Tag: technique

General, Technique

Technique: How to Caramelize Onions

Caramelized Onions 1

Cooking onions over a low flame for an extended period in order to cause the natural sugars to caramelize is something I do pretty regularly… at least once in any given week at least. Mostly, I do this on an ad hoc basis for a particular meal… as a topping for a steak, for example… but you can also do up a larger batch for keeping in the fridge, or freezer, and thus have then on hand for whenever the need arises.

In the above picture, you can see the end product of processing two large Spanish Onions. It may strike you that these are considerably lighter than the very dark, almost mahogany coloured versions you may have come across (and this is usually closer to how I would cook them for a single use), but for keeping, I find it best to stop the process before the onions lose their integrity and get too dark. That way, you can take a little at a time and, if you like, finish the process quickly by reheating… say, for putting on a burger… or you can simply add them as is to a stew, or sauce, or what have you… Anyway, the process is fairly simple… Continue reading “Technique: How to Caramelize Onions” →

Technique

The Chinese ‘Velveting’ Technique

velveting-1

One of the secrets of Chinese Restaurant cookery is a process known as ‘velveting’ which gives meat or fish a silky, tender quality that many people find hard to reproduce at home. Basically, the idea is that the chosen ingredient, say, beef, or chicken, is first marinated in a mixture of egg-white, cornstarch, and some liquid (often rice wine or rice vinegar), and then briefly blanched in deep-fry oil, or sometimes water, before being cooked with the other ingredients of a (usually stir-fried) dish.

Quite honestly, I often don’t bother with a strictly proper velveting when making Chinese dishes as I usually wish to avoid trying to find a use of the leftover egg-yolks, but I frequently do a modified version where the egg-white, and sometimes the other liquid, is omitted. Indeed, you can find many, many any recipes here on my blog where I have done just that (Beef with Leek, for instance), but the effect is not quite the same as with the true technique. Accordingly, I am going to take a look at using the process (both oil-fried and water-blanched) here in this post today… Continue reading “The Chinese ‘Velveting’ Technique” →

Technique

Pan-Frying Good Quality Steak

Pan Fried T-bone 1

There are countless recipe book entries and web-pages promising to reveal the secret for cooking the perfect steak. Most involve complicated preparations and procedures and generally repeat certain ‘wisdoms’ which, for the most part, are largely nonsense. In my experience, most seasoning and ‘special’ techniques are mere window-dressing and, really, all that is required for a great result is choosing a good cut and avoiding over-cooking.

I love to barbecue but, often, pan-frying is the only practical method available. Some people pooh-pooh this as an appropriate cooking method for steak at any time, while others grudgingly suggest it may be okay for lesser cuts. In truth, however, as long as you are careful, you can begin with a pricey, top-quality piece of beef and produce some excellent results just using a pan… Continue reading “Pan-Frying Good Quality Steak” →

Recipes, Technique

Roasting Red Peppers…

Roasting Red Peppers 01

Roasted Red Peppers that have been marinated in olive oil make a lovely Italian Antipasto style Appetizer but they are great to have on hand for a variety of other uses. They can be added to a whole variety of more complex hot and cold dishes, are fantastic when pureed for sauces and condiments, make great garnishes when sliced or dices attractively, and, on a more pedestrian level, go great on sandwiches and wraps. You can buy some fairly decent pre-made varieties in jars, or occasionally in bulk from the deli section of the supermarket, but they are easy enough to prepare at home and the results are far better… Continue reading “Roasting Red Peppers…” →

Technique

Pressing Tofu…

Pressing Tofu 1

The firm tofu you purchase at the supermarket has already been pressed during manufacture in order to from it into blocks but many recipes require that it be pressed even further to remove as much water as possible. As I have a number of recipe posts planned that will require this process, I am doing up this simple preliminary post now so as to save repeating myself several times later…  Continue reading “Pressing Tofu…” →

Foodstuffs

Foodstuff: Baby Bok Choy – Shanghai Variety

The picture you see above was labeled ‘Baby Bok Choy’ on the package I purchased here in Iqaluit. The name ‘Bok Choy’ will be familiar to most people as it is it now quite common, but many will associate it with the cabbage variety also known as Napa cabbage or ‘Chinese leaves’. Indeed, the name ‘Bok Choy, or some variant thereof, refers to quite a number of different vegetables…  Continue reading “Foodstuff: Baby Bok Choy – Shanghai Variety” →