Sauté refers to cooking high and dry—using a small amount of fat to cook food quickly in a piping-hot pan. The word sauté means “jump” in French, and indeed, making the food flip in the pan is a key part of the technique, so that it’s not sitting for too long in one spot. However, unlike stir-frying in a wok, you’re not constantly moving the food around with a tool, either.
Although “sauté” is often used as a catchall for any form of cooking in a hot pan on the stovetop, mastering the nuance between sautéing and pan-frying can mean the difference between crisp-tender vegetables and soggy limp ones, or a golden breaded chicken breast versus one that is pale, tough, and dry. Let’s get into the specifics.
These simple directions will help you sauté like a Michelin-starred chef: