How to Keep Fried Food Crispy Longer

The Wire Rack Secret

This is the single most important change you can make, and it costs almost nothing. Stop putting freshly fried food directly on paper towels.

Wait — doesn't everyone use paper towels to drain oil? Yes, and that's exactly the problem. Paper towels trap steam underneath your fried food. That steam condenses back into moisture, and the bottom of your crispy pata turns into a soggy sponge within minutes.

Instead, place a wire cooling rack over a sheet pan. When your food sits on the rack, air circulates underneath it. Steam escapes in every direction. The bottom stays just as crispy as the top. According to Serious Eats' frying research, wire racks can extend crispiness by 3-4 times compared to paper towels.

Don't have a wire rack? A bamboo steaming basket flipped upside down works too. Some old-school cooks use chopsticks laid across a plate in a grid pattern. The point is: get your food elevated off any flat surface.

The Double-Frying Technique

If you've ever wondered how carinderia lechon kawali stays crispy for hours while yours goes soft in ten minutes, double-frying is probably the answer. This technique is the backbone of seriously crunchy Filipino fried dishes.

Here's how it works:

1. First fry at 325F (160C) for 6-8 minutes. This cooks the inside through and starts drying out the exterior. Pull the food out and let it rest on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Some cooks rest it for up to an hour.
2. Second fry at 375F (190C) for 3-4 minutes. This blast of high heat creates an extra-hard shell on the outside. The surface dehydrates further, forming a barrier that locks moisture inside the meat and keeps the exterior shatteringly crisp.

The science is straightforward. That resting period between fries lets the internal moisture redistribute. When it hits the hot oil again, the surface gets drier and harder than a single fry could ever achieve. This is exactly what makes the best crispy pata at Filipino restaurants so incredibly crunchy — they always double-fry.

The Cornstarch Coating Trick

Pure flour coatings absorb oil and turn soft relatively quickly. Adding cornstarch to your breading mix changes the game completely.

A 50/50 mix of all-purpose flour and cornstarch creates a coating that fries up lighter and crispier. Cornstarch produces less gluten when mixed with liquid, so the crust stays delicate rather than heavy. It also browns more evenly.

For lumpia shanghai, try brushing the wrapper edges with a thin cornstarch slurry before sealing. This extra starch layer fries up into a glass-like shell that holds its crunch much longer than plain wrapper alone.

Some Filipino cooks go even further and add a tablespoon of rice flour or a teaspoon of baking powder to the coating mix. The baking powder creates tiny air pockets that make the crust extra airy and resistant to sogginess.

Oil Temperature: The 350-375F Sweet Spot

Temperature control separates great fried food from mediocre fried food. Too cool, and the breading absorbs oil like a sponge. Too hot, and the outside burns while the inside stays raw.

For most Filipino fried dishes, you want your oil between 350-375F (175-190C). According to Cook's Illustrated, maintaining consistent temperature throughout the frying process is more important than the starting temperature.

Get yourself a deep-fry thermometer. They're cheap and they'll transform your frying overnight. Without one, you're just guessing — and guessing leads to greasy, soggy results.

Quick test if you don't have a thermometer: drop a small piece of bread into the oil. At 350F, it should sizzle immediately and turn golden in about 60 seconds. If it browns in 15 seconds, your oil's too hot. If it just sits there sadly, wait longer.

Don't Crowd the Pan

This one's hard because you're hungry and you want everything done fast. But dropping too many pieces into the oil at once is one of the fastest ways to guarantee soggy food.

Every piece of food you add drops the oil temperature. Put in too many, and the temperature crashes from 375F down to 300F or lower. At that temperature, the coating absorbs oil instead of crisping up. You end up with greasy, heavy food that turns soggy within minutes.

The rule of thumb: never fill your pot more than halfway with food. Fry in batches. Yes, it takes longer. But each batch comes out properly crispy instead of producing one big batch of greasy disappointment.

Salt AFTER Frying, Not Before

Salt draws out moisture. That's great when you're dry-brining a steak, but it's terrible for keeping fried food crispy. If you salt your coating mix heavily before frying, that salt starts pulling moisture from the food toward the surface immediately.

Season with salt the moment food comes out of the oil, while it's still hot. The residual heat helps the salt stick to the surface, and you avoid the moisture-drawing problem entirely. The food stays drier and crispier for longer.

One exception: if your recipe calls for marinating in soy sauce or fish sauce before frying (like chicken adobo flakes), make sure you pat the pieces bone-dry with paper towels before they go anywhere near the hot oil.

Serving Immediately vs. Keeping Warm

Serving right away is always best. But if you're cooking for a party and need to keep things crispy for 30-60 minutes, here's what works:

Set your oven to 200F (93C) and place a wire rack on a sheet pan inside. As each batch comes out of the fryer, transfer it to the oven. The low heat keeps everything warm without cooking it further, and the constant air circulation prevents steam buildup.

Don't cover the food with foil or a lid. I know it feels wrong to leave it "exposed," but covering traps steam and destroys crispiness faster than anything else. Leave it uncovered in that warm oven and it'll stay crunchy for up to an hour.

Why Humidity Kills Crispiness

If you've noticed your fried food goes soft faster during rainy season, you're not imagining things. High humidity means there's more moisture in the air, and crispy surfaces absorb that ambient moisture constantly.

You can't control the weather, but you can compensate. On humid days, fry at a slightly higher temperature (closer to 375F), use more cornstarch in your coating, and serve faster. Don't leave fried food sitting out uncovered in a humid kitchen for long periods.

The Paper Bag Method for Empanada

Old Filipino bakers swear by this trick for keeping empanada and other fried pastries crispy during transport. After frying, place the empanadas in a plain brown paper bag and fold the top loosely.

The paper absorbs excess surface oil without trapping steam (unlike plastic bags or sealed containers). Air still circulates through the paper's pores. It's the same principle as the wire rack, adapted for taking food on the go. Street vendors in Vigan have been using this method for decades.

Just make sure you don't pack them tightly. Stacking fried pastries on top of each other creates steam pockets between layers, and the bottom ones will go soft. Give each piece some breathing room.