There are, by my count, at least seven levels of fried chicken. The worst of them is good; the best, which I waited forty-four years to find, led to what can only be called an out-of-body experience. Let’s start at …
How to Get Zucchini Chips Crispy
Crunchy fried zucchini chips can be a novel break form the more common french fries or onion rings. Coat them with batter, dredge with flour or fry them like potato chips. Use yellow zucchini for a change of pace. No matter what kind of summer squash you fry, the results should be crispy chips. Unfortunately that's not always the case. But you can crisp up fried zucchini chips with a few simple tricks. Add this to my Recipe Box.
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Things You'll Need
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Frying pan or deep fryer
- Cooking oil
- Cooking thermometer
- Slotted spoon
Instructions
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Cut the zucchini as thin as possible, no more than 1/4 inch thick. Use a mandolin for even thinner slices. The slices should cook quickly. Thinner slices fry more quickly than thicker ones. Additionally there's less moisture in a thin slice than in a thick slices. Dry the slices off with a paper towel. Wet zucchini slices take longer to cook.
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Heat the oil to the proper temperature 360 degrees F. Don't put the slices in until it's been reached. If your fryer doesn't have a temperature gauge use a cooking thermometer. Frying food evaporates the moisture from the outside creating a crisp coating. If the oil isn't hot enough the chips will turn out soggy.
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Load the basket in a deep fryer with no more than 1 cup of slices. If you're using a frying pan, only add enough zucchini slices so they float freely and the pan is not crowded. Lower the basket into the deep fryer slowly. The oil will bubble up; if you lower too quickly, the oil could overflow and burn you.
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Remove the zucchini chips with a slotted spoon when they are nicely brown. Shake off the spoon to get rid of excess oil. If you're using a fryer, shake the basket several times. Drain the zucchini chips on paper towels. Or you can put the chips in a paper bag and shake it. As the oil cools the chip loses crispness. Removing excess oil keeps the chips crisp. If you're adding salt, add it when the chips are hot.
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Put the chips in a preheated 300 degrees F until all the chips have been fried and are ready to be served.
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Tips & Warnings
Use the same technique to fry other vegetable chips such as carrots or beets. Choose vegetables that have a low water content. For example, tomato slices are not going to turn out crispy.
Limp zucchini past its prime won't crisp up well.
References
Resources
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