There's nothing like a crunchy nibble. There's something satisfying about hearing that crispy sound and that mouthfeel of a crumbly bite. Yet here's the question - produces that feeling? Battered or breaded?
Many people love their food battered. It can proiduce a loud snap when bitten into along with adding extra flavor to the food it's covering. Battering can range from tempura which produces the ultimate battering experience as far as crunch and taste to beer battered which can be slightly soggy.Seafood and chicken do well with a good coating of batter;It produces a tender juicy meat and a nice golden and sometimes flaky exterior. what makes for the best batter? One that has the basic ingredients of flour water. Milk and cornstarch are added for silkiness and a dash of baking powder for rise and puffiness. Sugar and salt is added for flavor too. You coul;d add a good heaping amount of groundpepper as home and commercial chefs do in southern Indiana. This gives the entire piece of chicken that spicy taste. Chinese five spice mix would give the batter a whole new taste level.Anything can be battered fried. The Scots love their Milky Ways with a coating thats fried almost a deep brown. Onion rings and shrimp are also good with a batter coating.
The much more healthier choice is breading, Bread crumbed fish doesn't soak up as much oil as its' battered counter part.it's because it's consdiered a "dry" coating while batter is considered a "wet". Breading takes an extra step The food is first dipped ina beaten egg and then dredged in either regular or panko breadcrumbs. The main problem with the technique is that breading can easily come off. There can be "bald" spots where the meat or veggie is exposed. The coating should be thick to ensure a nice crunchy exterior. What's a good breading recipe? A simple one combines one cup of flour with one cup of breadcrumbs along with teaspoons of paprika, salt and pepper. You could add tumeric ro chili peppers for more color and flavor. Another choice is panko which is lightly baked coarsely ground crumbs. Keep in mind that you can also get breadcrumbs Italian style which have garlic powder and oregano added. Veggies, like cauliflower are excellent with a bread crumb coating. You can also do the same with broccoli and shrimp.It gives both a nice crunch.
What's better? Battered or breaded? That 's up to you. If you're going for healthy , then breaded.If you want more crunch and taste, then battered.
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