Best Uses for a Stainless Steel Serving Tong with Oil Strainer Spoon

Samosas, pakoras, fritters and cutlets are the clearest use case. The fine mesh strainer side lifts fried food directly from hot oil while draining excess oil back into the pan before it hits your serving plate — which matters both for texture (nobody wants a soggy, oil-heavy pakora) and for keeping your counter and serving dish cleaner.

The long handle keeps your hand a safe distance from hot oil throughout, which is a real safety consideration when you're frying in batches and reaching into the pan repeatedly over several minutes.

Because the tool doubles as a gripping plate on the flat side, it works for transferring items directly to serving plates without needing a second utensil — useful when you're frying and serving in the same continuous motion for a group, rather than batch-frying everything first and plating separately afterward.

This dual function is really the whole value proposition: for a lot of frying tasks, you'd otherwise be juggling a slotted spoon in one hand and tongs in the other. Combining them into one tool simplifies the motion, especially when you're managing a hot pan and don't want to be swapping utensils mid-task.

• Draining boiled items like dumplings or momos before plating.
• Lifting and turning shallow-fried items like cutlets or tikkis without breaking them apart.
• Serving stir-fried vegetables where a bit of excess oil drainage is welcome before plating.
• General kitchen tong duties — transferring hot items between pans — when the strainer function isn't needed.

This is a tool that lives right next to hot oil for extended periods, so the stainless steel construction isn't a cosmetic detail — it's what keeps the tool from warping, discoloring, or corroding under repeated heat exposure the way a lower-grade metal or a plastic-handled alternative might over time. Stainless steel also holds up better against oil residue and repeated washing than tools with painted or coated finishes.

Because it's used both mid-cooking (lifting from oil) and at the point of serving, this tool works best stored somewhere immediately accessible near the stove rather than in a drawer with other utensils — a hanging hook or a countertop utensil holder keeps it ready for the exact moment a batch of frying finishes, rather than needing to be fetched while food sits in hot oil a moment longer than ideal.

The serving tong pairs naturally with a stovetop grilling session too — while skewers handle the actual cooking on the BBQ stand, the tong is useful for plating grilled items straight from the stand, or for handling any fried side dishes (like fritters or pakoras) served alongside grilled food at the same meal. It's a genuinely versatile piece that earns its place in the kitchen well beyond deep frying specifically.

When evaluating a serving tong with an oil strainer, check that the handle length feels comfortable for your typical pan depth — a handle that's too short brings your hand closer to hot oil than is comfortable, while an excessively long one can be awkward to maneuver in a smaller pan. The mesh should be fine enough to catch small food particles without being so tight that it's difficult to clean afterward.