In a flat pan a row of potstickers browns golden as one hand drizzles water from a wooden ladle and the other holds the lid, a griddle beside it holds a scallion flatbread, and a basket holds shiitake and wood ear.
On pan and griddle
Introduction
Pan-frying in a little oil, or griddling in a pan or on a griddle, so that the surface takes colour.
Pan-frying and griddling cover the methods of cooking food laid flat on a pan or griddle with a little oil or none. Pan-frying heats food in a little oil, and fried fish already appears in old books such as the Qi Min Yao Shu and the Sui Yuan Shi Dan. Griddling uses a dry pan or griddle, and griddle-baked flatbread is more than two thousand years old, although the griddle is also wiped with oil. Fried dumplings are fried in oil first and then finished with added water under a lid, while guo tie are fried slowly in a little oil with water sprinkled on and no lid. Deep-frying in plenty of oil belongs to Deep-Frying, and quick tossing over a high flame belongs to Stir-Frying.