basic cooking tips

Summary

Some things I wish I knew when I started learning how to cook.

Some assorted tips for beginners

Measure only when necessary

go by vibes and the food will taste better. When I include a measurement, that means it’s very important and you should follow it.

focus on one thing at a time

following a recipe is easy, so just do what it says in order, and focus on what’s in front of you. You’ll become a fruit ninja in no time; burning stuff and feeling stressed out by 10 things happening at once will not get you there any faster.

don’t substitute

1. *use good stuff:* An actual non-stick pan, sharp knives, big-enough pots/woks, and the highest quality ingredients you can afford will all make the experience so much better. I'd much rather have a simple set of nice things than a huge array of specialized appliances.

Things to keep in stock

Here’s a list of useful things to keep on the grocery list. Non shelf-stable items will appear with an asterisk*.

staples

• Oil: olive, sesame, chili, canola/vegetable
• Salt: kosher salt, sea salt
• Black pepper
• Eggs*
• Soy sauce

acids

• Vinegar (seasoned rice, balsamic, red wine)
• Lemon* (concentrated lemon juice can help in a pinch if you forget to buy one)
• Wine (sake, sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon)

baking

• White flour
• Bread flour
• Baking soda
• Baking powder
• Vanilla extract
• Cane sugar
• Brown sugar

spices

• Dried herbs: basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, parsley
• Paprika
• Onion powder
• Garlic powder

starch

• Rice (I like kokuho rose rice or other nice sushi rice)
• Pasta (linguine, orzo, lasagna, some other fun shapes)
• Instant noodles

condiments

• Ketchup
• Maple syrup
• Agave syrup
• Worcestershire sauce

veggies

• Onion
• Garlic
• frozen corn

dairy

• Milk*
• Heavy whipping cream* (or half-and-half)
• Butter
• Parmesan cheese block¹

asian ingredients

only if an asian grocery store is nearby.

• sake
• mirin
• dashi powder
• japanese instant curry
• yellow curry powder
• dark soy sauce
• chicken bouillon powder
• nori komi furikake
• ponzu
• oyster sauce
• soba noodles
• somen noodles

tools

• nonstick pan
• stainless steel pan
• wok
• spatula
• tongs
• knives (large chef, paring, butter)
• cutting board
• measuring cups and spoons
• strainer
• small saucepan
• medium pot (3qt)
• large stock pot (6qt)
• bottle opener
• can opener
• cheese grater
• meat thermometer

Footnotes

1. do NOT get the kraft parmesan powder! grate your own cheese it is so much better ↩