In cooking, browning food in a small amount of hot fat over high heat is called sautéing.
The term comes from the French sauté, meaning “jumped,” referring to the quick tossing or jerking motion used to move food around a pan. Sautéing usually uses a shallow pan, a thin layer of oil or fat, and ingredients cut into relatively small pieces so they cook quickly and evenly.
The browning comes largely from the Maillard reaction, a group of chemical reactions between amino acids and sugars that creates complex flavors and aromas. Sautéing is different from searing, which focuses mainly on browning the surface, and from deep-frying, which submerges food in much more fat.
Stir-frying is a close relative but is traditionally associated with a wok, very high heat, rapid stirring or tossing, and small batches of ingredients. In everyday cooking, the boundaries between sautéing and pan-frying can sometimes overlap.