I finally want to learn how to cook. Food prep is a no brainer, it's the cooking part that's hard especially because things don't taste like the asian home-cooking that i'm used to. Any words of wisdom?
2007-02-18 06:46:28 · 12 answers · asked by ChickP 2 in Food & Drink ➔ Ethnic Cuisine
Read cookbooks and follow the instructions. Most of all practice. Do not be discouraged by failure. You may have to throw out a few things. When I started cooking I made a few dishes that even the dogs would not eat. I buried those. See it as the fun and challenging hobby it is and the rewards are unlimited.
2007-02-18 07:00:16 · answer #1 · answered by al 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Talk to the people you know that make what you like and observe them. What I have found tough in getting recipes from people like grandmothers, etc. is they never measure, so they have a hard time telling other people the amounts of things that go into recipes.
So practicing, and trying the food as you are cooking it helps a great deal. Your tongue is the best tool you have. Remember, you can always add more of an ingredient, but it is often impossible to take away.
Another rookie mistake in most cooking is to cook things too quickly at too high a temperature.
2007-02-18 15:13:10 · answer #2 · answered by Poops Magee 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sure, and great decision. I cant imagine not preparing my own yummy food. Keep it simple. Watch some cooking show on the food network. Start with simple dishes, like fried rice or egg drop soup (super easy) Check out some cookbooks from the library. Ask friends, or even find a cooking class (many local collages offer them. Good luck! When you learn the basics, the complicated stuff is easy. Just pay attention to heat settings-people tend to ruin things on too high heat, then dont bother to try again....
2007-02-18 14:52:13 · answer #3 · answered by beebs 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First get a good simple cookbook. I am a fan of Fannie Farmer. The joy of cooking is excellent for information about everything from measuring to different types of cooking techniques. Depending on which end of the pool you want to jump into determines which book you buy. Find a cooking class for beginners, go to a good bookstore with personnel who know their material and discuss what you plans are and then spend the day perusing thru the books there or even at your main library(best bet, borrow a couple and find one you want to buy) and try everything out. But start out small, what do you want to try first? Decide on that and go for it!!! Bake some butter cookies or make chicken soup or tomato. Something that you don't have to rush with and is hard to mess up and even if you do you can thru it away without feeling guilty. Make spaghetti sauce. French toast, baked apple, apple brown betty, or turnovers with jam filling. Something simple. Another important thing is a timer that goes off to let you know when your food is ready. Good luck!!!
2007-02-18 16:06:13 · answer #4 · answered by Diane T 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you dont mind food prep (most people hate that part!): then stir frys or any Asian cuisine will work. start with simple basic home recipes. also pasta is easy, couscous....
what are you doing to make your food not taste well? are you overcooking? undercooking? too many ingredients? too low heat?
you need to find out what went wrong in order to fix it! start with the basics & easy recipes, once you gain confidence, tackle more challenging recipes.
also, nothing wrong with cheating a little (use ready made sauces... take help where you can get it!)
good luck, it's just practice. and some trial & error... everyone's had a bad cooking experience.
2007-02-18 15:00:40 · answer #5 · answered by Desi Chef 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Spend some time with the best cooks in your family. Observe how they cook and how it taste. find the correlations between a certain technique and how the food reacts in taste. i.e. if you toast the garlic how the flavor of your stir fry changes. Everyone has a technique that makes the difference in the flavor of the dish. It's like detective work. If you know what you like, start tracing the steps of how the food was made.
2007-02-18 14:56:31 · answer #6 · answered by Wijssegger 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Go to various cooking website for example
Allrecipes.com Has a GREAT SITE and it caters to ethnic foods as well! The directions are easy to follow!
Try going to the library and looking for cook books and try different recipes.
Maybe as a family member that knows how you like you home-cooking,and see if they would teach you!
GOOD LUCK hope this HELPS!!!!!
2007-02-18 15:08:22 · answer #7 · answered by ♥xvioletx1882♥ 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you have different web sites about cooking
there are also great TV programs
the best teacher is always our mother ( it is the food we are used to eat) or a relative
but if you do not like cooking - nobody can teach you to cook
you have to enjoy every sec in the kitchen, to have imagination and to add or remove ingredients
do not be afraid to try something on your own ( you can always feed the neighbor's cat)
2007-02-18 15:39:25 · answer #8 · answered by vivet 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
WATCH FOOD NETWORK + CHANNEL 13/21 FOR food shows plus read cook books and watch people prepare food in resturants or in street fairs or watch chefs in pizzerias and expose urself to as much cooking as possible.
2007-02-18 21:04:26 · answer #9 · answered by param 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go the the library to get cookbooks (there are entire isles of them) and cooking DVD. That way, if you don't like it, you didn't waste your money. If you liked it, you can consider buying your own copy.
2007-02-18 17:03:02 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋