How to Fry Pempek to Make It Crispy and Crunchy Without Exploding

Kapanlagi.com - Pempek is a traditional dish from Palembang that has a chewy texture with a distinctive savory flavor. However, the process of frying pempek often becomes a challenge, ranging from a less crispy texture, excess oil, to the risk of exploding while frying. This article will comprehensively discuss the tricks to fry pempek so that it is crispy, cooked perfectly inside, and of course, without the risk of exploding.

1. Causes of Pempek Exploding While Frying

One of the main problems when frying pempek is the risk of it exploding. This can be caused by several factors:

• Trapped water content inside the pempek.
• Extreme temperature differences between frozen pempek and hot oil.
• Improper frying technique.

When pempek is heated in hot oil, the steam inside seeks an escape route, causing small explosions. Therefore, it is important to prepare the pempek well before frying.

2. Tips for Frying Pempek So It Doesn't Explode

To prevent pempek from exploding while frying, here are some tricks you can try:

• Boil the pempek before frying to ensure the inside is cooked perfectly. This is important so that the pempek is cooked not only on the outside but also on the inside.
• Make sure the pempek is completely dry before placing it in hot oil. Use paper towels to absorb any remaining water on the surface of the pempek.
• Poke the surface of the pempek with a fork to allow steam to escape slowly. This helps reduce the risk of explosion while frying.

3. How to Fry Pempek to Make It Crispy and Crunchy

To achieve crispy and crunchy pempek, follow these steps:

• Use quality oil to ensure the fried results are crispier and do not smell rancid. Good oil will affect the taste of the pempek.
• Set the oil temperature correctly (170-180C) to ensure the pempek cooks evenly. The right temperature also helps prevent the pempek from absorbing too much oil.
• Fry in small batches to keep the oil temperature stable. Do not add too many pempek at once to avoid lowering the oil temperature.

4. Techniques for Controlling the Heat to Ensure Pempek is Cooked Thoroughly

Controlling the heat while frying is also very important:

• Use medium heat so that the outside does not burn quickly before the inside is cooked. Heat that is too high can cause the pempek to cook unevenly.
• Avoid frying with too high heat, as it can make the pempek burn quickly on the outside but remain raw on the inside.

5. Additional Tips to Prevent Pempek from Being Oily

Here are some additional tips to prevent pempek from being too oily:

• Drain the pempek on paper towels or a oil draining rack after frying to remove excess oil.
• Avoid frying with oil that is too cold, as the pempek will absorb more oil.

6. Common Mistakes When Frying Pempek to Avoid

Some common mistakes made when frying pempek are:

• Frying pempek while still frozen.
• Putting in too many pempek at once into the oil.
• Using used oil that has been reused multiple times.

7. Delicious and Appetizing Pempek Presentation

After successfully frying with the tricks above, serve pempek with the sweet, sour, and spicy Palembang cuko sauce. Add fresh cucumber slices and a sprinkle of dried shrimp to enhance the flavor. Vary it with chili sauce or sambal according to your taste for a more enjoyable dining experience.

(kpl/sfh)