The simple cooking thread

themba990 said:
One thing I want to do is learn how to make bread...
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Can start with a super easy bread, that doesn't require yeast or kneading.
BEER BREAD
500g self raising flour (one of those small packets)
1 can beer (330ml)
good pinch of salt
1 Tbsp sugar
any spices/herbs that you feel like adding (rosemary, thyme, basil etc)

Mix ingredients together, place in a greased bread tin and bake in the oven at 180C for 40 odd minutes until golden brown
 
DrewChan said:
Experimenting is kinda my problem - I create more crap dishes than good ones
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I'd say that will change through practice. Start off with a few basic dishes that you're comfortable making, IMO. I call them my "one-pot wonders", mostly involving pasta or stir-fries. These allow you to experiment a little without necessarily risking culinary disasters (unless it's a wholewheat pasta with carrot and coriander gravy). Follow easy recipes and grow your confidence until you're impressing the guests with some awesome flavours
 
A good starter dish is Sewer Rat Stew.

1. Skin and gut 3-5 large sewer rats. Soak them in brine water for an hour to get rid of bacteria and to dehydrate the meat.
2. Fry onions and garlic in a little olive oil on medium heat in a non-stick pan.
3. Add the rats one at a time and fry lightly for a few minutes.
4. Add some chicken/beef stock, and at this point whatever veggies you have lying around.
5. When the pan comes to a rolling boil, lower heat and simmer for an hour or until the rats are tender.
6. Season to taste.
 
It's so hard to find good quality large sewer rats though. I can usually only find smaller ones.
 
Randhir said:
It's so hard to find good quality large sewer rats though. I can usually only find smaller ones.
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Thats because you aren't getting your rats in sandton. Obviously they reserve the biggest and juiciest rats for them.
 
cerebus said:
Rule 6: Always have a full stock of flavour ingredients. That means herbs, spices, stocks, garlic, onion, spice mixes, vinegars, oils, salt/pepper, etc. Try to buy some new herb/spice every time you go shopping and refill whatever empties out regularly. I buy celery bunches and chop and freeze them in bags because celery is so useful as a base. I get good quality olive oil and vegetable oil. I always have balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, sticky brown sugar, curry, cumin, paprika, coriander and a ton of other spices. I try to buy or grow fresh versions where it matters - like cilantro, basil and parsley, where the dried and fresh leaf herbs taste significantly different. I have fresh lemons and lime, and lemon juice. Even more seemingly esoteric ingredients can prove very useful - like sesame seeds or sliced almonds - so just buy and leave them till you need them.
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This is great advice. It's important to learn what each of the above does to a dish. Often you'll taste something that you're cooking and say hey that tastes too 'salty/sweet/oily/plain' and if you know your ingredients and the profile of the recipe, you'll know exactly which flavour ingredient will balance the food.

While on the matter of flavour ingredients, a tip:
When cooking something new, be conservative with flavour ingredients, particularly herbs and chili. You can always add more later as needed, but it can be near impossible to reduce/dilute if you add too much.
 
cerebus said:
Rule 6: Always have a full stock of flavour ingredients. That means herbs, spices, stocks, garlic, onion, spice mixes, vinegars, oils, salt/pepper, etc. Try to buy some new herb/spice every time you go shopping and refill whatever empties out regularly. I buy celery bunches and chop and freeze them in bags because celery is so useful as a base. I get good quality olive oil and vegetable oil. I always have balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, sticky brown sugar, curry, cumin, paprika, coriander and a ton of other spices. I try to buy or grow fresh versions where it matters - like cilantro, basil and parsley, where the dried and fresh leaf herbs taste significantly different. I have fresh lemons and lime, and lemon juice. Even more seemingly esoteric ingredients can prove very useful - like sesame seeds or sliced almonds - so just buy and leave them till you need them.
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I did that years ago... and just recently I tossed out a collection of three-quarter-full spice bottles all clumped solid with somewhat expired contents. :whistle:

Regarding olive oil, or any oil actually (besides soybean, sunflower or canola because you shouldn't be consuming them anyway), make sure you get a kind that is in a dark bottle. If you're using olive oil in a clear bottle there's a good chance you're using rancid oil.
 
Well just keep it in a cupboard and then it wont go rancid?
 
Ancalagon said:
Well just keep it in a cupboard and then it wont go rancid?
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Yeah... if only the oils knew to go rancid only after purchase. Does your supermarket keep oil in closed cupboards? Does their supply chain? Next time you're in the oil aisle, have a good look at all the clear bottled oils and note if you are seeing uniform colouring from same manufacturer.

(Additionally, those Mediterranean-sounding imported brands often do not explicitly state their contents. You'd of course assume that's because it's obvious what's inside... but it's not obvious if other, cheaper, oils have been mixed in. Buy a smaller amount of local rather, and check that it says 100% olive oil or something similar.)
 
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Chicken Boo said:
I did that years ago... and just recently I tossed out a collection of three-quarter-full spice bottles all clumped solid with somewhat expired contents. :whistle:
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It's on you if you'll actually do the cooking, but it's hard to make any proper recipe without a full set of spices. Just a very simple butter chicken last night needed the following ingredients:
Garam Masala
Cardamom pods
Curry leaves
Star anise
Coriander, dried and fresh
Paprika
Chili
Tomato paste
Garlic/ginger/onion
White yoghurt
Cream
Butter

Some of that stuff needed me to go into the 'others' cupboard that needs a chair to get to and that I hardly ever see the back of. But at least it's there when I need it.
 
The_MAC said:
+10000

I recently got gatvol of my cooking equipment and bought an expensive but so worth it set of Victorinox Knives and a Jamie Oliver T-Fal Pan. It has since revolutionised my cooking experience and ability. Its worth every cent, seeing as you use the stuff almost everyday of your life.

The knives glide through food, example: cutting a horizontal slit through chicken breasts is no effort (watch for the fingers).
The pan is so non-stick that if you're not careful the food will literally slide out of the pan.
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In the beginning it was heaven cooking with it - now 2 years later food sticks like crazy to it and the pan buckled time for a new pan.
 
Oh I wanted to ask these Victorinox knives - do they need sharpening or not? I bought a wilkensen sword knife at Checkers and the things is so blunt so I bought a sharpening thing but I dont know how to sharpen it i try to do like they do on tv but not working so i want knives i dont need to sharpen
 
Nicci said:
In the beginning it was heaven cooking with it - now 2 years later food sticks like crazy to it and the pan buckled time for a new pan.
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Try the ceramic woolies pans. So far very impressed. Just don't wash with abrasive scrubbers and I reckon it should last a good few years. ImageUploadedByTapatalk1396073740.232091.jpg

Oh I wanted to ask these Victorinox knives - do they need sharpening or not? I bought a wilkensen sword knife at Checkers and the things is so blunt so I bought a sharpening thing but I dont know how to sharpen it i try to do like they do on tv but not working so i want knives i dont need to sharpen
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I haven't sharpened our knives since we got them in July. They seem to be as sharp as they were.
 
100% agreed re those good cheap Victorinox knives. I have a bunch of the Wusthof equivalents and they are effing amazing. Don't push down too hard though, I've broken a few by cutting with force (frozen butter) but they're cheap to replace anyway.

Funnily enough I've never owned a teflon pan. I haven't found anything I can't do with a simple steel pan which is what I use for absolutely everything without issue.
 
FuLL_MeT4L said:
Funnily enough I've never owned a teflon pan. I haven't found anything I can't do with a simple steel pan which is what I use for absolutely everything without issue.
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Just purchased a Scanpan Impact and am very happy with it.
 
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