As I say, I have a rice cooker which I love and my method is just a way of approximating the result with minimum of fuss and equipment and yes,when you need it a bit quicker.
For sure to get perfect results there are loads of variables that one can mess with manually or use the longer time of a rice cooker but I have to say that as long as you aren’t trying to cook a speciality type of rice then it is close enough and it won’t come out either too dry or too soggy.
The one thing that sometimes happens is that the inabilty of the cooker ring to simmer at a very low level means you get a caked-on layer of rice on the bottom of the pan but even then the 95% of the rice unaffected by this is fine. You spoon off the top layers and bung the pan in the sink to soak.
At some point in learning how to grill stuff, when you ask yourself the question of “Is it done?”, the answer is “YES!”, as you’ll have come to the point where your experience and intuition are telling you that it’s done, but your conscious mind interprets that as a question to ask yourself.
If nothing else, take out your handy Thermapen (what? you don’t have one? Fix that!) and see what the temp is when you ask yourself if it’s done.
Too many people dramatically over grill their hamburgers, chicken, sausage, etc… in the interest of making sure that it’s done.
My rule for rice is: Throw it in the Aroma rice cooker I got at the thrift store for 2 bucks, hit the lever and turn my back on it. Always comes out perfect!
Using an Instant Pot? Cook rice at pressure for half the usual time, and as for pasta, cook it at pressure for 1 minute (that’s right, one minute) then let the pressure naturally release for the length of time you would have boiled it. And you will need more liquid to cook that pasta than you think you will, but it will still taste good.
After chopping/slicing/mincing fresh garlic, let it sit for ten minutes before cooking. The allicin in the garlic needs to be exposed to air to activate. Then it remains active while cooking.
It’s called “browning” ground beef, not “greying” ground beef: once you evenly spread out ground beef in your largest skillet over medium-high heat, leave it alone! Resist the strong urge you will have to stir it around or break it up or otherwise mess with it for at least a few minutes. Don’t worry, it will break up just fine later. Once you can see it’s actually brown around the edges, turn it over as evenly as you can, then walk away again for another couple of minutes. Now you can break it up and do whatever else you want to it.
Prep every component you can before you start cooking.
Dice your onions, grate your cheese, measure out your vinegar, etc, etc. When you start cooking, you should have a range of bowls and measuring vessels with all your ingredients ready to go.
This saves stress during the cooking process, and also serves as a double check to ensure you aren’t missing something.
(Make exceptions where appropriate. If your recipe calls for separating an egg, and salting and resting meat for several hours before cooking, obviously you don’t want the raw egg sitting around all that time.)
This sounds like a beginner’s tip, but I’ve been cooking for almost forty years, and I still swear by it.
Vegies for dinner can be cooked ahead of time, and then just reheated for a minute with a pat of butter when it’s time to serve. This way you’re not trying to coordinate their cooking so that they’re done at the same time as the meat and other dishes.
When you make a pilaf, make two or three times more than you need for one meal. Pilaf freezes really, really well, and it’s a boon to have some on hand in the freezer for some subsequent meal. It thaws/heats up in the microwave right in its ziploc freezer bag, too.
When you buy a cutting board, get a lightweight plastic one. Those big teak ones are handsome, but they weigh a ton. Maneuvering one over to the sink multiple times a day to wash it is way more work than I want to add to the chore of cooking.
Mine was IIRC $15 at Target eons ago. The totally no-frills model. Best $15 I ever spent on cooking tools. As you say, totally distraction idiot proof.
Yeah? Rrrrrreally?
:arms crossed, sternly, in doubt::
Well, I’ll give this manouvre a go, then, but if it doesn’t work out, though…::fist impotently shaken::
Good rule, and even more important during baking. You don’t want to be beating an egg or whisking sour cream into milk (or turning on the oven!) when your hands are all caked with flour.
Stress-free fried egg(s): Break egg(s) into bubbling hot butter or grease. Salt and pepper. Splash less than a teaspoon of water into the pan, and COVER IT TIGHT. In exactly one minute, slide out the eggs, perfectly crispy on the edges, yolk just runny enough, and the tops nicely cooked by the steam.
This is called mise en place and it’s absolutely critical in wok cooking (especially stir-frying) because, when your wok is at a proper 800 degrees Fahrenheit, you don’t have time to be fumbling around with ‘oops, I forgot to velvet the beef!’
Opening jars & bottles safely:
This is more important when opening the container. Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosey is about more than the twist direction** – otherwise we’d just talk about clockwise/counter-clockwise.
Hold the base with the right hand and the lid with the left hand. That way the LEFT is on top.
Align your knuckles – or at least your proximal phalanges (the first bones past the knuckles you punch with), squeeze with your fingers, and extend your hands away from you with the goal of vertically aligning the 16 bones in your two wrists.
This way, rather than using your biceps to do all the work, you’re leveraging your triceps and pectorals. Both are much larger than biceps and, in combination, apply much greater force. Furthermore, friction between your fingers and the container/lid will cause your grip to tighten rather than loosen. More importantly, you are moving the container away from your body. If/when the seal on the lid gives way, a sudden shift caused by that release of friction will result in contained liquid (e.g. in a jar of pickles) splashing away from you, rather than on your chest.
–G!
** This was the mechanics’ rule I learned – and, in fact, there are special mechanical cases in which it doesn’t work. Point your thumb in the direction you want the fastener to go and curl your fingers into a fist. Your fingers will indicate which way to twist that fastener. If you’re pointing & curling with your left hand, you’re loosening the part; if your pointing & curling with the right hand, you’re tightening the part.
I can do some amazing things with a blade.
I can even cook!
Alternatively, I prep the veggies early, but I don’t start cooking them until the meat is resting. That’s enough time to cook the veg, and it will be nice and hot when the meat is ready to serve.
It may amuse some to see my slightly modified version of this method - I wanted to try it last night but my phone battery had run out so I went by memory.
Put a splash of cold water into 3 ramekins.
Crack an egg into each.
Microwave on full power for 1 minute.
Take a look, not done yet - give them another minute.
Hmm, still a bit watery - let’s try another 30 seconds.
Towards the end of the cooking time, jump in shock when 2 of the 3 eggs explode all over the microwave.
Switch off the microwave and scrape its contents on to toast.
Place a small bowl of water in the microwave and run it on 50% power for 5 minutes while eating the eggs and toast.
Scrub the inside of the microwave to remove egg splatter.
It just goes to show that even if you make something big and bold, some idiot will still contrive to ignore it.
Oh, and that reminds me of a quick and obvious cooking tip, which I failed to follow on this occasion: always use a cover when microwaving, that way if you have an unexpected explosion, it’s much easier to clean up.
