Proper preparation of ingredients not only preserves the inherent flavor and nutritional value of the food, but also eliminates the harmful substances in it, helping the cook process delicious, attractive and Safe for guests to enjoy. So how to properly process raw materials, Taky Food will help you learn thoroughly.
How to process raw materials properly? (Photo of Internet source)
► What is preliminary processing of raw materials?
Preliminary processing of raw materials is the step of cleaning, cutting, marinating, grinding - pounding ... raw materials, before going into the heat processing stage. Whether seafood, meat, fresh vegetables or dried food ... all need to be prepared before applying the methods of processing dishes.
The process of processing raw materials includes:
- Preliminary processing: remove the inedible parts of the food (toxic or low nutritional value).
- Preliminary processing: cutting slices - marinating - grinding ingredients in accordance with the requirements of each specific dish.
► 4 Raw processing is often used by chefs
- Soaking food
Soaking dried mushrooms, nuts, dried vegetables ... in cold water helps to soften food easily, besides it also helps to remove dirt, other components sticking from the drying process of food.
With meat, fish - when soaked in water helps to fade the secretion of raw materials, helping fish meat to be more fresh.
For dry ingredients that need to be soaked before processing (Internet source image)
- Wash food
With fresh fruits and vegetables, it is necessary to wash before peeling to remove dirt and insects. After peeling, it is necessary to wash again to ensure that the material is completely clean.
Cattle and poultry meat: Need to be washed thoroughly to remove sticky dirt during slaughtering and transportation.
Fish - seafood should be washed thoroughly inside and outside to remove dirt, internal organs, blood, fins, fish scales ...
- Sterilizing and deodorizing food
Fresh vegetables can be washed with salt water, ozone aeration ... to remove harmful substances from food.
Fish and seafood are often disinfected with white wine, lemon, and chili.
Poultry and cattle meat is often deodorized by chefs with white wine, ginger wine, etc.
- Blanching food
The purpose of blanching food in boiling water is to remove the heavy smell, bitter taste or dirt of ingredients before cooking. Raw materials after blanching will be washed again with clean water.
Pork ribs are often blanch before marinating to prepare dishes (Photo source Internet)
► Recipes marinated ingredients properly
- Spicy marinated order
It is necessary to follow the process of marinating in the following order: salty - sweet - aromatic - spicy - odorless, to allow the spices to infuse - penetrate the food in the best way and get the desired flavor after finished processing. Following this procedure also helps the chef not to miss any spice.
Salty: salt, broth mix, fish sauce ...
Sweet: sugar, monosodium glutamate, honey
Pineapple: minced garlic, red onion, minced lemongrass, pepper, wine, aromatic leaves (rosemary leaves ...)
Spicy: satay, chili
Odorless: cooking oil, eggs, flour ...
- Marinated time
Depending on the type of food and each dish that requires marinating time will vary:
Beef, lamb: whole meat is marinated before processing 10 minutes.
Chicken, pork: large pieces are marinated for over 30 minutes
Pork, sliced or minced beef: marinated for less than 5 minutes or unsalted (seasoning directly during cooking)
Fish: Marinated 15 - 20 minutes before, sea fish has a natural salinity, so it needs less salt than river fish.
Thick squid, shrimp intact shells: 15 - 30 minutes
Shrimp without shells, squid: 5 - 10 minutes or not marinated
Octopus: should not be marinated for more than 15 minutes
Root: Marinate before preparing to bake.
For fruits that need to be baked, sprinkle only the spices when preparing to put them in the oven (Photo source Internet)
- Use the appropriate salt
Salt used in cooking is divided into several categories according to the size of the salt grain and the salinity. When marinating, professional chefs often use Kosher salt (salt) to marinate meats and use Sea salt (sea salt) to marinate fish - seafood. Usually, chefs will not use iodized crystal salt to marinate food for a long time because this salt is high in salinity, easily causing the ingredients to water and drying during processing.
Depending on the ingredients, the chef will use salt or sea salt to marinate (Photo source Internet)
- Not all foods need to be marinated
There is a rule among the chefs that you need to know: "The more expensive the ingredients, the simpler the seasoning." Because of the inherent taste of delicious food, there is no need to marinate too many spices to overwhelm the natural delicious taste. With ingredients such as salmon fillet, lobster, sliced beef, cod, expensive mushrooms ... simply marinated with salt + pepper or may not need to be marinated.
- Should we use olive oil or regular cooking oil to marinate meat?
The advice is to use regular vegetable oils to marinate meats. Because olive oil is easily oxidized when exposed to the air, it is only suitable for eating raw (with salads) or for quick frying - stir frying.
Olive oil is only suitable for salads (Internet source image)
► Requirements of food processing
Whether it is food bought in the market or stored in a supermarket, the food should be prepared before processing. Depending on the type of ingredients and the requirements of the dish, appropriate preparation methods will be applied. Basically, the process of food preparation should meet the following requirements:
Raw materials are cleaned, remove dirt - toxic substances, deodorant smell.
Ingredients are cut, shaped to suit the requirements of each dish, meeting aesthetic criteria.
Ingredients are marinated with spices, ingredients suitable for each dish.
► Some notes you need to know when preparing food
To get a good pot of bone broth, clean the bones - blanch them over boiling water - rinse well - stew with low heat for 2-4 hours.
Want to keep the green color, the crispness of vegetables to use for salads or stir-fries, after blanching through salt-boiling water - need to be picked up and soaked in cold ice immediately.
With potatoes, it is advisable to blanch when the water is still cold, take out and soak in cold water, then peel and prepare the dish - this way will help retain the inherent moisture and nutrients of the type. this food.
If you want the onion to reduce the smell of pungent and crispy, used for salads, you can soak the onion in cold ice water mixed with a few drops of vinegar or lemon juice for about 30 minutes.
When marinating ingredients in small quantities, you can add each type of spice directly, however, with a large amount of ingredients, you should mix the spices in a bowl and then sprinkle on the food - how This helps the food absorb more evenly.
For grilled meat dishes - grilled ribs (beef, lamb, goat ...), want the meat to be softer and more delicious, need to be marinated with pear juice or apple juice. Because the acidity of these 2 fruits helps to create a soft and natural sweetness for meat. Marinate at least 20 minutes before baking.
Apple pear juice makes the barbecue soft and naturally sweet (Photo source Internet)
Processing raw materials is an important step in the process of processing dishes that kitchen assistants and chefs working in hotels - restaurants need to pay attention to. Hopefully, the information shared by Taky Food in this article will be a useful source of knowledge for you.
