People are oil-dependent. It is every kitchen’s cooking essential. And whatever type of cooking we do, our habit has been normalized by using oil in all of it.
Little did we know, there are ways to remove oil in our cooking. By cooking without oil, you’ll have dishes that are heart-healthy, fat-free, and with more natural flavors. We’ll give you a quick run of the tips and techniques on how to cook without the use of oil. Spoiler alert: you’ve done it already, you just don’t know it yet.
- Invest in a high quality non-stick pan. Food residues sticking in the pan are annoying. Using a non-stick pan will save the day when cooking without oil.
- Replace oil with liquid when sautéing. For sautéing and stir-frying, the trick is to replace it with water or any broth. You may do this to cook and brown the food without steaming it. Just ensure to toss and stir periodically to cook it evenly without burning, ideally in low to medium heat.
- Bake or roast. The key to baking or roasting without oil is to line a baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent sticking. Worried that you might burn the whole thing? You just have to be extra careful not to get the paper too close to the burners at high heat. Also, parchment papers can tolerate temperatures up to 425 degrees. On top of this, if you’re to roast vegetables or other foods, you don’t necessarily need to coat it with the usual oil. Stocks or other liquid mixtures and seasonings will do.
- Steaming. Aside from the fact that you don’t need oil in steaming, it also means that your food is going to cook faster. Steaming though, produces a different flavor than roasting, as you may already know.
- Frying with air fryer. For the love of fried foods, try an air fryer. It doesn’t need oil and cooks your food half the time because it cooks from every angle.
See, it’s like you just practically remove oil in your cooking basics and added a few twists. Try these oil-free cooking methods at home ’cause they’re healthy and so much fun!
