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Tips for Cooking Tasty Chinese Foods at Home

admin | May 11th, 2013

Are you looking to cook some Chinese food at home soon? Chinese food may look simple, but they can be trickier than they seem. There are a lot of elements in play, and you need to know the right way to cook and stir fry the vegetables and other ingredients to make it just right. However, there is no need to panic just yet. Here are some tips that can help you make tasty Chinese food at home:

Don’t worry about the wok
Many Chinese recipes use woks, and you can see a lot of online videos and websites stress the need for a wok when preparing Chinese cuisine. While it is an important part of Chinese food preparation, you can make do with an ordinary frying pan as well.

Careful not to burn your food
Chinese cuisine is predominantly based on minimally cooked ingredients. Most ingredients that need to be cooked only have to be in high heat for a few minutes. As a result, it is common to see newbies burning or overcooking their ingredients. To avoid this, stir fry your food frequently and make sure the food does not stick to the pan/wok or get burned.

Wash the rice grains before boiling
Long rice is a staple part of Chinese cuisine, but make sure that the grains are washed before boiling them. Rinse the long grain rice in water a couple of times until the water that is drained is clear. When adding water to the rice for boiling, the general rule is to add twice the weight of grains you have added.

Prepare ahead
As mentioned before, the cooking part of Chinese food only takes a few minutes. Most of the time is spent just preparing the ingredients. Therefore, prepare everything before you take out your wok or frying pan. If done right, you can prepare Chinese food a lot faster and with fewer hassles.

Some ingredients for Chinese food can actually be prepared well beforehand and stored for whenever you are making the food. Store such ingredients in your store cupboard so you have an easier time with Chinese food.

Cook the tougher vegetables first
Chinese cuisine heavily uses fresh vegetables of varying size, thickness, and toughness, and they all have to be cooked to the perfect consistency. To do this easily, add the thick and tough vegetables like carrots, cabbage, and broccoli first because they need to be cooked for a longer time. The soft and green leafy vegetables like peas and spring onions can be added last because they cook faster. If you are confused about what vegetable should go in the pan/wok first, stir fry them separately.

Meat/fish preparation first
When preparing non-vegetarian Chinese food, start with the marinating of the meat or fish. If you are adding cornstarch to the marinade, add it last so that it binds with all the other ingredients better. If beef is being prepared, cut it across the grain so that it is tenderer. The meat should always be stir fried before the vegetables. Once the meat is done, you can set it aside and then prepare the vegetables.

Author Bio: Jennifer writes for Panasia, a Chinese food Auckland restaurant. She frequently writes interesting facts on the Chinese food and also some tips and new Chinese recipes to try at home.

Category: Other Food Stuff, Useful Cooking Tips

Why High-Quality Cookware is Worth the Price

admin | May 10th, 2013

When you’re outfitting a new kitchen, or even just replacing battered old pots and pans, costs can mount up quickly. Cookware can be purchased at almost any price point these days, and it may be tempting to go for the cheap and cheerful variety in order to save a little money in the short term. However, higher quality products may pay for themselves with their ease of use, reliability, and extended lifetimes. A great tip is to treat your cooking equipment as an investment rather than as a series of disposable items. If you’re keen to find out the difference between bargain bucket pots and their more expensive rivals, read on.

Cast-Iron Can Make All the Difference
One of the most frequently bought (and used) cookware items is the cast-iron skillet. This is especially true in professional cookery – in fact, you’d probably struggle to find a restaurant that doesn’t use iron skillets. Even though they can be more expensive than ‘non-stick’ or plain steel varieties, cast-iron pans are also preferable for home use.

The most obvious practical advantage of an all-iron skillet is the ability to transfer food from the oven to the stove without moving your meal between different implements. That’s not the only benefit, though. Iron pans are versatile because they can be used to cook almost anything, whether you’re baking or frying. They retain heat extremely well and tend to cook food evenly, without the ‘hot spots’ that might be formed on different pans. This makes them a great choice for steak, for example, as you can be sure that no part of the meat is over or undercooked. A well-seasoned iron skillet is also the original ‘non-stick’ surface, making such cookware ideal for sticky dishes such as scrambled eggs.

Health Concerns
There are a few health-related reasons that support a move away from most contemporary cookware. The non-stick coatings which are found on many cheaper pans have been shown to release toxic chemicals at high temperatures – ones which can be reached during the course of everyday cooking. It is therefore recommended that such pans be heated to moderate temperatures only, limiting their usefulness. Stainless steel is neutral when it comes to health, whilst a cast-iron pan could actually aid your diet by releasing small amounts of iron into the food.

Quality Assurance
Cookware is important because you use it every single day, and as such, you don’t want your pots and pans to fall apart. High-quality cookware manufacturers will typically stand by their products, offering extended or even lifetime warranties. The choice comes down to the consumer – would you rather purchase a lesser product for half the price and have to replace it in a couple of years’ time, or pay more initially and receive a guarantee that the cookware will still be with you in a few decades?

Pauline Andreas is a blogger and keen cook who enjoys writing about kitchen appliances.

Category: Useful Cooking Tips

TAGcooking tips , cookware tips

Tips for Cooking Tofu – The Fundamental Techniques

admin | February 9th, 2013

how to cook tofu
Being a vegetarian means you should be familiar with tofu and the many recipes that you can create with it. It seems like yesterday when tofu was considered as the protein for vegetarians and vegans. But as more new information is shared, people slowly learned that tofu is not the only animal-free protein source. These days, there are many protein foods for vegans but, of course, tofu will always be at the very top of the list.

If you love tofu or simply think that you need to learn to cook or prepare it, then here are a few tips that can be of help:

Choose Quality Brands
While there are many different tofu brands in the market these days, this does not mean that you can eat every one of them. Buy only the ones that come from farmer’s markets and some of the local stores.

It is best to try three or more brands before settling for the one that you deem best. Not all tofu was made excellently so be careful.

Buy Extra Firm Tofu
Though silken tofu is used on many recipes, it is better to choose firm tofu for your sauté or baking needs. If you can lay your hands on the extra firm ones then the better. Firmness guarantees that your tofu will not fall apart once you bake or cook it.

Squeeze Out Extra Moisture
It is always advisable to squeeze out the moisture in tofu. Before you even place it in a pan, use some paper towels to wrap each one tightly. Let the tofu squares sit for a while so that all the excess water is soaked up by the towels. There are some chefs who advise that letting the tofu stand overnight is best.

Cook Only In High Heat
Keep in mind that tofu only cooks well if placed in very hot pans. The brown texture is achieved if you heat your pan correctly prior to sautéing.

You may also pan-sauté your tofu in a combination of liquids such as agave syrup, fruit juice, vinegar, maple syrup, lemon juice, orange juice, wine, oils, marinades, miso soup, soy sauce or water. Remember that tofu is pretty much like a sponge – it can soak in the flavorful liquids that you use to cook it with. For added taste, you may also use dried herbs and spices.

Tofu and Salt – They Go Hand in Hand
Tofu will always need to be salted – even just a pinch would do. Use coarse salt at the end of your bake or sauté. Use pepper, too.

If tofu needs salting, then it can also be marinated. With ample time in your hands, you can marinate your tofu for hours or overnight and you can enjoy a spectrum of flavors!

These are just a few of the tofu cooking tips for the vegan you. Tofu need not be plain or dry – with a little creativity, this simple food can go a long way.

About the Author: Diana is a foodie and writer for www.myfood.co.uk. She likes writing about vegetarian food, gluten-free desserts, and low-calorie cocktails

Category: Useful Cooking Tips

TAGcooking tips , cooking tofu , fundamental techniques

5 Handy Tips to Cook Healthy Foods with Great Taste

admin | January 25th, 2013

5 Handy Tips to Cook Healthy Foods with Great Taste
Cooking finger-licking food is certainly an art and you need to keep certain important things in mind in order to come up with delicious dished each time you go to the kitchen. There are multiple dishes that have various recipes. In this article we will provide you some tips that will help you to cook healthy and nutritious food. Many of us believe that foods that healthy foods tastes pretty bad because they are mostly boiled wand without any sort of spices. However in his article we will provide certain tips that will help you to cook yummy heath foods.

Quality ingredients – this is the first thing that you need to focus on. Without proper ingredients you will never be able to produce tasty food. Especially if you are looking to cook a continental dish make sure that you have fresh cooking materials. Even the best chefs in the world make sure that the ingredients they are cooking with are of refined quality.

Proper uses of spices – Spices can be effectively used to add great taste to foods. Moreover certain spices are really good for health. A couple of months back I found that my waist line had increased by 4 inches. And I was hell-bent to shed it off and started skipping meals. Shortly after that I started feeling weak. Then my mom who is a dietician charted a diet list for me. She suggested me to take heavy breakfast. She used to bake the breads and stuff them with boiled potatoes, beans, carrots, capsicums and onions. She used to fry the stuffs with a minimal amount of oil and add a bit of garlic to that. Trust me that used to taste like heaven.

Add color to your dish – Another great way to make your dish exciting is to add colors to it. You can add things like yellow squash, tomatoes, capsicums, blueberries, beans, eggplant and others. These will help in adding colors to your food.

Trying new recipes – Trying new recipes helps you to avoid boredom. If you have been eating the same thing over and over again, you will get bored quite easily no matter how tasty it might be. So you need to try new things periodically. The easiest ways to get started with this is to buy a new fish that you haven’t tried before. You can simply fry the fish and have it as a side dish.

Add healthy oils – Use healthy oils such as coconut, olive and mustard oils. If you love the Indian cuisine then you need to use oils. Things such as chicken tikka or fish curry tastes great. However you have to make sure that you do not use much oil as that would spoil the taste of the food.

These are some of the effective things that can help you to cook better. On a concluding note I would like to say that irrespective of what you cook, make sure that you garnish it properly as that will help in making it an exciting addition on the table.

Author bio: Myke Thomas is an amazing writer and mainly known for his remarkable columns on numerous Bulk Nuts relevant issues.

Category: Other Food Stuff, Useful Cooking Tips

TAGcook healthy , cooking tips , healthy cooking

Top Cooking tips for Lowering the Fat in your Diet

admin | January 2nd, 2013

tips-to-less-fat-diet
Want to reduce the fat in your diet? Need some tips to reduce the fats? Here are some tips to follow:

1. Decreasing the fat in your food doesn’t mean that you will face a life with your dislikes. Try to reduce the fat in your diet.
2. Remove the fat from your meat. Take less amount of cheese. Go for less fat dairy choices.
3. Try to remove the fat from poultry and beef, before eating remove the skin from poultry.
4. Roast, broil, and bake meat items instead of deep fry. To avoid drying, add flavor to it, tack with wine, pour few drops of lemon juice, and some flavor powder to it.
5. Try to make the dishes with spices and herbs, like tarragon, basil, cilantro and dill. Don’t take more fatty sauces and gravies.
6. If stir or pan frying, use vegetable oils in little amounts like safflower or canola oil. Try to use more olive oil.
7. Take butter in less quantity. So that it will reduce some amount of fat.
8. Reduce the usage of products like margarines which contain hydrogenated oils.
9. Try to take less quantity of milk products. Try to use skim milk or less fat versions of cottage, cheese and ricotta. Less fat pot cheese is also available. These cheeses must contain twenty six grams of fat. It you want to eat ice cream then select daily rather than wonderful premium kinds.
10. Try to take less consumption of diet that have palm kernel, palm, lard, coconut oil, butter, milk solids, and egg yolk. Remove the fat from baked items prepared from the above mentioned ingredients.
11. Instead of using bitter cream in toppings and dips make use of low fat or non-fat yogurt.
12. While making recipes try to use only egg whites and remove yolk or use no cholesterol egg items. Cut the fat in dishes of about one and a half; make use of monounsaturated or polyunsaturated oils in recipes.
13. Try to take shell fish as it contains less cholesterol and less saturated fat also is good for health.
14. While making coffee make use of skim-milk rather than using non-dairy creams, this will contain more saturated fats.
15. While preparing egg noodles add pasta and rice to it.
16. Try to prepare your popcorn at your home which is less calorie snack. Be careful about more fat popcorn products.
17. Macadamia and coconuts have high saturated fats so better try to avoid eating it.
18. When you purchase cereals or breads try to improve the fiber and see for the whole grain products.
19. Instead of using fatty desserts use fresh fruits.
20. Instead of using salami and bolognas, select less fat meats like pressed turkey or turkey-breast. Reduce the intake of frankfurters, bacon and sausages. While eating turkey ensure that the white meat has low fat.

The above tips will help you to control the fat content in your diet.

About the Guest Author: My name is Evita. I am a tech writer from UK. I am into Finance. At present I am focusing on ppi claims. Catch me @financeport

Category: Useful Cooking Tips

TAGcooking tips , fat in diet , lowering fat

Four Tips for Better Budget Cooking

admin | December 5th, 2012

Four-Tips-for-Better-Budget-Cooking
Are you looking for places to tighten your budget? Well, look no further than budget cooking! Your food bill is a good place to save money and learning how to cook is a great way to trim the food bill. When you learn the basics of cooking method, you waste less food, you prepare better food at home and you can buy in bulk, which is another cost-saving measure. It’s simple to master these cooking techniques that will save you money – with just some knowledge, study and a little practice. Here are just a few ideas to get you started.

Buy in Bulk

If you know how to prepare meat (chicken, beef, pork) quickly and efficiently, it makes sense to buy your favorite meats in larger quantities when they are on sale. Trim and prepare the meat, portioning it into serving sizes. Label and date each package and put each portion into the freezer. Now, when you are ready to prepare dinner some night, just take out a portion and prepare it using your favorite cooking method with your favorite ingredients. This budget cooking tip actually saves time AND money!

Celebrate at Home

Going out to a restaurant to celebrate a special occasion is always a treat, but it does have its drawbacks. For starters – if you want to enjoy a bottle of wine, expect to pay somewhere around 2 1/2 times as much as you would buying the same bottle at a store (and that’s before tip!) But… when you know how to apply basic cooking methods to great ingredients – you can create very high caliber meals right at home. And you can do this quickly, easily… and cheaply! This can also justify using the highest quality ingredients you can find and afford. You’ll still be saving money by toasting your occasion… at home.

Take the Whole Tenderloin – not just the filet

One of the nicest steaks you can prepare – especially on the outdoor BBQ grill – is the filet mignon. But even at the grocery store, this premium cut of beef comes at a premium price. So – I’ve got some great news for you! One of my favorite “chef secrets” is that breaking down an entire filet is actually much easier than most people think. I made a cooking video that discusses purchasing an entire tenderloin (at a much better price than just the filet) and learning how to prepare it yourself. This is still one of my best money saving tips!

The not so Obvious

It might seem obvious, but the best way to save money on your food bill is to eat less, right? Well, the actual truth of the matter is that most of what is cooked is not eaten and goes to waste. A great way to save money is actually to make less – not necessarily eat less. Portioning is a secret of basic cooking method and a great way to save money. This is because most home cooks over-produce food rather than run the risk of running out of food, which everyone hates to do. However, if you portion correctly on the preparation side, you will save money and have another added bonus: proper portioning also ensures you will not have to even worry about leftovers. So you’ve solved another common budget cooking dilemma – what to do with leftovers? There won’t be any!

Once you’ve mastered a few basic cooking methods and simple techniques for preparing great food, you’ll find it to be a very simple and rewarding way to incorporate budget cooking into your frugal lifestyle.

by Chef Todd Mohr from articlecity.com

Category: Useful Cooking Tips

TAGbudget cooking , cooking tips , tips for cooking

Tips For Cooking Outdoors

admin | December 3rd, 2012

Tips-For-Cooking-Outdoors
Outdoor cooking is demanding in itself. More so if you are not ready with the things you require. Great tasting meals can and will be enjoyed for the duration of your trip with these easy tips.

Recipes: The best tip any practiced outdoor cook will give is to plan your meals and collect your recipes before heading out. Umpteen recipes simply can’t be done in the campground and you don’t want to be ready to eat before you find out this information. Pick recipes that don’t necessitate special kitchen equipment owing to the fact that these will not be obtainable.

Ziploc bags: Using food storage bags to arrange your supplies makes for super simple meal times. Try pre-cutting your meats, fruits and vegetables before you go and organizing in bags. Utilizing bigger ones to hold ingredients and recipes for each meal is exceptionally practical in addition.

Coolers: Unless you are planning on running to the local supplies shop before every meal you will wish to take along a cooler to keep things fresh. Things such as meats and veggies can’t be left out in the heat and without them meals would be fairly boring. Coolers additionally provide you the ability to keep leftovers rather than tossing them out. These are also fantastic for snacking between meals.

Foil Packets: Foil cooking is probably the easiest and most hassle-free method of outdoor cooking you are able to do. Even more so if you are a novice. Foil recipes merely need the ingredients thrown into the packet then laid on hot coals to cook while you spend time doing something fun. Your imagination can really be shown with this technique owing to the fact that you are able to throw in just about anything. Heavy duty aluminum foil is advisable.

Snacks: Don’t leave home without snacks unless you want to spend the majority of your time cooking for your friends and family. Staying energetic outdoors can take a toll on the body and leave everybody struggling to get through until the next meal. Carry along snacks that will offer energy like fruits and trail mixes just don’t forget to store the perishables in the cooler.

Outdoor cooking can be easy as well as a fun and thrilling experience on condition that you are prepared. Don’t be afraid to try new things. After all, it’s supposed to be an adventure.

by Wendy Racklave from www.populararticles.com

Category: Useful Cooking Tips

TAGcooking outdoors , cooking tips , outdoor cooking

The Most Important Thanksgiving Cooking Tip of All

admin | November 29th, 2012

The-Most-Important-Thanksgiving-Cooking-Tip-of-All
Of the many Thanksgiving cooking tips I can give you, this is perhaps the most important. It can be the difference between a triumphant meal and an undercooked case of food borne illness.

I get many questions on email about correct roasting temperatures. “What temperature should my oven be for turkey”? “What is the correct temperature for chicken”? “How hot should my oven be for…?”

All these questions can be answered simultaneously with the one important tip I told you about. Forget your oven temperature. Your oven is wrong anyway. It’s probably been lying to you. Your oven temperature is different from your neighbors, and it’s much different from my commercial kitchen, so why cook by EXTERNAL bird temperature?

Cooking by INTERNAL temperature is the only way to assure and quantify that your item is fully cooked. An instant read digital thermometer will tell you EXACTLY when your thanksgiving cooking efforts are complete.

You don’t need to guess. You don’t need to poke anything with a fork or gash it with a knife. A thermometer is insurance from overcooked turkeys and especially from the dangers of under-cooked poultry.

Most people’s household ovens have a range of 200F to 500F. What’s in the middle? 350 degrees is exactly in the middle. Is this why most recipes just say “cook at 350 degrees”? Would your turkey be ruined if you cooked at 375 degrees or 325 degrees? No, probably not.

Your turkey is completely cooked and safe when the thickest part of the bird reads 165F. This means if its cavity is filled with stuffing, take the temperature there. If it’s not stuffed, at the deepest part of the thigh.

You can choose any roasting temperature, as long as you understand the basic cooking method of roasting. Roasting is a dry-heat convective cooking method. It uses hot air to transfer heat to food.

Roasting is the best way to dry out an item because of the indirect use of hot air to cook foods. The higher the temperature, the faster that moisture will evaporate, proteins will stiffen, and sugars will caramelize and turn brown.

Whatever temperature your oven tells you it is, whatever temperature you choose to roast your bird, just assure you have a thermometer to tell what the internal temperature is. Internal temperature is much more important than external when it comes to thanksgiving cooking.

by Chef Todd Mohr from articlecity.com

Category: Useful Cooking Tips

TAGcooking tips , thanksgiving cooking tip

Cooking Tip For Onions and Garlic

admin | November 27th, 2012

Cooking-Tip-For-Onions-and-Garlic
Onions and garlic always add great flavor to most dishes. But let me share with you a cooking technique on preparing them that will greatly enhance the flavor of your meals. Your guests will rave about your cooking.

Many dishes call for onions and garlic in their recipes. You chop them up, saute them for 3 minutes and you are done. This is where, in my opinion, they miss the flavor boat.

When I was younger I would watch my husband’s Italian Nana cook spaghetti sauce and a number of other dishes and you know what she would do? She would always, finely chop the onion and slowly saute them in olive oil for about 35 to 40 minutes. It was a fairly slow process, because she would tend to the onions stirring them frequently as they slowly cooked. Eventually the onion would cook down (to almost half of what she started with) and turn a nice golden brown.

When the onion was about done Nana would add minced fresh garlic and saute the whole mixture another 4 or 5 minutes. What a wonderful smell that was. Boy was her spaghetti sauce special and this is why I believe her dishes were so delicious.

So I started using this technique every time I made a dish that called for onion and garlic. You know what? Every time I sauted the onion slowly in olive oil my dishes were more flavorful. Special if you will.

So now I use this little technique every time I make spaghetti sauce, casseroles, beef stroganoff, taco soup and any other dish that calls for onion and garlic.

Once I made a Pampered Chef casserole with egg, zucchini, onion and garlic and used my little technique. Well let me tell you, that dish disappeared fast with many requests for the recipe. When I made this dish previously without using my onion technique the dish was nothing special.

So if you have the time, and I believe it is definitely worth it, try Nana’s tip.

One thing to keep in mind is that the onion cooks down to just about half of what you start with so use double the amount of onion that the recipe calls for. Don’t worry if it looks like way to much onion. Once it cooks down, the amount will be just right.

Again, here is all there is to it:

Finely chop up the amount of onion you will need. Pour olive oil into a frying pan. Be generous here. There is no set amount. Say 3 or 4 tablespoons for one onion.

Turn the heat on to medium high. Add the onion stirring frequently, until it is reduced by 1/3 to 1/2. If the onion appears to be cooking too fast, turn the temperature down to low. Just make sure the onion doesn’t burn.

When you think it’s done (after 35 to 40 minutes), add the minced garlic and cook an additional 4 or 5 minutes.

Now add the onions and garlic to your favorite dish.

You are going to love the flavor.

by Robin Gai from articlecity.com

Category: Useful Cooking Tips

TAGcooking tips , onions and garlic

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