Sauteing
Sautéing is browning food first on one side and then on the other in a small quantity of fat or oil. When sautéing, which is a type of frying, the fat is placed in a shallow pan, and when it is sufficiently hot, the food is put into it. When cooking, the fat should not come up the sides of the food being cooked, the food basically cooking on a thin layer of fat. Foods that are to be sautéed are usually sliced thin or cut into small pieces, and they are turned frequently during the process of cooking. Sauté is French for “jumping”, used to describe the action of the food in the pan as it it tossed around to prevent burning.
Foods prepared in this way can be difficult to digest, because they become more or less hard and can become soaked with fat if too much is used. Chops and thin cuts of meat, which are intended to be pan-broiled, are really sautéed if they are allowed to cook in the fat that renders out of them.
The term pan-frying is the English equivalent of sautéing (which is a French word). Some people consider it a different technique, which uses more fat and takes longer. stir-frying uses higher temperatures and continual stirring.
Tips for Proper Technique
While different ingredients will call for variations in this techinque, there are some general guidelines to help ensure an ideal outcome.
Mise en place
The first rule is be prepared. If your recipe calls for chopped ingredients in step 12, make sure you have them now. While experienced cooks will successfully chop the next ingredient while the rest are cooking, this is not a path to follow for the inexperienced. For one thing, chopping times for the experienced cook are generally much shorter, so the cooking food doesn’t have a chance to burn. For another, the experienced cook can quickly assess whether food is done. A less experienced cook should be much more attentive to the pan to become more familiar with the stages of doneness.