Stir-frying vs pan-frying (choosing a frying technique)

Knowing the differences between stir-frying and pan-frying can help in choosing an appropriate cooking technique for a specific meal. One mistake when it comes to cooking is choosing a cooking method that does not work well with the type of dish you are preparing.

Pan-frying: Looking at figure 1, pan-frying is the one at the top. In the picture, we have vegetables being pan-fried.

Stir-frying: The bottom part of figure 1 shows stir-frying. A piece of meat is being stir-fried.

By looking at the picture(figure 1), we can clearly see that the two frying techniques vary, so in this article, we will be going into detail and explaining the differences between the two frying techniques.

Cooking temperature

• Pan-frying:

  Pan-frying temperature ranges between 325°F and 400°F, which means cooking oil with a smoke-point less than 325°F is not suitable for this frying method.

• Stir-frying:

  With stir-frying, the minimum temperature is 450°F, this is much higher that the temperature range for pan-frying. It is advisable to use cooking oil with a smoke point higher than 450°F in this case.

As indicated by the table(Fig. 1), stir-frying operates at much higher temperatures compared to pan-frying. And this means that the type of cooking oils used for stir-frying must have a higher smoke point.

We will have a look at what cooking oil is more suitable for stir-frying in the next section.

Cooking oil

Type of cooking oil

When it comes to cooking oil, most people don't pay too much attention to which one to choose for a specific type of cooking, they just use the available one.

But the reality is that some cooking oils can be more suitable for a specific cooking method.

For example, when it comes to boiling food, olive oil is the best and the most recommended compared to other cooking oils.

I wrote an article about prolonging the life of deep-frying oil and in that article, I discussed a lot about choosing cooking oil for the type of cooking method you want to use. You may check it out, to find out more.

In the previous section, we discussed the temperature differences between stir-frying and pan-frying, and we also mentioned that stir-frying operates at higher temperatures compared to pan-frying.

When choosing a cooking oil, you must choose the one with a smoke point that is higher than the cooking/frying temperature. For example stir-frying has minimum temperatures of about 450°F, so you must choose cooking oil with a smoke point higher than 450°F.

To be safer, for stir-frying you can use avocado oil which has the highest smoke point as indicated in Table 2.

For pan-frying, avocado oil is still more suitable, but mustard oil will also do just fine.

And the cooking oil to never use for each stir-frying and pan-frying is olive oil because it has a lower smoke point.

Amount of cooking oil

• Stir-frying:

  The amount of cooking oil is just about 2 tablespoons, although that may vary depending on the amount or type of food.

  But the main point is that for stir-frying you only need minimal cooking oil, just enough for lubrication or prevention of food burn.

• Pan-frying:

  With pan-frying, the amount of oil used will cover about 1/2 or 1/3 of the food, which means half of the food will be immersed in oil.

  More oil is definitely used in pan-frying than in stir-frying.

Cooking time

• Stir-frying:

  Typically, Stir-frying is used with other cooking techniques, for example, when cooking rice you can stir-fry it with onions and other herbs before boiling it. This will enhance the flavor of rice.

  Less time is spent on this cooking technique, some foods, like onion, can be stir-fried for as quickly as 1 minute.

• Pan-frying:

  With pan-frying, the food is cooked completely, and this cooking technique is not used with other cooking methods.

  More time is required to completely cook the food in pan-frying.

Equipment

• Stir-frying:

  When stir-frying, food must be kept moving; to achieve that, a wok is used. However, stir-frying can be achieved without this equipment.

• Pan-frying:

  A regular pot or any other pot or pan will do just fine at pan-frying, provided that it can hold food in one layer.

Types of food cooked

In general, stir-frying is used for vegetables. However, it can also be used for meat, for example, when cooking chicken stew most people will stir fry it to enhance the flavor. And during the stir-frying process, some herbs, like garlic or onion, can be added.

Typically, I personally add tomatoes during the stir-frying process when cooking chicken stew.

This is interesting because it shows how various cooking techniques are applied when making some recipes. Both dry heat(using oil) and moist heat cooking(using water) methods can be combined to make some recipes.

Foods that can be stir-fried

• onions
• bell peppers
• mushrooms
• zucchini
• carrots
• asparagus
• broccoli
• cabbage
• spinach

Foods that can be pan-fried

• sausages
• potatoes
• boneless chicken cuts
• flank steak

Summary

Typically, stir-frying is used to enhance the flavor of food. During the stir-frying process, herbs and spices can be added, and this will improve the taste of the food.

Stir-frying is normally used along with other cooking techniques, like boiling. This frying technique is commonly used for vegetables, it can also be used for meat(chicken stew or beef stew recipes) to improve the taste of meat.

With pan-frying, no herbs or spices can be added during the process. To improve the flavor, food is coated in spices beforehand. This frying technique is used as a complete cooking method and it is commonly used with no other cooking techniques.

Pan-frying is commonly used for sausages, meats, etc.

References

1. kitchenambition.com
2. Cookbook:Pan_Frying