Chefs spend almost all day in the kitchen perfecting and inventing new recipes, so they know how to prepare a delicious meal. You will feel confused or discouraged if you’re just getting started in the kitchen, but note that cooking is like something else: the more you practice, the better you can get. Do you ever feel like you’re too far away to catch up? It’s never too late to put on your apron and learn how to make a flavorful chunky soup or cheesy fried enchiladas. Start with these beginner cooking skills if you’re new to the world of pots and pans, paring knives and strainers, peelers, and spatulas. Build on the basis and broaden your culinary horizons as the chef Dubai by playing with dishes and recipes that appeal to you. And for those seriously considering a career in the culinary arts, we’ve compiled a list of key points to remember.
Drop food into hot oil
“When you’re about to sear meat or fish, a typical mistake people make in the kitchen is dropping food into the hot oil. They sometimes place the meat or fish directly into the hot oil, which may cause the oil to splatter and burn them. The easiest way to remedy this is to tip the pan, hold the oil on one side, place the meat on the other, and gently tilt it around. To stop the fire, do not move the pan too far. Wait patiently!
Knife skills are everything.
Chopping, mincing, grinding, and dicing takes up a lot of time for professional chefs. It’s partly about making everything look good on the tray, but it’s more about how the food cooks. Learning to use a knife properly means that all of the foods cook uniformly and at the same time. The easiest way to extend the life of your blades, though, is to keep them clean. How much sharpening you’ll like depends on how much you need it and what you’re serving.
Always have your mise in place ready.
Perhaps the most crucial lesson you achieve in culinary school is to get everything in its proper place in your mise en place. It’s the most effective way to maintain your composure in a professional kitchen with the best chef Dubai. Professional chefs spend hours cutting meats, vegetables, and herbs, so they’re ready to throw into the pan when needed. If you’re not prepared, you’ll feel stressed and lost, which means your chef will probably scream at you a lot. In the kitchen, mise en place means happier, faster cooking.
Oils aren’t always made together.
Each cooking oil has its distinct flavor profile and smoke point. As a result, some oils (such as canola or peanut oil) are safer for high-temperature cooking, while butter or lard is better for stir-frying and sautéing. Find out which oils are better for frying. Extra-virgin olive oil and sesame oil, for example, are best used raw as finishing oils or salad dressings.
Choosing the Highest-Quality Ingredients
It can seem obvious, but going around the grocery store with ease and conviction is an art. Familiarize yourself with the whole grocery store, from the food department to the bakery, the fruit side to the butchery, and the canned goods aisle. If you’re at a farmer’s market, talk to the butcher and baker, or pick your farmer’s brain. They’ll also have helpful hints for preparing whatever you’re reading. Chefs and home cooks also understand the importance of having those ingredients on hand at all times. To add texture and protein to salads, chilis, and soups, think plain yogurt, canned chickpeas, and beans; citrus to brighten every dish; sea salt and fresh herbs for finishing; olive oil; shallots, garlic, and fresh black pepper.
Salt is your friend.
Seasoning the food well is a tip that chefs and cooking experts repeat over and over. The vast majority of home cooks either under-season their food or add salt at the very end of the cooking process. Get a nice Kosher salt and store it in a convenient salt cellar next to your stove. The way, it’ll all be within control. And, when we’re on the subject of salt, don’t forget to apply it to your pasta sauce. Not just a smidgeon. You want the drink to taste like salt water from the ocean. This will ensure that the pasta is well-seasoned.
Follow as written in the recipe.
Following the recipe to the letter is the most significant error a home cook might make that a skilled chef Dubai can never make! Recipes are treated as non-negotiable contracts for home cooks. They serve as instructions for most chefs. You still don’t have a pantry of 100 things to pick from at home, so you’ll have to think on your feet. For example, home cooks can substitute butternut squash for zucchini and champagne vinegar for white wine vinegar… that’s where the joy and ingenuity of cooking come in to adapt a recipe to your family’s tastes.
Purchasing low-cost ingredients to save money
Home cooks may make the mistake of opting for subpar ingredients for the sake of convenience. While purchasing canned sauces or substituting frozen vegetables for fresh vegetables can seem more convenient, they sacrifice the consistency of their meal. It can be daunting to research essential ingredients and cooking methods for your meals, but everyone can transform an average meal into something exceptional with enough practice.
Refrigerated meat and fish may be cooked right away.
“If you’re going to prepare meat or fish straight from the fridge, cool it first. To ensure that it is tempered, delete it from the refrigerator for at least 15-20 minutes. Cooking would be more even a result of this when fish is kept so cold, the outside cooks while the inside remains uncooked.
Using nonstick frying pans
“Non-stick pans are not to be used! Our specialized kitchen is the only time [chefs] use a non-stick pan for cooking eggs. People I know cook almost all in non-stick, which kills the taste. High-quality stainless steel or cast iron pan is unrivaled. If you’re concerned about protein sticking, get your pan hot before adding the oil, and you won’t have any trouble; plus, you’ll get a much smoother sear, which means better taste.
Failure to read the entire recipe
The first thing that many home cooks fail to do is read the whole recipe. This is something I always work on within the kitchen. The product list and the step-by-step instructions for preparing, cooking, and plating a recipe. They can double-check that they have all of the necessary tools and utensils to finish the recipe. Do any online testing to complete the recipe if they’re unaware of some product or cooking technique before starting!
Seasoning food after it’s been cooked
Friends of mine have cooked a whole meal and then added spices at the very end to flavor it. This is a significant blunder because the food must cook with herbs. It is better to sauté, say, onions and garlic with the spices before adding meat and everything else that might be going into the dish for optimum flavor, particularly if making a dish with oil and fat at the beginning of preparation. When the spices are combined with the oil, it helps release all of the aromas while still binding to the food and flavoring the dish.