Tips

Part 1 ~ Some Thoughts To Get You Cooking

Our kitchenary is a collection of ingredients, substitutions and useful kitchen information to help you on your way. Although it is not intended to be a complete compendium of Asian culinary technique, we hope it covers the more important cooking methods and ingredients relative to this video series.

Market Madness

Shopping for food in an exotic market is exciting, but it takes practice. You’ll want to spend an afternoon rooting about your neighborhood Asian market to familiarize yourself with things. Have a good look-around on a Saturday or Sunday when people are shopping for a big family meal. Whether you are looking for an all-in-one supermarket or trying to choose separate markets for meats, seafood and produce, look for the stores that are doing the most business. There should be chaos and noise and the sound of busy cash registers. Take a look at the selection of goods. Does the food look fresh? Are people buying?

Here is the most important part: Get up the nerve to ask questions of other shoppers. If you look for a few customers around your age, not too unlike yourself, you’ll likely find they share similar time constraints and have the same concerns about quality as you. Ask them what they think of the store and the selection. And don’t be afraid to talk with the shopkeeper or, in a supermarket, the manager. Most of the good stores we have found have knowledgeable people on staff. They also realize that by word of mouth they could gain a lot of new customers. The best part is that you will meet people who share the same love of cooking that you do. You will gain confidence and your adventure will be more rewarding than simply shopping for groceries!

The Nine-Month Rule

The number one way to improve the flavor of the food that you cook is to observe the nine-month rule. Go right now into your kitchen cupboards, fridge and freezer and get rid of any seasoning, sauce, spice, condiment, oil or any other ingredient that is more than nine months old. Most canned foods are exempt from this rule (there is always an exception to a rule). You may not be left with very much on your shelves, but what you are left with is not stale, oxidized or past-due and therefore has the best flavor to go with your best efforts. Now, when a recipe calls for something you don’t have, go and buy a small amount of the ingredient in question, not the super value bulk pack. By keeping fresh, flavorful ingredients in your kitchen, the flavor of the food you prepare will be surprisingly improved.

An Additional Tip

Keep fresh spices in small, airtight zipper-style bags in the freezer. You will be amazed at how well they keep their best aroma and flavor, especially if you spend the time and effort to dry roast and grind them yourself.

 

Some of the techniques mentioned on this website and throughout the videos on the ETA YouTube Channel can be found here.

 

E&OE