Flavor from the Far East-How to Add Asian Flare to Your Cooking

Posted on by blogger

Asian countries have a long and rich culinary tradition. Throughout the vast continent, it is possible to see all manner of ingredients and tastes. There is something unmistakably delicious about certain foods and flavors that capture the imagination of any cook. Dishes from Asian countries often satisfy the appetite without an uncomfortable feeling of fullness that one often finds in Western cuisine.

Every country in the continent has its own unique perspective on Asian cooking. Though the customs from different regions can seem quite different, their commonality is unmistakable. Those who would like to add some of this exquisite experience to their own dining can start by incorporating some of the most important ingredients from Asian cooking into their own kitchen.

Asian Staples

There are a few elements found repeatedly in Asian cooking that are essential to capturing the essence of the cuisine.
Most dishes include rice, because it is the main crop of many Asian countries and is used in almost every capacity. Not only steamed rice, but rice paper and noodles can be included in a meal.
Tofu is often used in vegetarian meals, because it is high in protein. It is used heavily in regions with a tradition of Buddhism.
Sauces are important to flavor rice and stir-fry. Soy sauce, oyster sauce, black bean sauce, and fish sauces are easy to keep on hand.
Tea is not only good for the body; it is the perfect accompaniment to Asian cuisine. Japanese Cooking

The island nation of Japan has an illustrious tradition. Their cuisine is full of fish and other consumables from the sea. Japanese cooking utilizes noodles made of wheat and other materials much more than other Asian dishes.

In order to add some Japanese flavor to meal, try using soy sauce or wasabi. Also, Japanese dishes are characterized by their ordered appearance. Sauces, rice, and main courses are all served in their own individual bowls. This can be seen in popular Japanese foods like sushi and tempura.

The Tastes of China

Traditional Chinese food can be quite different than what is labeled as Chinese in the United States. Many recipes contain large amounts of vegetables like corn, bean sprouts, and shitake mushrooms. Peanuts are also found in many Chinese foods.

The most distinct part of Chinese dining is the serving style. Food should be pre-cut into small pieces. Every diner should get a rice bowl, but other foods should be communal so that the diners may pick what they wish to sample with their chopsticks.

Southeast Asian Dining

Though they are often grouped together, the Southeast Asian countries include Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, and Vietnam among others. These countries all have their own strong dishes and techniques to bring to the kitchen, but have many similarities.

Cooks who want to capture the flavor of this region should look to fish sauces, lemon grass, and spices like turmeric and garlic. These elements are used all over this region because of the high concentration of fishing communities. Most dishes are served with fresh herbs, vegetables and dipping sauces.

Cooking Tips

Posted on by blogger

Have you been frustrated by cracks in the top of your cheesecakes? Would you like tips to make flaky biscuits? Or would you just like to know a bit more about sweet potatoes? Try these cooking tips from the Good Cooking Central website today for better results in your kitchen endeavors:

BISCUIT TIPS:

If you want biscuits that are crispy on the outside and flaky on the inside, you roll the dough thinly and fold it over once before cutting out the biscuits. They will then split open easily when you’re ready to butter them.

To re- heat biscuits, put them in a well-dampened paper bag. Twist the bag closed and put in a 300 oven for several minutes or until warm.

For soft-sided biscuits, bake them in a pan with sides and put the biscuits close together. For crusty biscuits, bake them on a cookie sheet and separate them from each other.

PREVENTING CHEESECAKE CRACKS:

Grease the sides of the pan before adding batter. The surface will not stick to the sides of the pan and crack when the cheesecake starts shrinking as it cools.

Run a knife or a metal spatula around the edges of the pan immediately after removing the cheesecake from the oven.

Drastic temperature changes can also cause a cheesecake to crack. Avoid putting a warm cheesecake from the oven into the refrigerator.

To disguise cracks, top the cheesecake with fruit or some other topping.

SOUR MILK:

Since sour milk is not really sold in the grocery stores, when a recipe calls for sour milk, simply add 1 TBSP. of vinegar or lemon juice to regular milk. You can also use buttermilk to replace the sour milk called for in a recipes.

BAKING POWDER:

If you use too much baking powder in a recipe it will produce a product with a coarse grain, and will cause the product to eventually fall. If you use too little baking powder, the product will not rise enough and be heavy.

Baking powder tends to lose its strength over time and should be kept in a tightly covered container. Moisture will cause the baking powder to deteriorate faster.

When increasing the amount of eggs in a recipe, decrease the baking powder by 1/2 teaspoon for each extra egg added.

CUTTING FAT WITH APPLESAUCE:

To reduce the fat content in your baking recipes, substitute applesauce for half of the amount of vegetable oil called for in the recipe. Using all applesauce produces a low-calorie, moist product.

ADJUST TEMPERATURE FOR DIFFERENT PANS:

Keep in mind that the type of pan you use when baking can determine the outcome of your finished product. For glass pans, turn down baking temperature by 25?. If you substitute a shallow pan, reduce the overall baking time by one quarter. If you use a deeper pan than suggested in the recipe, increase the overall baking time by one quarter.

ALTERNATIVES TO COOKING WITH BUTTER:

When browning or sauting onions, hamburger, etc., replace the butter by spraying your skillet with non-stick spray or use chicken or beef broth instead.

Outback Pizza Ovens – Australia’s Trusted And Favorite Wood Fired Pizza Oven Supplier

Posted on by blogger

There is nothing as exciting and refreshing as making your own Pizzas in Australia in lush green and spacious living space – The Backyard! When it comes to fairly different for your backyard outdoor kitchen and barbecue centers, another novel product that an expert landscaper can recommend you is a wood fired pizza oven.

Let me tell you why, Pizzas baked in wood fired ovens take hardly a minute or two, they are economical, saves money, fun, moreover no need to re-lit as the heat retained in it will be suitable to cook food for long period of time. In short they are just perfect for partying at home when you want to give your best shot at food. And while you are at it, trust me there is not anything like the smell of pizza being cooked in a fire wood oven. It wont be like those traditional pizzas you get from market or spend hours cooking indoor. These outdoor oven pizzas have been shaped to act as the pizza equivalent of a BBQ grill.

However there are still ways for you to build something as splendid as the pizza oven, how about saving your energy and get what you want off the rack just like that? We at Outback Pizza Ovens have carved such convection ovens which are according to the latest trends and techniques in outdoor home entertainment. For good reason; these attractive pizza ovens can cook anything and adds a totally new experience to cooking out of doors. Folks all over the suburb who enjoy cooking and entertaining outdoors are adding our sleek and sturdy beauties to their patios and back yards. Enjoying their most from cozy family dinners to large parties all centered around these latest trends in oven wood cooking.

Outdoor cooking using wood fire ovens have breathed a new life into the art of cooking. We at Outback Pizza Ovens give you just the type of Wood ovens you have in mind. You can select from a wide variety of styles, designs and conveniences we have integrated in these ovens for you.

Starting with our Little Italy, this lady bird shaped pizza oven has a refractory dome structure with a fire brick floor design. Looks great on a balcony or pool BBQ area and the pizzas produced from it gives you the most delicious taste you might not have had anywhere else. Surprisingly, this wood fire brick oven can produce food for a big crowd Can bake up to three loaded wood fire pizzas at one time. From appetizers to desserts, you can cook an entire meal in this attractive and special appliance. No need for DIY techniques as we have taken care of it already. Australia wide delivery!

Our second product Smoke and Fire is our top-of-the-line pizza cooker and it amazes and thrills folks with it’s cooking and smoking abilities. This oven and smoker is ideal for the serious home entertainer or the caterer who wants to offer something different and exciting to his or her guests. When you have this fully featured and special appliance at your disposal, you are sure to delight and excite your guests or customers. This is one special unit, as it features not only a pizza oven, but also a smoker. In this metal steel oven, you can create unique and delicious dishes, which can range from appetizers to main dishes and even desserts or bakery items. No DIY needed. This comes all ready to use. We show you pizza oven Brisbane-style cooking that you wont get anywhere else.

We like that this is a multi-purpose pizza cooker. If you like smoked meats, you can get it from this great wood-fired pizza oven and smoker. If you dream of wood-fired pizzas for Saturday night dinner, this will deliver. Imagine smoked peaches with homemade vanilla ice cream for dessert. We are sure that the Smoke & Fire cooker will delight and amaze you with its versatility and quality cooking abilities.

Then comes our third model named Workhorse because its designed to handle whatever you bring it. Its our largest and deepest oven, so it can cook a wide variety of foods. You might start with wood-fired bruschetta, then present a main dish of roasted chicken wrapped in pancetta and roasted mushrooms. Finish with wood-fired homemade biscotti. You will enjoy amazing meals like this year-round when you have this in your backyard. Besides the huge capacity and versatility of this pizza cooker, we like that this oven is all stainless steel constructed. This makes it durable, attractive and makes you feel like a professional cook. We are sure you will also get professional results from this amazing wood-fired pizza oven. This oven too comes assembled. So you can just get on to cooking as soon as you receive it

Our most Special Black Beauty has a classic and streamlined look that will work well in a variety of backyards and outdoor cook spaces. Like all our wood ovens, its ideal for roasting, cooking pizzas, or a variety of other wood-fired foods. Your friends and family will gather around with plates held high as they wait for food to come off this beautiful stove.

Cooking in a wood-fired oven is similar to cooking in a regular oven. Here, however, you use wood to fire your oven and you can heat the oven to up to 500C. These wood ovens also stay hot for a long time, proof that these oven pizzas are not only heat-tight but constructed with only the high quality craftsmanship that we are proud of.

Best of all, this oven (like all our wood-fire pizza ovens at Outback Pizza Ovens) comes to you assembled. Not everyone enjoys the DIY aspect of putting their wood-fired pizza oven together themselves, so we take care of that for you. You wont have to wait a minute to fire this oven up. Cook Perth pizzas and other goodies and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Our 2012 line of modern and traditional wood fired pizza ovens have been engineered for the ultimate cooking experience for amazing flavour. They are also designed to last a lifetime. Our pizza ovens heat up faster, hold heat for a longer period of time, more durable than ever before and are delivered anywhere within Australia.

In addition to that you can get Top Pizza Oven Recipes from our Website. Enjoy the ambiance of Oven Pizzas and turn eating into a real event. Relax and have a quiet drink after the guests leave for their home. What could be more peaceful than staring into those dying cinders as the stars dance above your head?

The Different Cooking Configurations of the Big Green Egg

Posted on by blogger

The Big Green Egg ceramic grill is incredible because of its flexibility. You are able to set up your Egg up for direct cooking, similar to a regular grill, to barbecue chicken. With only one additional component you can set up your grill to become a slow smoker that is able to do smoking “low n slow” all day long! You can also use your Egg as an oven to cook up bread, pizza or even cookies.

The traditional grilling set up is commonly known as direct cooking, because you are cooking your food directly above the hot coals. Simply set your Stainless Steel or Cast Iron Grid right on top of the Fire Ring, and you are ready to grill direct. Many Eggheads can lift the level of their cooking surface with extenders or lower their cooking surface by taking out the Fire Ring to set the grid right on the Fire Box.Shifting the level of the cooking surface affords you more control over the style of heat your food will encounter; make the grill surface higher to avoid the flames for grilling vegetables, and drop the cooking surface to quickly sear pork chops. Direct grilling is commonly used for steaks, hamburgers, fish, pork tenderloin, and vegetables.

The Plate Setter Accessory is a heat barrier sold by the Big Green Egg manufacturer. If you possess a Plate Setter, you are able to use your Big Green Egg for indirect smoking. To configure your Big Green Egg for indirect barbecuing simply set the Plate Setter right on the Fire Ring with the legs facing up, rest a drip pan full of water on the Plate Setter, and then place your grid on top of the Plate Setter. If you are baking pizzas you can put your ceramic baking stone directly on the grid and you are ready to grill cook indirectly.The basic concept behind indirect smoking is that your meat is indirectly exposed to the fire, so it roasts via convection and radiant heat. This cooks the food slower than exposing it to direct heat, and is the only choice for true smoking. If you want to slow smoke brisket, pulled pork, or ribs you will need to do it via indirect grilling.

If “low and slow” isnt your thing, you can make use of the Plate Setter to change your smoker into an outdoor oven. Even though the fire is being blocked by the Plate Setter, the internal grill temperature can reach as high as 600F and allow you to cook out of this world brick-oven style pizzas. Just about anything you could bake in a normal oven you can roast using the indirect cooking set up of the Big Green Egg.

Really Useful Time Management Tips from a Cooking Show

Posted on by blogger

In life, there are lessons available to use everywhere. We just have to have our eyes open to spot them. I have picked up some really useful time-management tips from watching a cooking show. Suspend your disbelief and let me explain further.

I dont watch a lot of television because it can be a huge time drain. But I enjoy experimenting and cooking, so I do watch a few cooking shows now and then. One of my favorites is 30 Minute Meals hosted by the ever perky Rachel Ray. Her claim to fame is that she can show you how to prepare healthy, great-tasting home-cooked meals in 30 minutes. Who can resist that?

After experiencing more than a few episodes of her program, Ive come to realize that she is a master at using time. Thats how she can get so much accomplished in 30 minutes. And here are her secrets that you can easily adopt.

Spend time in Planning

Most cooking shows lasting 30 minutes will feature maybe one item. In 30 Minute Meals, Rachel Ray generally prepares three to five items working alone in her kitchen. She doesnt have helpers and the ingredients havent been pre-chopped or diced or julienned ahead of time. She doesnt have another perfect souffl sitting in the oven waiting for her to whip out at the end to show you how it should turn out. She really does the cooking in real time. So how does she do it?

Before Rachel Ray even steps foot into her kitchen, she has the entire process for preparing the meal planned out. Does the dessert take longer to cook than the entree? If so, then it makes perfect sense to start the preparation of the dessert first. She knows which sequence of steps is the most efficient based on the planning. She knows exactly which ingredients she needs from the refrigerator so that she only needs to make one trip, which saves her time.

So, heres our real life application. When you look at your list of things to do, or errands to run, how can you use planning to become more efficient? How many trips to the refrigerator can you save by improving your planning?

Utilize Every Minute

This may sound like a no-brainer, but how many of us are really experts at this like Rachel Ray. She constantly talks about her pockets of time. When the water is heating up for pasta, she uses her pocket of time to chop onions, butter bread, cut up chicken, and anything else she can fit in. By using these little pockets of time, she whips up a meal in 30 minutes.

Now for our real life application: how many times have you put off doing something because you only had 15 minutes and the task takes an hour? What if you cant find a whole hour to work on that task for another week, but you can actually squeeze in 15 minutes everyday for the next 4 days? By using your little pockets of time, you are able to complete the task this week instead of next week. Thats the secret to getting more done.

Become a master at this like Rachel Ray. If you only have 10 minutes before you have to go to a meeting, return one phone call. This gives you the perfect incentive to be efficient about concluding the call. Pick up pockets of time everywhere and see how much more you can accomplish during your day.