Cooking Techniques
Different cooking techniques can be adopted for cooking different type of foods.
However, it is important that you first get acquainted with these basic fundamentals and once you’ve had hands on experience. You will be an adept in creating and modifying any recipe with ease.
You can also refer to Jamee Ruth’s The Cookware Cookbook: Great Recipes for Broiling, Steaming, Boiling, Poaching, Braising, Deglazing, Frying, Simmering, and sauteing
Commonly used cooking techniques for vegetarian foods are
Sauteing
Sauteing is a process of cooking food on a high flame with some amount of fat. The word saute is borrowed from the French language (verb sauter) which means is ‘to jump’. In practice you would note chefs actually tossing foods (brisk front back movement or upwards) in a pan.
The benefit of sauteing is it gives food a crispy texture and a depth to the flavour, which gets enhanced by the browning reaction between the fat and the pan.
So, in order to accomplish a good saute you need to focus on 2 aspects
Preheating the saute pan and using fat correctly. Try Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless 5-1/2-Quart Saute Pan with Helper Handle and Cover
Preheating the saute pan
Preheating uniformly distributes the heat across the cooking surface. So when you add fat it does not end up burning. Rather the butter begins to foam or oil gets smoky and this is the perfect time to start sauteing.
Another benefit of a preheated pan is that it is already at a higher temperature. This prevents ingredients from cooking or stewing in their own juices. Also when you add foods for sauteing, do not over crowd the pan. And make sure they are dry too. Otherwise it will result in moisture building up which will again steam or stew the food. More so in case of marinates.
Make sure you do not add fat to a very hot pan or it will get burnt. The same applies to a cold pan. This is because certain parts of the pan heat faster then the rest, especially the centre. This sudden concentrated heat will lead to burning.
Using right amount of fat
Butter and olive oil are the two preferential fats for sauteing. But you can use other fats too. Butter is the most preferred as it gives a shine (golden tinge) and rich flavour to the ingredients. But you need to be careful as it tends to burn soon. Contrarily this is not the case with oil.
When the pan gets heated, just add about enough fat to cover the bottom of the pan. You will notice, that heat will make the fat crack up and start spreading it evenly across the pan surface. Now is the time to proceed with adding the ingredients for sauteing.
Sauteing vegetables
Wash and pat the vegetables dry before sauteing.
Most of the saute dishes require finely cut vegetables usually small dices, julienne.
Use a fat with a high smoke content and add fewer vegetables at a time. You can split adding of vegetables in 2 parts. Make sure to frequently turn vegetables for uniformed cooking.
When ever you saute, start by adding the hardest vegetables first like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and potatoes.
Deglazing
The next step to sauteing is deglazing.
It is basically working on the left over food particles that stick to the pan.
What you do is take some liquid which is stock, wine or water and pour it to the pan. Then put the pan on heat and lightly scrap out these bits.
These tiny bits are known as the fond.
It is this fond that intensifies the flavour of the cooked food.
The liquid which has been added to the pan can be used in multiple ways.
Firstly you can add it directly to the food that you’ve cooked. Or
Secondly, you can also add some spices to the liquid. Or
Add flour to make it thick. Or
Use it for making any sauce base.
Even if there is a higher fat content in the cooking food, you can cut it down by using acidic liquids to deglaze like lemon juice and wines.
Cooking techniques such as deglazing are generally more popular with meat than vegetables – The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America’s Most Imaginative Chefs
Grilling
Grilling is one of the simpler cooking techniques.
It is a process of cooking food over direct heat.
Usually you place the food on a device known as grills, and keep the heat source below.
Grilling not only provides a great smoky flavour to foods. But if less fat is used when grilling, it is a healthy form of cooking.
To enjoy grills anytime and anywhere opt for a portable Weber 1520 Propane Gas Go-Anywhere Grill
Key to good grilling
For effective grilling make sure that the grills are well heated in advance i.e. preheating is essential.
Keep all your tools in hand right from the grilling equipments, to basting sauces and seasonings. And water to spray in case of a flare up.
The grills should be clean because previous food deposits will burn while grilling. And secondly food flavours get intermingled.
The easiest thing to grill are vegetables. For effectively grilling vegetables make sure that you soak vegetables in ice cold water and pat them dry. So that when you begin grilling they do not get shrivelled up.
Cut them in evenly and keep them at least an inch thick.
Baste the vegetables lightly with fat, since you using less fat it will not drip and cause flare ups.
Or season vegetables with a rubs, spice mixes or dressings, have enough to baste the vegetables well. This will prevent them from sticking to the grills.
Make sure you choose appropriate combination of vegetables for grilling. So that it will take more or less same time for cooking. Some vegetables like potatoes take longer time so they need to be par boiled.
Check out Steven Raichlen’s ‘How to Cook guide on grilling – How to Grill: The Complete Illustrated Book of Barbecue Techniques
Grilling for marinades
When marinating vegetables make sure you soak them well in advance in the marinade.
When preparing the marinade be careful so that it does not become too thick. Otherwise while grilling the outer covering can get burnt, by the time the food is getting cooked inside.
So its best to keep the coating moderate (not to thick or thin), especially with Indian marinades like grilled panner, vegetable kebabs etc.
Stir Frying
It is a technique native to Asian cooking. Its popularity is attributed to the growth of Chinese cuisine world over.
Stir frying is basically cooking food over high heat, using less fat in a wok.
Woks are large deep pans with shallow sides and rounded bottom. They are typically designed for stir frying. However a fry pan or a skillet could be a good alternative but will not get you the same crispy flavour.
Check out both types of pans
Western stir fry pan – Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless 14-Inch Stir-Fry with Helper Handle and Glass Cover
Wok – Mr. Bar-B-Q Cast-Iron Wok
Effectively stir frying vegetables
For stir frying usually vegetables are cut in small sizes. Even using the ‘stir fry frozen vegetable pack’ is a good idea.
Slow cooking vegetables like carrots, beans are added first, followed by faster ones.
Mainly you tend to use oils like peanut, canola and sesame.
The vegetables are flavoured with a variety of sauces like soy, hoisin and chilli sauce. You can also use herbs or condiments like ginger, garlic, onions, pepper etc too.
Roasting
It is a process of cooking food using dry heat either on an open flame or in an oven.
Roasting gives a unique flavour to vegetables. Rather it brings out the natural sweetness in vegetables and serves as a healthy option.
However, you should be extra cautious with cooking techniques like roasting and grilling because of the direct exposure to intense heat.
There are several roasters, but Claphalon offers best in quality quality Calphalon Contemporary Stainless Special-Value 16-Inch Roaster with Nonstick Roasting Rack
Roasting vegtables
Preheat the oven at a relatively high temperature.
Cut the vegetables preferably in medium thick chunks and place them in a roasting pan.
Take some oil and lightly coat the vegetables to prevent them from sticking and getting burnt.
You can add some seasoning of your choice as well.
Tip: If at all you notice that the vegetables are drying up pior to roasitng. Then add some liquid like a dressing etc or soak vegetables in ice cold water and pat them dry.
Make sure you put slower cooking vegetables together and vice versa.
You can delight meals with variations of roasted instead of stir fried vegetables for a number of dishes. For instance roasted vegetable pasta.
Use as a filling for wraps and rolls.
Tantalize your taste buds with charcoal grilled pizzas topped with roasted vegetables and so on.
Find out much more from Andrea Chesman’s The Roasted Vegetable
Frying
A process of cooking foods in fat, in varied proportions.
But while frying care must be taken that the oil should be hot (medium hot) not boiling or else the food will burn. Basically there are 3 types of frying styles
Pan frying
Shallow frying
Deep frying Usually it is best to buy a fryer to take care of all your frying needs. One such good fryer is Presto 05420 FryDaddy Electric Deep Fryer
Pan Frying
One of the cooking techniques in which, fat is added only to cover the base of the pan. Normally the food is pan fried to give it a nice brown colour and crisp favour. It can be viewed as a type of sauteing.
Shallow Frying
One of the cooking techniques in which, the ingredients are submerged in partial oil. It has relatively higher fat content than pan frying but less than deep frying. You have to be careful in observing that food fries till browning or else it may burn because of the high heated oil. Always drain off excess oil or else the food gets too soggy.
Deep Frying
One of the cooking techniques in which, the ingredients are completely submerged in oil and fried. Such foods have high fat content usually like burgers, croquettes etc.
When using cooking techniques like deep frying make sure the oil is not too heated, or else it will cook externally where as internally some of the ingredients may remain raw.
After deep frying drain out excess oil or else the fried food will get soggy.