Random Cooking Tips #1

In Cooking on 29 April 2012 with no comments

1. Unless the recipe specifically requires, use chicken thigh fillets instead of breasts. They are must cheaper, tastier and hold their moisture better
2. Always have a jar of sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil handy. The tomatoes themselves can really lift a tomato sauce and they’re great on salads. Better though, you can use the tasty olive oil from the jar as a sauce flavouring to add an extra dimension to various dishes, plus it’s a great salad dressing
3. Don’t buy dried coriander, parsley or basil. You may as well just use flakes of green paint, as it will have more flavour. There is simply no substitute for the real thing. Dried thyme, rosemary and sage (among others) are fine though, although still inferior to their fresh counterparts
4. Woks aren’t just for stir-fries. Due to the large surface at the top of the pan water evaporates off very quickly, making it perfect for many other types of quick dish, such as curries and pasta sauces. My wok is the single most used pan in my kitchen by a long way
5. Don’t buy your soy sauce from the mainline supermarkets. You can buy a litre of the stuff from your local oriental supermarket for a similar price to what it costs you for on of those pissy little Kikoman bottles from Tesco.
6. Smoked Paprika is one of those wonderful all-round ingredients. Use it to add smokey jazz to any number of sauces – Chilli con Carne, tomato sauce for pasta, curry, BBQ chicken/Pork etc.
7. If you’re wondering why your dishes don’t pack the flavour punch of the restaurant counterparts, it’s because you’re not seasoning them properly
8. If in doubt, add chilli sauce
9. Shave Parmesan on top of your salad using a potato peeler
10. Stock cubes are fine for a soup base, but fresh stock, or the stuff that comes in ‘jelly’ form, will take your soup to a whole different level
11.  Always make enough food (assuming that it’s that sort of recipe) so that you can have some the next day – you’ll enjoy it more if you haven’t just spent 2 hour cooking it

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