There is no written rule that says how much cooking oil you have to use. Alright, there may be some recipes that state how much sunflower oil to use. When it comes to cooking or sautéing, you need to be able to assess how much you require depending on what you are cooking.
Why do we use sunflower oil when we cook?
Cooking oil gets hot quickly and allows for consistent frying when you are cooking. It also has a subtle taste that adds a bit of flavour. It also acts as a lubricant so that the contents in the pot won’t stick but you have to stir the pot regularly.
Before you add the oil to the pot you have to ask yourself what type of dish you are making. When you deep fry your food you need to add the sunflower oil in a deep pot enough in to cover the food you are frying. Deep frying uses a lot of oil and where possible you need to get a container that is narrow but wide enough to fit the contents. You will use less sunflower oil because there isn’t such a large surface area that needs to be covered.
Stew or curry often requires you to sauté the onion first. Onion takes a bit of time to cook and soften. It is almost impossible to cook chopped onion thoroughly once liquid has been added. Frying the onion first also gets rid of the pungent taste that this vegetable releases. You don’t need to use a lot of sunflower oil for sautéing as you only need to cover the bottom of the pot.
Braising meat uses a little bit more cooking oil than with a stew. When braising any food make sure that you use a high pot so that you don’t get burnt. Braising food just means to lightly cook it in a closed pot so it does not need much sunflower oil. This cooking method will give you tender yet cooked food.
These cooking tips do not apply to any baking recipes as oven baking is more of a precision art. Cakes and other baked goods require exact measurements. Sunflower oil can be used in so many ways in so many dishes. It doesn’t matter how much is used as long as you don’t add too much unless you like a greasy or oily dish.
