Braise
The first step: Brown
your food in a pan for a few minutes to seal in juices. You might also hear this called searing. Then add water or broth to the pan, and
finish off the cooking process by simmering in a wet heat. You can use the leftover liquid to make a
sauce that’s full of flavor and nutrients.
Most people cook meat this way, but it works on veggies, too.
Stew
Cover uncooked food in broth, wine, water, juice, or stock,
put a tight lid on the pot, and cook over low heat. Veggies, meats, or a mix of both are great in
stews.
Boil
When you boil food, you cook it in water that’s hot enough
for lots of bubbles to rise to the top and break. It’s common to cook pasta this way, but you
can boil almost anything, from eggs to veggies to meats.
Poach
It’s likely you’ve heard of poached eggs, but you can cook
other foods this way, too, like chicken or fish. Heat the liquid you’re using to a temperature
just below boiling. Cook your food
gently, either directly in the liquid or in a special spoon or cup meant for
poaching.
Bake
Hot air inside your oven does the job here. Baking is good for more than just cakes,
pies, and cookies. It’s also an option
for preparing seafood, poultry, lean meat, vegetables, and fruits.
Broil
You typically broil food on a rack under high direct heat,
like an oven or toaster oven on the broil setting. Direct heat turns the outside of your food,
especially meats, crispy and brown.
Grill
The heat comes from below the food, which is on a rack. An outdoor grill uses wood, charcoal, or
gas-heated rocks, but there are indoor options, too. This method lets fat drip off food as it
cooks.
Stir-Fry
You’ll need a large pan or wok for this method, which cooks
food in oil or other liquid over high heat.
Chop veggies, meat, or even tofu into pieces of roughly the same size so
they heat evenly. Stir or toss as you
cook so they don’t stick to the pan.
Saute
This technique is a good option for veggies like mushrooms,
tomatoes, onions, or zucchini that have a lot of moisture in them. Heat a small amount of oil or butter in a pan
and cook at a high temperature until food is soft and tender.
Steam
This method uses the steam from heated liquid to cook
foods. Fill a pan with liquid and heat
it to boiling. Place your food in a
steaming basket or other container with holes over the water. Add flavor to the liquid to help give food
more taste as it steams.
Pan Broil
You’ll use a hot frying pan to cook over high heat. It’s different than frying because it’s done
dry – you don’t put oil or fat in the pan.
When you pan broil meat, pour off any fat that pools during cooking.
Roast
Like baking, this method uses hot air inside the oven to
cook food. But the temperature is higher
when you roast. Use a baking sheet or
roasting pan. If your food is fatty, put
a rack inside a pan to catch the drippings.
Simmer
It’s a lot like boiling.
Both involve cooking food in liquid that’s hot enough to bubble. But when you simmer, you keep the boil tamer,
so it only bubbles gently. To get liquid
to a simmer, bring it to a full boil, then turn down the heat. You want the food to cook at a lower
temperature.
Sous Vide
Your veggies may keep more of their nutrients if you cook
them sous vide. The term means “under
vacuum” in French. Food in vacuum-sealed
pouches is cooked in water at a specific temperature. You can get a device made for sous vide
cooking to do it at home, or you can use a rice-cooker, slow cooker, or
countertop roaster.
Blanch
You may hear this method called parboiling. It’s best for vegetables. You boil the food in water for a short amount
of time, usually about 30 seconds. After
you take it out, you quickly put it in ice water to stop the cooking process.
No comments:
Post a Comment