Deep-Frying · FFET10504
Zha (deep-frying)
Hot oil gives food a crisp exterior; ingredients may be battered or finished in sauce after frying.
Cooking food submerged in plenty of hot oil until crisp and golden.
Zha cooks food fully or partly immersed in hot oil or fat, allowing surface moisture to escape and a golden, crisp exterior to form. Ingredients may be fried directly or coated in starch batter; some liu dishes begin with partially deep-fried ingredients that are then briefly cooked in sauce.
What
Zha cooks food fully or partly immersed in hot oil or fat. As surface moisture escapes, a golden, crisp exterior can form.1,2
When
An early agricultural text describes ring-shaped dough cooked in fat, using wording meaning “cook it in fat” rather than the character zha. The earliest texts using zha in the supplied evidence are Song-era accounts of city food, which list fried crab and oil-fried spring fish among other dishes. These passages do not establish an origin year for the technique.3,4,5
Where
Song-era wine-shop food lists in Kaifeng include fried crab, while wine shops, noodle shops, and snack shops in Hangzhou list several fried foods. Cantonese cooking distinguishes dry frying, soft-batter frying, crisp frying, and frying by pouring hot oil over food. The supplied evidence identifies no single place of origin.1,4,5
How
Immersion frying uses a generous amount of hot oil, with ingredients added directly or first coated in starch batter. Oil-pouring frying applies hot oil over the food. In some liu dishes, ingredients are fried until partly cooked and then briefly cooked in sauce.1,2
Why
Hot oil heats the surface quickly. As moisture escapes, the outside becomes dry and crisp.1
Impact and influence
Frying is used for festival pastries, street snacks, and dishes subsequently cooked in sauce. Historical examples include fried qiaoguo pastries, sanzi dough strands, and a variety of fried foods sold in Hangzhou shops.2,5,6