Effortless Cooking Every Day - Essay Example

Effortless Cooking Every Day
Rice is one of the most popular food for millions of people around the world, especially for Asian nations. Many people suppose that rice cooking is one of the most simple and easy cooking practices but, for an unprofessional cook, it can turn out to be difficult. To prepare a Spanish rice (paella), you will need to buy several important ingredients: ½ pt. dry white rice, pepper, bay leaf, 3T. butter, garlic, drained and peeled tomato, mussels, paprika powder, cubed pork meat, onions an lemon. The advice is to choose only fresh vegetable not to spoil the dish (Oliver, 2006).
The first step is to marinate pork meat in dry white wine seasoned with herbs and garlic. Herbs and garlic will add delicious taste so important for all rice dishes. Take into account that this step will take several hours, because it is required to let the pork meat stand in refrigerator at least 6 hours. The second step is to drain meat. During this step, the cook should reserve sieved marinating liquid and dry meat with paper towel. It is possible to use glass or ceramic plates preparing meat. During the next step, the cook adds 1 T. butter to preheated browning skillet. Then, it is important to swirl skillet to coat bottom with melted butter. The next step is to add meat, and cook it uncovered 4 minutes until meat is no longer pink. This step is very important because the quality and taste of meat will determine the taste and flavor of the finished dish (Barham, 2000).
The next step is to choose a bowls for rice. To prevent boil-overs, it is better to choose large enough bowls. During this step, the addition of oil to cooking water will prevent boil-overs. It is very important to cook rice in a covered dish. A small secret is that rice requires virtually no stirring during cooking. In fact, less stirring is better since over-stirring can cause a ‘mushy’ texture. In order to add a delicious taste to the dish, the cook can add sieved marinating liquid to rice while cooking. It is important to remember that the amount of rice should be equal to the amount of water. The cook should choose a bowl twice as large as water amount. The next step is to heat water, add salt and stir rice. The amount of time recommended is 15 minutes, but it depends upon the quality and the amount of rice. If you are not sure about the exact time of cooking, it is possible to cook rice the amount of time recommended on package.
The forth step is to heat rest of butter in glass container to 60 seconds, or until melted. During this step, the cook adds onions and chopped garlic. Use only finely sliced onions and finely chopped garlic to create a unique taste of the dish. This mixture is cooked 2-3 minutes, or until tender. Then, it is important to add tomatoes and peppers. In order to preserve a unique taste, it is better to choose seeded, drained and peeled tomatoes. Do not forget to add salt, pepper and red pepper. Use only large seeded and sliced red paper, and try to avoid canned pepper. It will spoil the unique flavor of meat and rice. The main part is finished; the main ingredients are ready (Henry, 2007).
The most important step is to cook mussels. For a Spanish rice, it is better to choose 24 thoroughly cleaned mussels. Usually, mussels are cooked uncovered during 6-7 minutes, or until mussels open. It is required to stir them three times during cooking time. Then, mussels and vegetables are added to pork meat. Do not forget to sprinkle them with coriander. Preparing a Spanish rice, it is important to take into account that one minute to long can cause rice and meat to overcook, and the dish will lost its uniqueness and marvelous taste. The final step is to serve a Spanish rice. Creativity and imagination are important for this stage because they will show the result of cooking. The cook places rice in a large bowl and adds pork meat with venerable and mussels. It is possible to add lemon and some slices of pepper to the dish. The cook could combine all ingredients for decorating. I suppose that every cook will find a Spanish rice a real joy.
References
1. Barham, P. (2000). The Science of Cooking. Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. K.
2. Henry, D. (2007). Cook Simple: Effortless Cooking Every Day. Mitchell Beazley.
3. Oliver, J. (2006). Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook. Michael Joseph Ltd. Read More