A TikTok trick has gone viral for frying food without oil. Most people would use butter or lard, but what if you don’t have any of this at home? Then, you can use salt. Yes, apparently you can fry with salt. I know it seems crazy, but TikTok is full of tricks that we might have never heard before. So, let’s see if this works.
The viral TikTok trick
The Brazilian influencer Roice Bethel shared a video that reached more than 16 million views on TikTok, showing how to ‘’fry’’ dry ingredients by using only salt to transfer heat.
Bethel put a kilo of rock salt into a pan, heated it up to 300 degrees and explained: “When the salt turns golden brown, that’s how you know it’s ready to cook.” According to his words, when using enough salt, this reacts like a liquid and allows frying foods in an uncommon way but effective.
On his video, he tossed popcorn kernels into the hot salt, covered the pan, and watched as they popped just like they would in oil.
What could be fried with salt?
The method has some clear limits: it would only work with dry ingredients:
- Popcorn kernels.
- Nuts like peanuts or almonds.
- Other foods without moisture.
Be careful! It’s not okay to cook with chicken, burgers nor food with water or fat because they don’t react so well with hot salt.
Important safety tips
Even though this TikTok trick seems simple, it’’s crucial to follow these recommendations:
- Use the right pan: a cast-iron skillet or carbon steel wok. Never use Teflon-coated nonstick pans because salt damages the coating.
- Choose coarse salt: rock salt or coarse sea salt works best because it’s easier to sift off and absorbs less moisture.
- Don’t eat the salt: after cooking, the salt is discarded. The food ends up with only a mild salty taste.
Critics and doubts
Bethel’s TikTok video had hundreds of comments on the social network and many users expressed their concerns about the apparent risks of consuming too much salt and the effect on blood pressure. However, in this way of frying salt is not consumed: it just transfers heat and then the food itself doesn’t absorb dangerous amounts of sodium.
This method is not something new
Of course, this trick is new for most of us thanks to TikTok, but frying food with salt is not new because it has been used for centuries in countries like India, China, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Let’s see some of the uses:
- In India, Fryum snacks made from tapioca or potato starch are cooked this way.
- In Bangladesh, peanuts are roasted in salt.
Do you know another positive thing about salt? It can be reused several times, which makes it a cheaper method to fry than oil.
Advantages of frying with salt
Now that we know more about this TikTok trick, let’s see the positive thing about it:
- No oil needed: perfect when you don’t have butter, lard, or cooking oil at home.
- Crunchy results: popcorn and nuts come out crisp and flavorful.
- Less waste: salt can be reused, reducing food waste compared to frying oil.
- Natural taste: food keeps a light salty flavor without being overwhelmed.
Tiktok is full of content, but sometimes you can find some tricks that could make your life easier. In this case, it’s about a new method to cook: substituting oil for rock salt to fry your food. Would you have a go and try it? If you like the idea, you will be saving money every time you want to fry. At least this part sounds great, doesn’t it?