DictionaryDecember: a quick+basic cooking definition every day this month!
What is simmering?
You will probably see the term "simmer" in a soup recipe. It basically means to continue cooking on the stove, but on a low and consistent heat so that the food isn't boiling or bubbling. You may get bubbles from time to time, that's ok! Simmering imrpoves the flavor of a soup or stew, especially when there is meat in it. It also allows the meat to cook for longer and become more tender.
DictionaryDecember: a quick+basic cooking definition every day this month!
How do you thicken a sauce?
A very ambitious question to answer, but it's worth having a few techniques up your sleeve. And a few ingredients: flour, cornflour & butter.
The first question is why do you need it thicker? For consistency? Or is the flavour not intense/concentrated enough?
If the answer is both, just keep cooking, uncovered on gentle heat to evaporate liquid. This is always the first thing I'd try if it's possible. This is probably the only option for soups, tomato based dishes, etc.
When trying to thicken chinese sauces, I sometimes mix 1 tsp cornflour with 1Tbs water into a paste, then add to the sauce and stir & cook through for another minute or 2. The flavors are so intense you can get away with that.
For a gravy, I might do the same with flour and water, but then cook for longer to cook out the raw flour flavor. A french sauce? (like a pepper or mushroom sauce for steak, or a bourdelaise or espagnole sauce for cooked meats). You can try whisking in knobs of butter (or butter smoothly mixed with flour in a bowl to form a cold roux) then whisk through and give some time to cook out the flour flavour.
This won't work if it's a sauce with lots of chunky meat and vegetables through it. In this case you should try the evaporation method, or strain the sauce out from the meat & veg, and work on the sauce separately (a standard part of many beef bourguignon or coq au vin recipes).
Either way, it takes some trial and error and always varies according to your dish. I've been asked this question often enough to start putting together a moderate-advanced cooking course on "Culinary paramedics: Saving (almost) Ruined Dishes".
Should be fun.
DictionaryDecember: a quick+basic cooking definition every day this month!
What is steaming?
Ok, simple question, simple answer - it's cooking with steam rather than boilding in water. Why is it done? It's often used for items that need less cooking (like fish or leafy vegetables) or as a healthy alternative to boiling (since the boiling of, say, a carrot, removes some nutrients). Easy ways to do it? A bamboo steamer can be purchased for a few dollars at an asian grocery - well worth the investment. Some saucepan sets have a steamer pot that is made to sit snugly on top of one of the other pots and then the lid fits perfectly on top! You should oil or line the base of the steaming vessel to stop your food sticking to it. I've seen cabbage leaves used for lining bamboo steamers and steaming fish. Or you could use baking paper with holes punched in it with a fork. Always put a lid over whatever you are steaming so the steam can surround the food and cook it evenly.
DictionaryDecember: a quick+basic cooking definition every day this month!
What is zest?
This is a verb and a noun. The zest of any citrus fruit (lemon, orange and lime, most commonly) is the colored bit on the peel! If you need to "zest an orange", use a microplane (a long, thin grater), or a zesting face of an ordinary 4-sided grater, or a very sharp knife (slice off, then chop very finely or grind to a pulp once off). The key to zesting is that you only want the colored part. Once you get to the white stuff (the pith), you need to stop!
These 4 flavor sensations are the pillars of flavor in thai cooking, as I learned in a cooking focussed trip to thailand recently (in which I did 2 very different cooking lessons in a couple of cooking schools).
Generally, there are ingredients that can be added to give you more of each of these. Condiments are often served at the table too, so you can flavor your dish (eg. a soup) to your liking.
Along with just about any dish (more typical in a hawker, diner or small café setting than a fine dining), I'd be brought a tray of condiments to the table. The idea is that the dish (could be pad thai, tom yum, noodle soup, whatever) is already flavoured in a particular way (often fairly neutral), but the person eating can customise it to their tastes by adding more sweet (sugar), sour (vinegar, sometimes chilli's pickled in vinegar, sometimes a cheek of lime), spice (chilli flakes) or salt (fish sauce).
Remember these as you are cooking and tasting a dipping sauce or thai curry. Before serving, have a taste and think through each of the 4 sensations and ask yourself whether the dish needs more salt, sour, spicy or sour! Your cooking will be wonderful as a result!
