Cooking Advice From 50Kitchen

Are you looking for some cooking inspiration as we continue through this quarantine? Trying to improve your overall cooking abilities, or are you just looking for something fun to do that results in delicious foods? Cooking is an essential skill that provides many benefits mentally, psychologically, spiritually, and of course physically. Even if you are not a 5-star chef, cooking is a great way to relax and enjoy time with the people you live with. Here are a few key tips to improving your cooking skills.

Before you even think about the recipe and ingredients, you need to make sure you have the right space and equipment. There are some mainstays that are needed in every kitchen. Proper chef knives, cutting board, bowls, and of course your cooking appliances. A lot of people in Boston often think they can’t cook because their apartment doesn’t have an oven or grill, or the proper appliances. If you are limited by your equipment, you should never give up, there are many creative ways to get around a lack of equipment. There are literally thousands of dishes that can be made using a single burner if needed. A large part of being a good chef is being creative. As long as you have ingredients, basic cookware, and a little space, you will be able to make meals you are proud of.

A messy kitchen makes messy meals. A key to improving your cooking skills is to always stay organized. Whenever you cut on a cutting board you should have two bowls, one for the usable cut pieces, and one for the scraps that need to be tossed. A lot of beginners will try to cut too much at once and this leads to ingredients falling on the floor or falling off the cutting board. You should always store your ingredients in bowls after they have been diced or chopped. Similarly always have clean sets of measuring cups and spoons at the ready. You shouldn’t dip a recently used measuring spoon into a different material until you have rinsed and dried it, otherwise this will create contamination. This is especially true when switching from a wet ingredient like olive oil to a dry ingredient like a spice.

Although all cooking methods are artistic and also scientific this saying has some truth to it when it comes to measuring ingredients. If you plan to bake anything like a cake, bread, cookies, etc. your measurements need to be very precise. However, when you are cooking on a stove top you should not always feel constrained to follow exact measurements for spices and can cook things closer to your tastes. A good rule of thumb is to follow the ingredient measurements the first few times you try a new recipe, and eventually experiment with the recipe. Remember, it is easier to solve a problem with a lack of spice than a problem with too much spice, so start gradually and always use a tasting spoon to test your meal.

Have you been making the same few staples again and again? There are a lot of great ways to get inspiration in the kitchen. Searching for cookbooks, looking up recipes online, and of course going to restaurants. Like any art form you learn by seeing what other people are doing. Even the best chefs don’t make all their own meals and often visit other restaurants to try new meals and get inspired. If you really want to improve the variety of dishes you know how to make, check out a local restaurant and try to find recipes of your favorite dishes. Some restaurants even share a recipe or two or even have their own cookbook.

If you are a lover of delicious Asian fusion and southern cuisine, you should try 50Kitchen. Our restaurant features delicious meals from salmon sliders with pesto aioli to jambalaya egg rolls. If you are looking for a new recipe we recommend our Shrimp & Chicken Gumbo.