The Working Rules
What You Need To Know
- Dry the food first. Coating wet chicken, fish or squid is how you create paste instead of crunch.
- Cornflour gives crisp. Plain flour gives body. Breadcrumbs give texture. Use the right one for the job.
- Press the coating on properly. Do not tickle it with flour and hope for miracles.
- Spray the coating lightly with oil before cooking. Dry flour patches stay dusty unless you give them a little fat.
- Leave space between pieces. Coated food needs airflow all around it or the underside goes soft.
- Sauce coated food at the end. Sauce too early kills crunch faster than a closed takeaway box.
Pro Tip: Pro move: for chicken-shop crunch, use flour plus cornflour, spray lightly, cook hot, and do not keep opening the drawer like a nervous parent.