Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Video: How To Brown Ground Beef

There are quite a few people out there who don't know what it means to brown ground meats especially when you are making something like Hamburger Helper (what I first ate when I moved out of my parent's house and started living on my own) or making meat sauce for lasagna.

This technique can be used for any type of ground meat.


Monday, August 29, 2011

Video: How To Sauté

Here is a cooking technique that everyone should learn. When you sauté, you are constantly moving the food so that it "jumps" about in the pan. Here, it is demonstrated with potato but the technique goes for any vegetable or seafood that you do not want browning or color.

Video courtesy of VideoJug

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Video: How To Baton and Julienne

This cutting technique comes in handy to make vegetable sticks for your crudite platter.
Videos courtesy of Howcast.


Cutting thinner than 1/4" (usually 1/8") is called Julienne. Many recipes call for this especially stir-fries. The vegetables will cook faster.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Video: How To Chop An Onion

A person who doesn't have proper knife skills and doesn't know how to prep vegetables for cooking will most likely be turned off by the whole idea and decide to order out instead.

Here's a video courtesy of Good Housekeeping on chopping an onion, one of the most basic and most used skill in cooking. Learn how to chop and cut and you can save money eating in instead of ordering out.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Video: How To Chop Garlic

I've seen bottles of chopped garlic sold in supermarkets that cost much more than a sleeve of garlic that usually runs for around $1 USD. Garlic from these jars has lost most of it's flavor as they are usually packed in water or oil. Don't be lazy and scared to chop your own garlic.
Here's a video to learn how to chop your own garlic and save money.



Monday, August 15, 2011

Video: How To Cut Up A Whole Chicken

Cutting up a whole chicken by yourself is not as difficult as it might seem. It's much cheaper to buy a whole chicken and cut it up into pieces yourself. Here is an instructional video courtesy of Gourmet Magazine.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Recipe: Kabocha no nimono (Simmered Japanese pumpkin)

Kabocha is a wonderful sweet Japanese pumpkin with a fluffy texture that is prepared by cutting in half and then seeds scooped out, cut in half again, then chopped into 1" pieces. The sharp edges are trimmed with a peeler and then the pieces simmered in a sweet & salty broth for 20 minutes.
Kabocha freezes nicely so if happen to buy a large one, you can cut, prep, and freeze half for another use.

Kabocha is ususally served in many bento boxes and since it is rich in fiber and beta-carotene, healthy for you too!
Dashi is a cooking stock made of kombu seaweed and bonito flakes and can be bought as an instant powder in Asian markets. It is used in many soups and simmering liquids.
Mirin is a sweet cooking sake which can be omitted in this recipe if you don't have it. Just increase the sugar by 2 tablespoons.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound kabocha squash
  • 1 cup water (or dashi for more depth of flavor)
  • 2 tablespoons mirin (sweet cooking sake)
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce

Directions

  1. Rinse the kabocha squash under running water and dry the skin.
  2. With a sharp Chef's knife, cut off the stem.
  3. Carefully cut the kabocha in half and with a spoon, scoop out and discard the seeds.
  4. Cut the halved kabocha in half again to get 4 quarters.
  5. Cut the quarters into 1 inch pieces.
  6. With a peeler, trim the sharp edges of the skin.
  7. Layer the kabocha pieces skin side down in a large skillet pan
  8. In a large measuring cup, mix the water (or dashi), mirin, sugar, and soy sauce together and pour over the squash.
  9. Bring to a boil and simmer covered for 20 minutes.
  10. Serve warm or room temperature.