Frying takes several forms, from deep-frying, where the food is completely immersed in hot oil, to sautàƒ©ing where food is cooked in a frying pan where there is only a thin coating of oil. Frying is the fastest way to cook, as it is the most efficient way to transfer heat into the food. Despite using liquid oil, frying is considered to be a dry cooking method as water is not used in the cooking process and ideally the cooking oil will not be absorbed by the food, thus no moisture is added by cooking.