【ﾄﾞﾊﾞｰ】中華料理のチャーハン、とんでもなく油つかってるｗｗｗ
The internet is buzzing with talk about the surprising amount of oil used in Chinese fried rice! Seeing professional chefs generously pour oil into their woks, people are exclaiming, "No wonder it's so delicious!" but also, "There's no way I could do that at home."
Various opinions are flying around regarding the relationship between oil quantity and deliciousness, and how to balance it with health concerns.
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The Magic of Lard (Pork Fat)
Lard, refined pork fat, is a magical ingredient in Chinese cuisine, especially fried rice. It contributes unique flavor, richness, and texture. Its distinct sweet and savory aroma, absent in vegetable oils, significantly enhances the fried rice's fragrance, stimulating appetite. With a melting point range (approx. 28-48°C) wider than butter (approx. 32-35°C) and a higher proportion of saturated fatty acids than common vegetable oils, lard is excellent for high-temperature cooking, making it suitable for stir-frying and deep-frying. Using lard in fried rice coats each grain of rice, making it fluffy and separate. This is because lard reduces friction between grains and helps moisture evaporate. Furthermore, the umami components in lard promote the Maillard reaction when heated, creating a deep flavor and savory aroma. For fried rice cooked instantly in a high-temperature wok, lard is indispensable for bringing out all these qualities. However, as a trade-off for its deliciousness, lard is high in calories, and excessive intake requires health consideration.
The Essence of Wok Cooking and High-Heat Frying
The perception of Chinese fried rice using "an incredible amount of oil" stems from the close relationship between the characteristics of the wok and high-heat cooking. Professional Chinese restaurants use powerful dedicated burners (often called "ox-head" burners or Chinese ranges) that are incomparable to home gas stoves. This ultra-high heat, combined with the wok's thin, wide shape, quickly brings the entire pan to a high temperature, transferring heat evenly to ingredients. Here, oil plays a crucial role. A large quantity of oil is not just for flavor; it serves as a highly efficient "heat medium" that effectively transfers this high heat to the ingredients. By cooking ingredients as if they are swimming in hot oil, their surfaces are rapidly heated, locking in flavor while keeping the inside tender. For example, in fried rice, the oil quickly transfers heat to each hot grain of rice, evaporating moisture and creating a fluffy texture. When stir-frying vegetables, the oil coats the surface, preventing excessive moisture evaporation while maintaining a crisp texture. This trinity of oil, high heat, and the wok creates the deliciousness of professional Chinese cuisine that is difficult to replicate at home.
The Transformation Brought by Oil Blasting (Guo You)
Oil blasting, or "Guo You (過油)", is a crucial pre-treatment in Chinese cuisine where ingredients are lightly fried in a large amount of oil before further cooking. The "excessive oil" mentioned in the fried rice article's title can be understood through this technique, which is frequently used across Chinese cooking. For example, when stir-frying vegetables, meat, or seafood, oil blasting creates a thin film of oil on the ingredient's surface. This film protects the cell walls of the ingredients, preventing excessive moisture evaporation during cooking. As a result, vegetables retain their vibrant color and crisp texture, while meat remains juicy and tender. Oil blasting can also remove off-flavors from ingredients and help them absorb seasonings better. Ingredients like char siu and shrimp used in fried rice often benefit from oil blasting for enhanced flavor. While the oil used for blasting can sometimes be reused for other dishes, it undeniably consumes a large quantity of oil at once. This process is a culmination of Chinese culinary wisdom and technique, designed to maximize ingredient deliciousness and elevate overall dish quality. However, it's difficult to replicate at home and contributes to increased oil intake, which can be a health concern.