Is blanching spinach a must?
Of course not. It always depends on the dish it is meant to go into. If the dish won't benefit from the high water content of spinach, here's how to blanch and squeeze.
Kitchen
Divided into three sub-categories — ingredients, how-tos and tools — this section includes tips on choosing a kitchen countertop (in case you're remodeling) and kitchen organizing.
Are katsuobushi and bonito flakes the same?
Fine curly shavings that dance in the heat of the steam of takoyaki or okonomiyaki. They're shaved fermented fish. The Japanese name is katsuobushi but bonito flakes is …
Cook day-old rice into congee
Leftover rice often ends up as fried rice the next day. But if you want to try something different, try cooking it into congee. And for a richer flavor (and more …
How to make broth for shio ramen
It's all about the broth. The clarity. The lightness. I make broth by simmering meat and bones. Then, I drop a teaspoon of salt into a bowl, pour in broth and add the …
Chili oil too hot? Try this fix.
My daughter’s friend gifted her with a jar of Nepalese chili oil with a warning that it was hotter than hot. She thought that, perhaps, we’d know better ways to use it.
Food too salty? Here are two easy fixes.
Too salty soup or stew is easy to fix. Drop in potatoes and let them soak up the excess saltiness. But what about too salty meatballs?
What to do with unevenly cooked rice
Unscrupulous rice retailers sometimes mix low quality rice with better quality rice for higher profit. As as result, the rice cooks unevenly. Still edible but hardly …