Here are 6 cooking tips that I usually use whenever I am in the kitchen. Hopefully you find these useful too.
- Practice makes perfect: The more you practice cooking your favorite recipe the better chance you have of being great at it. I used to cook jollof rice about twice a week and now I am actually good at making it.
- Plan your meal ahead: Decide what you want to cook ahead of time so you can have all the ingredients at hand when you are ready to prepare it. Have your ingredients in front of you before you start cooking. Looking for stuff after after you have already started cooking increases your chances of messing up your dish or forgetting an ingredient. You DON'T want to be halfway through your dish before realizing you forgot something.
- Add to what you know: Even when you think you have a perfect recipe there is always something that can make your meal better than what it used to be. Do your research, ask those you consider good chefs so you can add to what you already know or are used to. For instance if you always make fried rice with only eggs, next time use shrimp, beef or chicken and you would have a different taste.
- Timing: My mom told me that this has got to be one of the top tip that can help to become a better cook. Because if your timing isn't right it might change how the food will turn out. You have to know the right time to add certain ingredients and that goes a long way to making your dish tasting better. Also make sure you have little to no distractions when you are cooking because you don't want to end up with an overcooked or burnt meal. Give yourself enough time to cook what ever recipe you choose to make. This way you can estimate the time it will take to cook.
- Utensils: Make sure you have all your necessary utensils at hand. The utensils that you must always have available in your kitchen: are your set of sauce pans, knives, a chopping board, a can opener, a sieve, a grater, a pair of kitchen scissors, kitchen napkins, a set of bowls and a clock.
- Cooking is an adventure: Feel free to be adventurous in your kitchen. Making your concoctions in your kitchen can turn into a yummy recipe some day. Just don't forget to save me some. :-)
