So it's nearly the time of year for going off to uni and finally becoming independent, and it'll be the first time a lot of us cook anything other than beans on toast. So I thought this could be a thread with some basic cooking techniques. There's no point in buying an economy 5kg bag of pasta if you don't have the slightest idea how much to do or how to cook it! There's already a thread for recipes, this is more skills and techniques.
I thought of maybe stuff like cooking pasta and rice, how to chop vegetables (like how big to do onions if a recipe says "diced" ), how to tell if meat is cooked (and which meats are ok slightly underdone), different methods of cooking vegetables, things like that.
If you want to contribute, post here, and I'll update this first post to contain them all
1.Top and tail the onion - this means to cut off the top and bottom rooty bits
2. Peel the onion of the brown skin
3. Cut the onion in half
4. Place one half of the onion face down on chopping board
5. Holding with tips of fingers, slice onion into thin/medium-ish slices - don't want them too thick as the dices will be a lot bigger, obv
6. Turn the onion to cut across the way you have just cut it
7. You have diced onion
(To know how if your onion is cooked properly it should go quite soft and become a more transparent/translucent colour with no burnt/crispy bits unless you particularly want them like this - nice with hotdogs/sausages etc)
This is pretty much a fool-proof way of dicing any round-ish shaped vegetable - shallots, turnips, potato etc.
Originally Posted by noodles!
Well with onions, it's basically whatever you want. If you don't like to see them in your food do them small, but any size is good. And fry them for as long as possible before adding any sauce as they won't get softer.
Originally Posted by Entangled
Leaving the root end on the onion was always how I was taught to slice them. Keeps the shape better than the stalk end.
Vegetable cooking, if you want to stir fry them but want crunchy vegetables, boil them for about 5 minutes beforehand so they're just about starting to cook. Drain and then add them in with your pan of stir fry ingredients.
Originally Posted by Spleeny
To peel tomatoes put them in a saucepan and pour boiling water over them, get them out using a spoon, run cold water over them so they don't burn your hands. The skins should then come off very easily.
Originally Posted by Entangled
Wet your carrots and potatoes when you peel them - moist skins are easier to work with. When you're working with leeks, slice down the middle lengthways to expose the leaves, and then run the tap through the gaps to get soil out. When roasting tatties, a neat trick is to boil them for about 7-8 minutes, drain and then ruffle them. Throw them on a tray of roasting hot oil (or duck/goose fat if you can get it) much like Yorkshire puddings.
With meat you just gotta cut it and see if it's still red inside. If the juices are running clear it will be OK. I would imagine the only thing most of you will be cooking as bog standard meat is chicken legs or pork chops or something, which are easier to tell when they're cooked.
Originally Posted by Irrelevance
Season meats with a pinch of pepper always, salt isn't always needed but it helps in most cases apart from stuff like bacon, sausages and salty cuts of pork.
For meat cooking, if in doubt whether it's cooked through simply cut it in half at the thickest point and have a look. Anything which is close to it's packet colour = undercooked.
Originally Posted by Entangled
Don't season your meat with salt until it's sealed (or cooked, the stage further). Salt will draw moisture out of it, which isn't good for cooking, it's more up the curing alleyway.
Originally Posted by SoapyDish
With chicken and pork, they need to be cooked until the meat is 80 degrees C in the middle, and the juices run clear (according to Jamie Oliver). Steaks (beef/lamb etc) can be eaten pretty much raw in the middle, as long as the outside is cooked (because the outside is the bit that's exposed to the air and therefore to bacteria). Burgers and sausages need to be cooked all the way through, because the mincing process exposes all of the meat to the air. Tough cuts of meat (like shoulder, shin and brisket), which are usually cheaper than steaks, are cooked when they're "meltingly tender and soft, and you can pull them apart with a fork" - thank-you Jamie Oliver. The tough cuts need long, slow cooking, like slow-roasting, pot-roasting, stewing or braising.
To thicken sauces (for a one person meal) add about a teapsoon or two of corn starch into a bowl, add just enough water for it to dissolve all the corn starch. Add slowly until desired consistency is reached.
Originally Posted by TheTallOne
Yeah, dissolve the cornflour in water first
Don't add it straight in or you get lumps.
Originally Posted by Spleeny
When making a white sauce for pasta (or anything really) if you have a paste (e.g. flour and butter) and the recipe tells you to add a liquid (e.g. milk) add the liquid gradually otherwise your sauce will be lumpy.
Originally Posted by Dalimyr
For those who don't have cornflour/corn starch, you can make a roux or a beurre manié out of equal quantities of flour and butter.
French terms may sound intimidating to new cooks, but it's actually rather simple
I've decided to copy the 'recipe' for a roux from one of Rachel Allen's cookbooks...
Roux is a basic and simple sauce thickener made with equal quantities of butter and flour so if you find yourself using quite a lot, you can easily increase the quantities. It is handy to have in the fridge and it keeps for 2-3 weeks.
100g butter
100g flour
Heat a saucepan over a medium heat and melt the butter, then add the flour, continuing to stir on the heat. Allow it to cook for 2 minutes. Pour into a bowl and use straight away, or allow to cool and put in the fridge.
Beurre manié (scared by the French? It just means "kneaded butter" ) is made with the same ingredients, but without the cooking (if you're using it to thicken a sauce, give it a bit more cooking time or your sauce could taste a bit floury). Take the butter and flour and mix the two thoroughly together.
Originally Posted by SoapyDisb
You can also make a cheat's white sauce (for lasagne etc) by beating an egg with some natural yoghurt, then mixing in some cheese if you have any. I've done this every time since my mum taught me! Not sure if it would work in macaroni/cauliflower cheese though...
And a nice way of doing rice is to heat up some butter in a big pot, throw the rice in and allow it a minute for the butter to soak in/the rice to fry a little. Then throw in enough water to just about cover it and leave alone for 20 minutes or so.
Originally Posted by TheTallOne
I do rice as follows:
For a sensible amount of rice (1.25 to 2 cups - serves 3-5), wash a few times with water in a small or medium saucepan. Fill up with water so that the water level is about 1.5cm above the level of the rice (the length of the first third (tip) of your finger will do). Cover, turn the fire to medium-high and leave for 5-6 minutes. Then turn the fire down to low and cook for 20 minutes. Done.
At the first stage of cooking, the rice should not boil over in that time. It usually takes 7-8 minutes before that happens and leaves a big mess on the stove.
Originally Posted by luckyduck12
Yeah you're always supposed to wash rice, it's not like pasta or anything. Rinse carefully around 3-4 times until the water is clear-ish looking. And this is coming from an Asian so you'd better listen...
Originally Posted by heidigirl
Rice is actually quite tricky to get right. Very easy to end up with starchy, sticky rise.
Best way to get rice perfect is to always rinse it in a seive before hand with cold water which gets rid of some of the excess starch. This is a tip my dad uses and his rice always comes out perfect. And don't forget plenty of water in the pan. If you can afford a rice cooker, get one. They're brilliant.
1. Boil some water and make up some stock (usually chicken or vegetable), according to the ratios on the Oxo cube pack, and how much the risotto pack says you'll need
2. Fry some chopped onion and/or other veg in butter in a saucepan
3. Add the risotto rice to the fried onion and stir so that all of the grains of rice have some butter on them
Optional step 3 1/2. Pour in a glass of white wine
4. Add the stock to the rice a ladleful at a time, stirring until it's all been absorbed by the rice, before adding another ladleful
5. When you have about one ladleful of stock left, taste a bit of the rice; if it's still too hard to eat, add the rest of your stock, but if it's done then it's time to add the finishing flavours
6. You can add grated Parmesan/other cheese, herbs (dried or fresh), meat, boiled vegetables (such as green beans, asparagus etc), tomatoes...anything you like really
1. Boil a kettle of water
2. Weigh out enough pasta (50-75g per person for a lunch/starter, 75-100g for a dinner/main course, more than that if you're really hungry or you want to save some for lunch the next day)
3. Pour the boiled water into a saucepan, add some salt, and bring it back up to the boil (when it's bubbling violently), then add the pasta (stir it a couple of times to stop it sticking)
4. Bring the pasta + water back up to the boil, then turn down the heat and let it simmer (bubbling slightly)
5. Check the pasta packet to see how long it'll take, but bear in mind that it'll probably be slightly less than this because the salt lets the water get hotter, so it'll cook faster. Wholemeal pasta and larger shapes generally take longer than plain pasta and small shapes
6. Taste a piece when it's coming up to its finishing time - it should be soft enough to eat but still with some bite, this is called al dente - and if it's done then drain it in a sieve or colander (like a sieve but with bigger holes)
7. If your sauce is still cooking, or you want to put the plain pasta in the fridge, add a splash of oil to stop it sticking
8. You can either mix the pasta and sauce together in the saucepan, or serve the sauce on top of the pasta
Make sure your pan is really quite hot before you add anything. I say this because my flatmates were massive noobs at cooking and put oil and sausages into my pan whilst it was stone cold.
If you're going to boil something, boil water in the kettle first and then add it to your pan. It's quicker.
When it comes to using kitchen knives, I find it's a lot easier to hold the knife near the top of the handle so your thumb and index finger is holding onto the blunt metal side of the knife. If the knife is bigger than six inches, use this technique and it's easier. If it's a little knife, holding it on the handle is fine. Works for chopping knives too.
Originally Posted by TheTallOne
Don't add salt to hot oil. I was making popcorn once and forgot to add the salt at the beginning. It splatted everywhere and you get blisters for a few days.
Originally Posted by brokenangel27
...
Just thought I'd let you know I made it, if you fancy writing something for it!
1.Top and tail the onion - this means to cut off the top and bottom rooty bits
2. Peel the onion of the brown skin
3. Cut the onion in half
4. Place one half of the onion face down on chopping board
5. Holding with tips of fingers, slice onion into thin/medium-ish slices - don't want them too thick as the dices will be a lot bigger, obv
6. Turn the onion to cut across the way you have just cut it
7. You have diced onion
(To know how if your onion is cooked properly it should go quite soft and become a more transparent/translucent colour with no burnt/crispy bits unless you particularly want them like this - nice with hotdogs/sausages etc)
This is pretty much a fool-proof way of dicing any round-ish shaped vegetable - shallots, turnips, potato etc
TBH I could properly tell you all the basic tips you'd need
Well with onions, it's basically whatever you want. If you don't like to see them in your food do them small, but any size is good. And fry them for as long as possible before adding any sauce as they won't get softer.
With meat you just gotta cut it and see if it's still red inside. If the juices are running clear it will be OK. I would imagine the only thing most of you will be cooking as bog standard meat is chicken legs or pork chops or something, which are easier to tell when they're cooked.
I don't profess to be a master chef but I haven't starved in 2 years so quote me if you want any pasta recipes/have any more questions.
Make sure your pan is really quite hot before you add anything. I say this because my flatmates were massive noobs at cooking and put oil and sausages into my pan whilst it was stone cold.
If you're going to boil something, boil water in the kettle first and then add it to your pan. It's quicker.
Season meats with a pinch of pepper always, salt isn't always needed but it helps in most cases apart from stuff like bacon, sausages and salty cuts of pork.
When it comes to using kitchen knives, I find it's a lot easier to hold the knife near the top of the handle so your thumb and index finger is holding onto the blunt metal side of the knife. If the knife is bigger than six inches, use this technique and it's easier. If it's a little knife, holding it on the handle is fine. Works for chopping knives too.
For meat cooking, if in doubt whether it's cooked through simply cut it in half at the thickest point and have a look. Anything which is close to it's packet colour = undercooked.
Vegetable cooking, if you want to stir fry them but want crunchy vegetables, boil them for about 5 minutes beforehand so they're just about starting to cook. Drain and then add them in with your pan of stir fry ingredients.
To thicken sauces (for a one person meal) add about a teapsoon or two of corn starch into a bowl, add just enough water for it to dissolve all the corn starch. Add slowly until desired consistency is reached.
To thicken sauces (for a one person meal) add about a teapsoon or two of corn starch into a bowl, add just enough water for it to dissolve all the corn starch. Add slowly until desired consistency is reached.
To peel tomatoes put them in a saucepan and pour boiling water over them, get them out using a spoon, run cold water over them so they don't burn your hands. The skins should then come off very easily.
When making a white sauce for pasta (or anything really) if you have a paste (e.g. flour and butter) and the recipe tells you to add a liquid (e.g. milk) add the liquid gradually otherwise your sauce will be lumpy.
Leaving the root end on the onion was always how I was taught to slice them. Keeps the shape better than the stalk end. I'm trying to think of what else springs up in my mind:
Don't season your meat with salt until it's sealed (or cooked, the stage further). Salt will draw moisture out of it, which isn't good for cooking, it's more up the curing alleyway.
Wet your carrots and potatoes when you peel them - moist skins are easier to work with. When you're working with leeks, slice down the middle lengthways to expose the leaves, and then run the tap through the gaps to get soil out. When roasting tatties, a neat trick is to boil them for about 7-8 minutes, drain and then ruffle them. Throw them on a tray of roasting hot oil (or duck/goose fat if you can get it) much like Yorkshire puddings.
And a nice way of doing rice is to heat up some butter in a big pot, throw the rice in and allow it a minute for the butter to soak in/the rice to fry a little. Then throw in enough water to just about cover it and leave alone for 20 minutes or so.
And a nice way of doing rice is to heat up some butter in a big pot, throw the rice in and allow it a minute for the butter to soak in/the rice to fry a little. Then throw in enough water to just about cover it and leave alone for 20 minutes or so.
I do rice as follows:
For a sensible amount of rice (1.25 to 2 cups - serves 3-5), wash a few times with water in a small or medium saucepan. Fill up with water so that the water level is about 1.5cm above the level of the rice (the length of the first third (tip) of your finger will do). Cover, turn the fire to medium-high and leave for 5-6 minutes. Then turn the fire down to low and cook for 20 minutes. Done.
At the first stage of cooking, the rice should not boil over in that time. It usually takes 7-8 minutes before that happens and leaves a big mess on the stove.
I fully agree with the roast potato method.
Don't add salt to hot oil. I was making popcorn once and forgot to add the salt at the beginning. It splatted everywhere and you get blisters for a few days.
Yeah you're always supposed to wash rice, it's not like pasta or anything. Rinse carefully around 3-4 times until the water is clear-ish looking. And this is coming from an Asian so you'd better listen...
To thicken sauces (for a one person meal) add about a teapsoon or two of corn starch into a bowl, add just enough water for it to dissolve all the corn starch. Add slowly until desired consistency is reached.
For those who don't have cornflour/corn starch, you can make a roux or a beurre manié out of equal quantities of flour and butter.
French terms may sound intimidating to new cooks, but it's actually rather simple
I've decided to copy the 'recipe' for a roux from one of Rachel Allen's cookbooks...
Roux is a basic and simple sauce thickener made with equal quantities of butter and flour so if you find yourself using quite a lot, you can easily increase the quantities. It is handy to have in the fridge and it keeps for 2-3 weeks.
100g butter
100g flour
Heat a saucepan over a medium heat and melt the butter, then add the flour, continuing to stir on the heat. Allow it to cook for 2 minutes. Pour into a bowl and use straight away, or allow to cool and put in the fridge.
Beurre manié (scared by the French? It just means "kneaded butter" ) is made with the same ingredients, but without the cooking (if you're using it to thicken a sauce, give it a bit more cooking time or your sauce could taste a bit floury). Take the butter and flour and mix the two thoroughly together.
For those who don't have cornflour/corn starch, you can make a roux or a beurre manié out of equal quantities of flour and butter.
You can also make a cheat's white sauce (for lasagne etc) by beating an egg with some natural yoghurt, then mixing in some cheese if you have any. I've done this every time since my mum taught me! Not sure if it would work in macaroni/cauliflower cheese though...
You can also make a cheat's white sauce (for lasagne etc) by beating an egg with some natural yoghurt, then mixing in some cheese if you have any. I've done this every time since my mum taught me! Not sure if it would work in macaroni/cauliflower cheese though...
Rice is actually quite tricky to get right. Very easy to end up with starchy, sticky rise.
Best way to get rice perfect is to always rinse it in a seive before hand with cold water which gets rid of some of the excess starch. This is a tip my dad uses and his rice always comes out perfect. And don't forget plenty of water in the pan. If you can afford a rice cooker, get one. They're brilliant.
Also, vegetable curry recipe: It basically just involves chucking everything in a pan and leaving it to cook: a table spoon or two of vegetable oil with two tablespoons of curry paste-mix, and heat. Then add chopped onions, fry until brown, then in goes a tin of tomatoes and a tin of coconut milk. Then whatever veggies you like (or the cheapest at the shops). And then it's as simple as adding the harder vegetables first, then when they begin to soften everything else. Make sure liquid covers all the vegetables, adding extra water if necessary. Leave to simmer until veggies are cooked. Only add mushrooms (if you're using them) five minutes before the end. Yummy.
Will last about five days to a week in the fridge.
From foie gras and Château Pétrus to beans on toast and Happy Shopper cola
Useful Resources:
Basic cooking skills
