, still bright green and firm, then I dress with some sesame oil, Maldon sea salt flakes and chili flakes if eating as part of a Chinese meal. For fried rice, though, I fry lardons, and toss the other ingredients in the rendered smoky fat. It's delicious. Duck or goose fat is good for roast potatoes, and if I'm lucky enough to have some of the lovely yellow fat from foie gras, I'll use it for fried eggs.
If you're looking for pork fat, try a Mexican butcher or grocery. There are usually tubs of Manteca readily available...
I stir fry with rice bran oil. It has a very neutral flavour and wonderful if you are allergic to peanut oil!
"For the rest of Asia, the darker, toasted sesame oil made from white sesame seeds is preferred. "
As I recall, Korean dishes use untoasted sesame oil for just about everything, except frying of course. It is not nearly as strong as the dark toasted stuff but it sure isn't neutral in flavor either. Maybe I only notice it when they use sesame and it is only a few dishes? 🙂
A little animal fat now and then can't hurt you. And look for tasty peanut oil. The Spectrum stuff is somewhat finger lickin' good.
Thanks for sharing about the asian cooking oil.The information about the oil very informative and effective one.Keep update more things in the blog.
Andrea... coconut oil!!! It has a high smoke point; 400 or 450 I believe. Perfect for deep frying. It's what was used for frying before the soybean industry took over. It got a super bad rap back then, but it turns out it's very healthy for you. It is composed of over 50% lauric acid which is a medium-chain fatty acid that converts in your body to monolaurin. (Monolaurin is the compound found in breast milk that strengthens a baby’s immune system.) It is a medium-chain tryclyceride. These fats are more easily digested than other fats and are quickly metabolized, giving you a great source of energy. Most fats are stored in your body’s cells. But the fat in coconut oil goes directly to your liver, where it is converted into energy.
I'm just sayin'... Cheryl 🙂
I cook Indian food often (I grew up in India). Peanut oil was a staple and I would use that here in the USA except it's hard to find, especially fresh. When I want an oil with no flavor I use canola oil. I use pork fat whenever the flavor goes well with the fried food.
I am a fan of olive oil, but only when its flavor goes well with the dish.
That's very true about peanut oil. If you want peanut-ty flavor, consider Spectrum or Whole Foods brand of unrefined peanut oil. It tastes like peanut butter. You may want to blend it with canola when you're cooking on super high heat. (I think Whole Foods is private labeled Spectrum.)
I didn't know that peanut oil was used in India. Thank you for sharing that information!
With regard to Szechuan dishes specifically, the unrefined rapeseed oil you mentioned is actually a crucial part of the flavor of the dish! It has a strong nutty taste and it adds a lot if you're able to find it. I don't remember the Chinese name for it, but the YouTube channel Chinese cooking demystified has some great info on it!
Thank you for that. It's such thick oil. It reminded me of corn oil in thickness but definitely had flavor. I once had some flavorful canola oil but can't recall where it came from. It was expeller press and sold to the trade. Googling around, I found this but again, it's for the trade! In China, it's at grocers big and small.
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