Part 1 (2/2)

To test when your grilled meat is done, it is best to use an instant-thermometer. Alternatively, you can insert the point of a knife to visually see if your food is done. Always remember that your food continues cook even after you remove it from the grill. In addition, meats will reabsorb some of their juices after they are done cooking. Make sure allow your meats to rest for five to ten minutes before serving.

Cooking in Water Simmering and poaching are both techniques that involve cooking food in liquid. With both techniques, the cooking liquid is first brought a boil and then the heat is reduced in order to obtain less active bubbling. Poaching should have slightly less bubbling action than simmering, but it's a tough call when something is simmering versus poaching. Some recipes call for a covered cooking vessel, others open one. As something simmers or poaches, it is important to skim surface every once in a while to remove the residue that acc.u.mulates. Fish, rice, and poultry are all good candidates for poaching and simmering.

Only a few foods are actually boiled - noodles and potatoes being most obvious. Boiling water is also used to blanch or parboil fruits vegetables before they are exposed to another cooking method or want to keep them tender-crisp. Blanching involves placing the ingredients in boiling water briefly and then plunging them into cold water to retain color and flavor or to help remove their skins. Ingredients that parboiled actually stay in the boiling water a bit longer, in order to slightly soften them.

Another cooking process that involves water is steaming. With this method, the ingredients are not in the water, but rather above it on a rack. The pot is always covered. Steaming is a very gentle cooking method and it is usually the most nutritious. Steamed ingredients don't lose much of their nutrients, texture, or individual flavor. Vegetables and sticky rice are perfect candidates for steaming.

Roasting Roasting is another core cooking method used around the world. a very simple method performed in an oven, usually with high heat. can also use indirect heat from a grill and obtain similar results.) Essentially anything can be roasted: meats, fishes, vegetables, or fruits.

Roasting meat involves seasoning it in some fas.h.i.+on, sometimes searing it before you place it in the oven and sometimes basting it it cooks - depending on the recipe - and always letting it rest. Resting allows the meat to reabsorb some of its juices, making your roast juicy and easier to carve. To rest your roast, you simply remove it the oven, cover it with foil, and let it sit.

A very handy gadget to have when roasting is an ovenproof meat thermometer. This will let you know when your roast is done to your liking, without cutting into it. For an accurate reading, you must insert tip of the thermometer into the deepest part of the meat without touching bone, fat, or the bottom of the pan. Roasting charts usually come the thermometers.

What You'll Need Knife Types and Their Uses PARING KNIFE - a short-bladed knife (usually 2 to 4 inches) used trim fruits and vegetables a short-bladed knife (usually 2 to 4 inches) used trim fruits and vegetables CHEF'S KNIFE - a medium-bladed knife used for chopping, slicing, mincing a medium-bladed knife used for chopping, slicing, mincing SLICING KNIFE - a long-bladed knife, either smooth-edged or serrated used for slicing meats or breads a long-bladed knife, either smooth-edged or serrated used for slicing meats or breads Other useful knives include: boning, utility, cleaver, and fillet.

Specialty Utensils Thai cooking really doesn't require a kitchen-full of fancy gadgets: Most often you will use standard mixing bowls and measuring cups, and pans, wooden and slotted spoons, and knives. But there are a items that will make your Thai cooking easier and more enjoyable. you are in the mood to splurge, here's the wish list: WOK - a high-sided, sloping, small-bottomed pan - the quintessential Asian utensil a high-sided, sloping, small-bottomed pan - the quintessential Asian utensil RICE COOKER - an electric gizmo that takes the guessing out of an electric gizmo that takes the guessing out of FOOD PROCESSOR - the workhorse of the kitchen when it comes mixing, chopping, pureeing, and shredding the workhorse of the kitchen when it comes mixing, chopping, pureeing, and shredding BLENDER - great for making sauces and purees great for making sauces and purees CHINOIS - a sieve perfect for straining stocks, sauces, and purees a sieve perfect for straining stocks, sauces, and purees HAND BLENDER - great for making sauces and purees right in the pot great for making sauces and purees right in the pot COLANDER - perfect for straining noodles perfect for straining noodles MORTAR and PESTLE - a stone bowl and club used to crush spices and herbs a stone bowl and club used to crush spices and herbs MANDOLINE - an extremely sharp utensil used for precise paper-cutting an extremely sharp utensil used for precise paper-cutting

Using a Blender with Hot Ingredients Hot (as in temperature, not spiciness) ingredients in a blender can expand causing its lid to blow off. Instead of the lid, use a kitchen towel as a cover.

Basic Food Subst.i.tutions There are three very common ingredients in Thai cooking that can be rather difficult to find in the United States. Luckily they have very inexpensive and common subst.i.tutions. In this book I have always used brown sugar in place of palm sugar, ginger in place of galangal, and vegetable oil in place of peanut oil. Subst.i.tutions for some common Thai ingredients are found in the following chart.

THAI INGREDIENT.

SUBSt.i.tUTION.

Fish sauce Soy sauce Cilantro Parsley Kaffir lime leaves Lime peel Lemongra.s.s Lemon peel Rice vinegar Dry sherry or white vinegar Long beans Green beans Thai eggplant Green peas Shallots Small onions Homemade curry paste Store-bought curry paste

[image]Thai Curry Pastes, Marinades, and Other Concoctions

Green Curry Paste - 1

Green Curry Paste - 2

Red Curry Paste - 1

Red Curry Paste - 2

Southern (or Ma.s.saman) Curry Paste

Northern (or Jungle) Curry Paste

Chili Tamarind Paste

Yellow Bean Sauce

Minty Tamarind Paste

Black Bean Paste

Thai Marinade - 1

Thai Marinade - 2

Thai Marinade - 3

Asian Marinade - 1

Asian Marinade - 2

Tamarind Marinade

Coconut Marinade

Malaysian Marinade

Thai Vinegar Marinade

Lemongra.s.s Marinade

Shredded Fresh Coconut

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