Everyone loves fries in some form or the other. Frying has completely changed the food industry, and almost everyone is a fan of fried food items. Usually, food items can be fried by themselves directly. However, they are typically coated with various other ingredients, which give them a different taste and crunchy texture. This external coating usually has egg as its main ingredient because it is semi-liquid and quite thick to hold all the ingredients together on the surface of the food item you are frying. This is why the egg is so vital in fried food recipes. Another benefit of this sticky coat is it helps retain the moisture of the food and prevents it from getting dry, dehydrated, and tasteless. Eggs also add their rich taste to the breading and make the outer coating crunchy and crispy, adding a beautiful combination of soft and crunchy.
However, sometimes you are just out of eggs or have a dietary restriction or a vegan lifestyle, all of which demand a substitute for the egg. The replacement for an egg in a recipe will have to replicate the same use as an egg. Let’s have a look at some of the substitutes we have today.
Milk
You would be surprised by our choice here, but we are serious. Milk is an excellent substitute for eggs in frying recipes because it’s thick enough and has enough consistency to hold things together. This coating is called bread, and it has just the right amount of fat and moisture required. You can use this as the base for breading any meat and vegetables. Though you may think the coating will be too liquid and patchy, you must adjust the right amount of milk in the breading. Not too little and not too much.
Also, when it comes to milk, you can use any milk, from cow milk to vegan options like soy milk or almond milk. You can also try buttermilk for an added sour taste.
Eggless batter
When an egg is not available, don’t use the egg. Use all the rest of the ingredients for the batter. Simple and easy. This option works great because the ingredients used for making the batter are ubiquitous and almost always available in the kitchen. The batter is usually some all-purpose flour mixed with salt, soda, or yeast. You need to dip the food item in the batter and fry it right away. Another option is to replace the soda with some carbonated drink, usually soda, cola, beer, or even simple sparkling water. The soda in these drinks creates a light, fluffy coating around the food due to the trapped air. This air is released when cooking, and the end product is an even crunchier coating. You can try this for food items like meat, vegetables, fish, seafood, etc.
Heavy cream as an Egg Substitute For Frying
This one should be the most obvious choice because it has all the right qualities of a perfect binder. It’s thick, sticky, rich, and creamy, and can hold together a lot of ingredients that are mixed in it. So you can combine the ingredients in heavy cream and then dip the food items in it before frying. Another method would be to drop the food items directly into the heavy cream and then roll it in a layer of crumbs before frying. It worked perfectly with all food items. The only downside is it’s high in fat content and thus also calories. Not particularly a healthy option, but it is only a substitute while eggs are not available.
Also Read,
- Egg Substitute For Meatloaf
- Egg White Powder Substitute
- Substitute for Egg Wash
- Egg Substitute For Meatballs
Olive Oil as Egg Substitute For Frying
From food to oil, we give you all the options readily available. Olive oil is easily found in most homes. Like heave cream, olive oil is thick, sticky, rich, and can easily hold the breading ingredients together pretty well. Once you have the crumbs and the coating ready, lightly dip the food item in the olive oil and wait a few seconds for the extra fat to drip off before rolling it in the crumbs. Then fry it right away.
The only disadvantage is that sometimes the crumbs might come off the olive oil coating if they are not of the desired thickness. This is because the olive oil becomes exposed to the oil used in frying, and thereby the crumbs float away in the oil. The ideal way to use olive oil will be to use it in air frying, where exposure to any external oil is minimal. In addition, it’s the healthiest oil, so you do not have to worry about your health.
Tomato paste
Another unlikely candidate that made it to our list today, as an Egg Substitute For Frying is Tomato paste, it is preferred because of its rich texture and thickness. However, if foods are dipped in tomato paste, it forms a thick coating. So it’s best to slather the food to prevent a lot of it from developing the layer. Also, the taste of tomatoes can be easily identified in fried foods, and you would want to limit their use to the bare minimum.
Mayo as Egg Substitute For Frying
Mayo is just a combination of oil and eggs. Also, it’s pretty thick and holds its consistency even after being mixed with ingredients. So it forms the perfect alternative when you run out of eggs. Just replace eggs with mayo in your preparation, and you are done. To prevent the breading from getting too thick, you may need to add milk or cream to the mayo to thin it out. Also, you will not notice its taste after frying.
We have given you a lot of exciting options that are very easily found in most kitchens. From food to oil, there are a lot of substitutes available in your home even now. All the options are healthy as well. Use of anyone at any point solely depends on your choices and preferences. So you do not have to worry. I hope the information in the article has been helpful. Cheers and happy cooking.