It’s OK to saute onions first before garlic.
Ever wonder why you do some things the way you do and never tried to buck the trend? And then you realise, it doesn’t really make a difference to the taste of your food in the end.
Some food hacks are so obvious that you wonder why you never thought of them in the first place. Or conversely, so out of the box that you are stoked to be one of the few to have heard of it and share your new-found knowledge!
Indeed, working in the kitchen can be so much fun! — Compiled by PATSY KAM
1 Most Asian recipes, especially stir-fried dishes, call for the garlic to be sauted first, next, the ginger (if you’re using any) and then only the onions. This is probably because the fragrance of the garlic and ginger should be a stronger flavour note in the dish. But it also means being on your toes and watching the pan very closely to avoid burning the garlic. Western chefs, on the other hand, do it the other way round. Onion go in first as it takes longer to cook and become translucent, which is about 10 minutes, and garlic follows after. So, it really depends on what you’re cooking – if it’s stews or dishes with heavy broth, it really doesn’t matter what goes in first.
There’s a trick to stop hard-boiled eggs from cracking. — Filepic
2 When making hard-boiled eggs, the shell sometimes tends to crack, especially if they’ve been taken out of the fridge, rather than left at room temperature. Apparently, one trick is to rub lemon on eggs before cooking, and it’ll keep them from cracking. And they’ll peel nicely too after that!
Keep the peanut butter jar upside down.
3 There’s almost always some oil floating at the top of peanut butter in the jar. And it’s annoying and icky when you have to stir it to even up the mixture before spreading it on your bread. Store the jar upside down − make sure it’s closed tightly first − and stirring will be much easier when you want to eat this next.
Use coffee ice cubes to avoid watering down your iced coffee. — Filepic
4 You probably already know this but a refresher is always good. If you like cold coffee, but don’t like how it gets all watered down when the ice melts, then you should make coffee and freeze it in ice trays. Later, you can use the frozen coffee as ice cubes. You’ll then still get a solid cup of caffeine without compromising its taste.
It would be such a waste if you had to throw away leftover homemade sauces. — Filepic
5 Do you ever make sauces to drizzle over your meats? Sometimes you have leftover sauces or broths, and you don’t know what to do with them and end up throwing them out. But, there will be occasions when you might need just a couple of spoonfuls. Then you wish you hadn’t gotten rid of it. Find a suitable ice tray and freeze the leftover sauce. Then, transfer the cubes to a freezer bag or small container for later use.
Try scraping burnt cookies with a grater. — Filepic
6 If you’re making cookies and accidentally burnt a batch, there might be hope of salvaging them. If it’s just slightly browner around the edges or the top, use a grater to scrape off the darker bits and salvage the cookies. Another option − if it goes with the cookie − is to sprinkle icing sugar or drizzle chocolate on top. This will cover a multitude of sins and nobody will be any wiser.
