Secret to good cooking...

Oct 2, 2020 

What is the secret to making good food?  Following directions?  Fresh ingredients?

I've cooked at home at least once a week (mostly on Mondays, my "Sunday") and made the best spicy beef and spicy pollack roe soup because of this one ingredient.

Growing up, I enjoyed home cooking so I learned some recipes from my mom.  Washing vegetables, meat several times, cleaning them well.  I made great soy stewed beef following these directions.

What's the secret?  For the Korean spicy beef or pollack roe soup, it's the sauteing of LARGE GREEN ONIONS and watching Chef Paik Jon Won, Make some green onion soup and stay strong! helped a lot.  (Thank you Steve Lee for the link)  These green onions really brings out the flavor.  

For the pho soup, charring the onions gives the soup that extra kick and caramalizing the onions is a must for great curry which is not listed on the directions on Japanese curry box.  Although I don't believe, "Caramalized onions is the secret to all good cooking" - Ivan Orkin, Make Better Boxed Japanese Curry. onion is a key ingredient to good cooking.

For Chef Chris Cho, (he calls green onions, "scallions"), "Every great fried rice starts with scallion oil".  I don't believe this either but it helps.  He has some funny tik tok videos or check out his Youtube channel.

Cooking for several weeks has opened me up to green onions, small and large, and regular brown onions.  Also, I started to use crushed Thai red peppers to give that extra spicy kick to curry and other dishes.  

Well, the secret to good cooking...is doing it often.








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