Cooking in the kitchen is a true art form, involving various culinary skills and tricks. Parents need to continuously learn and improve! To prepare a delicious meal for the family, there are some little tricks that can make cooking more fun. Let's learn them together!
Little tips for cooking vegetables
Kelp should not be soaked for a long time
Kelp is rich in iodine and its surface is also coated with precious mannitol. Therefore, kelp should not be soaked, beaten, or agitated in water for long periods, as this can easily lead to nutrient loss. When cleaning kelp, note that the amount of soaking water should not be excessive; generally, for every 500 grams of kelp, the water used should not exceed 2,500 ml.
To make kelp soft, you can add a little vinegar when soaking it. Once the kelp has absorbed most of the water, you can gently rinse away the sand.
Steaming the kelp can also make it softer. Before steaming, do not wet the kelp. Place the dry kelp directly on the steamer rack. The steaming time depends on the tenderness of the kelp, usually about half an hour. The steamed kelp will be incredibly tender.
Fried eggplant with oil from fried fish and shrimp is delicious
Using peanut oil that has been used to fry fish and shrimp to stir-fry dishes can often affect the fresh flavor of the food. However, if you use this oil to fry eggplant once, it not only makes the oil clearer, but the eggplant, which has absorbed the flavor of the fish and shrimp, is exceptionally delicious.
Little tips for cooking meat
Soaking pork in hot water affects its flavor
The protein in pork can be divided into two types: myosin and myogen. The coagulation point of myosin is 15°C~16°C, and it is highly soluble in water. When pork is placed in hot water, a large amount of myosin dissolves into the water, and at the same time, various substances contained in the myosin, such as organic acids, glutamic acid, and sodium glutamate, are also leached out, affecting the flavor of the pork. Therefore, fresh pork should not be soaked in hot water; instead, it should be wiped clean with a clean cloth and then quickly rinsed with cold water. Do not soak it for a long time.
This is how to cook fish to get the best nutrition
Nowadays, more and more people enjoy eating fish, but how to cook every fish well to ensure both good nutrition and flavor is a matter of great skill.
(1) Use boiling water for steaming fish. When steaming fish, first bring the water in the pot to a boil, then place the fish in a bowl and steam it over the boiling water. Never use cold water to steam fish. This is because when the fish is suddenly exposed to high temperature, the outer tissue coagulates, locking in the fresh juices inside. If possible, it's best to add some chicken fat or lard to the fish before steaming, which can make the fish meat more tender and smooth.
(2) Add milk when cooking frozen fish. When taking fish out of the freezer to cook, you can add some fresh milk to the soup to enhance the umami flavor of the fish. However, it is important to note that the thawing method must also be correct to prevent nutrient loss. Generally, after taking the fish out of the freezer, first place it in a container with a little salt to thaw. The purpose is that the protein in the frozen fish will slowly coagulate when it encounters salt, preventing it from further leaking out of the cells and losing nutrients.
Little tips for cooking eggs
Boil an egg for 3 minutes
Egg protein coagulates at 60°C~65°C, the yolk at 60°C~70°C, and the entire egg at 80°C. The best way to boil an egg is to place it in cold water, start with low heat, and then turn up the heat after the water boils. This way, the air inside the egg slowly escapes through the tiny pores in the shell, preventing sudden expansion and cracking. Boil for 3 minutes after the water comes to a boil, and the egg will be soft-boiled, meaning the yolk is only emulsified by the heat. This level of doneness is when the egg's nutrients are most easily absorbed by the human body. If boiled until solid, the aged protein is not easily absorbed and can also give the egg a strange taste.
There are also little tips to prevent eggshells from cracking when boiling eggs.
(1) You can first wet the egg in cold water before placing it in boiling water, which can also prevent the shell from cracking.
(2) Add a few drops of vinegar and salt to the water beforehand. This can not only prevent the eggshell from cracking but also makes the shell easier to peel.
Add ginger and vinegar sauce when eating century eggs
During the preservation of century eggs, a certain amount of lead monoxide is used, which is slightly toxic. The hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and other substances produced by the final decomposition of protein in century eggs are also somewhat toxic. The volatile oil and acetic acid in ginger and vinegar sauce have good detoxifying and bactericidal effects. Adding ginger and vinegar sauce when eating century eggs not only improves the flavor but also enhances its nutritional value.